Artship (formerly MS Unterelbe) is a 1939 German motor coaster (Küstenmotorschiff). It is the only coaster of its era still in operational condition, and the last surviving seaworthy German coastal motor ship built before the Second World War. The ship was requisitioned by the Kriegsmarine as a munitions transport during World War II before spending eighty years in commercial cargo service and joining the Finnish Heritage Ship Register.
In 2024, the ship crossed the North Sea to London under its own power. In 2025 it underwent repairs in Chatham, Kent to operate as a floating arts centre alongside Theatreship in Canary Wharf's West India Docks. Together the two vessels form the world's largest floating arts centre.
Construction and early history
Built by Holst-Schiffswerft in Hamburg-Neuenfelde (Hull No. 154), the ship was launched in 1939 for owner J. H. Jonas. As a Küstenmotorschiff, its shallow draft was designed for navigating the inland waterways and shallow coastal waters of the North and Baltic Seas.
World War II service
MS Unterelbe as MS Danzig during World War II - archive photograph taken 1942
Requisitioned by the Kriegsmarine upon completion in 1939, the ship served as a munitions transport, delivering torpedoes for the U-boat fleet. In 1940, it was mobilized for Operation Sea Lion, the planned invasion of Britain. Following the operation's cancellation, it returned to coastal supply duties. In 1945, the Tripartite Merchant Marine Commission initially seized the vessel but exempted it from war reparations to maintain local logistics and returned it to its pre-war civilian owner, J.H. Jonas.
Structural modifications
The ship underwent two major structural modifications:
1950: The main deck was raised by 40cm (16in) to increase cargo capacity. The ship was renamed Frieda Jonas in 1951.
1961: Under owner Captain Ludwig Lührs (who renamed it Unterelbe in 1958), the Krooß-Werft shipyard in Wischhafen lengthened the hull to an overall length of 46.70m (153ft 3in).
Commercial and heritage service (1960s–2018)
MS Unterelbe (1939) - archive photograph
Between 1963 and 1987, the ship passed through several German commercial owners. In 1987, its original engine was replaced with a 1950s-era, 215 kW Deutz RA6M528 marine diesel. Sold to Finnish owners in 1988 and renamed Ramona, the vessel was commercially registered in Porvoo, where it operated as a cargo transport in the surrounding archipelago. In 1999, Finnish sea captain Jan G. Rautawaara purchased the vessel, reverting its name to Unterelbe. It was inducted into the Finnish Heritage Ship Register in 2005 on the basis of its rarity as a preserved seagoing cargo ship of its era, representing a class of vessel that was historically common in Finnish ports. The ship continued to work as a cargo vessel over this time, transporting varied cargoes, including the 1914 yacht Svea.
Flensburg stay and museum project
In 2018, Captain Jens Boysen returned the ship to Germany, mooring it at the Historischer Hafen in Flensburg. Boysen planned to establish the vessel as a working museum ship representing the mid-20th century coastal trade. The project faced financial pressure from regulatory compliance. Following Boysen's death in January 2023, the ship faced an uncertain future.
Restoration and transfer to London
Artship moored in Canary Wharf, London
In May 2023, British marine engineer Inigo Lapwood acquired the vessel, expressing his intention to protect the ship from the risk of scrapping, preserve it, and open it to the public as an arts venue in London.
Before it could depart for the UK, the vessel was detained by the Berufsgenossenschaft Verkehr (BG Verkehr), which required the ship to meet updated safety and classification standards for its voyage across the North Sea.
The Engine room on Artship
The vessel left Flensburg for London in May 2024. During its transit across the North Sea to the UK, the engine required emergency at-sea repairs following a cylinder liner failure. Following replating and structural repairs in Chatham, Kent in July 2025, the ship's hold was converted into a 400-capacity exhibition space.
↑Lihn, Sanne (15 March 2023). "Pludselig døde ejeren: Nu aner ingen, hvad der skal ske med knap 47 meter langt fragtskib". JydskeVestkysten (in Danish). Retrieved 2026-02-22. ...det eneste fragtskib til kystsejlads fra tiden omkring anden verdenskrig, som fortsat er i driftsklar stand. (...the only cargo ship for coastal sailing from the time around the Second World War which is still in operational condition.)
↑Boysen, Jens (14 January 2020). "Die alte Truckerin" (in German). Historischer Hafen Flensburg. Retrieved 2026-02-22. Heute ist sie das letzte noch erhaltene fahrfähige, vor dem zweiten Weltkrieg gebaute Küstenmotorschiff Deutschlands. (Today she is the last still preserved seaworthy coastal motor ship of Germany built before the Second World War.)
1234"m/s UNTERELBE". Laiva.fi (in Finnish). Suomen Laivahistoriallinen Seura ry (Finnish Ship Heritage Association). Retrieved 2026-02-22.
↑Meyric-Hughes, Steffan (2012-08-07). "Alfred Noble yacht to be restored". Classic Boat Magazine. Retrieved 2026-02-22. Unterelbe's past cargoes have included torpedoes for German U Boats.
↑"In Erinnerung an Kapitän Jens Boysen – De Pellwormer". De Pellwormer – Monatliches Heimatblatt der Nordseeinsel Pellworm (in German). 2023-01-24. Retrieved 2026-02-22. "Leider waren die Auflagen der zuständigen Genehmigungsbehörden für das Schiff nicht zu finanzieren. Unfortunately, the requirements imposed by the relevant licensing authorities were financially prohibitive.
↑Kystmotorskibet Unterelbe skal til London. Flensborg Avis. 4 May 2023. Event occurs at 0:17. Retrieved 2026-02-22– via YouTube. to keep her preserved and keep her alive for the next generation
