Re-purposed ship to become Basel cultural space

Basel residents caught quite a sight as a 600-tonne ship was brought to the city and hauled out of the Rhine this week. 

The British lightship called Gannet will be converted into a temporary venue for concerts, restaurants and other events hosting up to 300 people.

The ship is actually a creative solution to a complicated turn of events.

After community objections delayed plans for a more permanent event space on the fallow land of Basel’s Klybeck island, a local organisation came up with the idea of bringing the ship ashore and renovating it as a temporary cultural space.

The whole project is expected to cost CHF900,000 ($919,000).

The ship, which took three hours to bring ashore, should be ready to welcome guests in a year. Before settling into its new home, the 42-meter-long ship was anchored off the Irish coast for about 70 years.