Among the fishing vessels are 38 ‘waterschepen’. A ‘waterschip’ was a heavily built vessel with a fishwell on board for storing freshly caught fish.

Originally, this type of vessel was intended for transporting fish. In the 16th century, however, the Dutch also used them as fishing boats. Later, they were used as tugs for towing deep draught vessels across Pampus, the shallows off the coast near Amsterdam. Gradually, the towing service became the main task of the waterschip. However, both towing service and waterschip disappeared on completion of the Noord-Hollands canal (Amsterdam-Den Helder) in 1824.

Thus far, 20 of these 38 shipwrecks have been excavated and removed. The other 18 shipwrecks still lie where they were found. The wrecks date from the 16th and 17th centuries.

On the site you can explore a waterschip (shipwreck OW10) and its inventory.

View the objects of OW10

Cargo vessels | Waterschepen