As expected, given the condition of the ship, the reconstruction of Galeb in the Dalmont Shipyard of Kraljevica started with very intensive interventions. The reconstruction of the ship built in the 1930s into the first Croatian ship-museum began with a thorough dismantling of the vessel. More precisely, all its parts that have paid tribute to the many years of non-maintenance.
The beginning of these works was made possible only after the existing ship’s inventory had been taken over by the City Museum of Rijeka. Part of the taken equipment has been meanwhile restored and presented to the public. The remaining ship’s equipment and linings were then carefully dismantled at the shipyard, taking care that they would be returned to their original places after the completion of other works. At this moment, the ship has been stripped literally to the steel shell, which means that the announced restoration works can begin, which will return Galeb to the condition appropriate for a protected cultural property.
The complexity of the project is evidenced by the fact that shipbuilding experts, conservators and museologists cooperate directly in the process almost every day. Multidisciplinary cooperation is necessary in order for the ship to be reconstructed as faithfully as possible, and this especially applies to the parts that will host the permanent ship’s museum exhibition. After the renovation, visitors will be able, for instance, to visit the accommodation spaces of the promenade deck that will look exactly as the architect Zorko Lah conceived them in the late 1950s, together with the work team from the company Brodoprojekt Rijeka.
