Ark builder waits for the Flood in Netherlands

A replica of Noah’s Ark was recently put up for auction with a starting price of €350,000.

So far there have been no takers although Johan Huibers, the ark’s creator and still – to his regret – its owner, has until 7.01pm on December 18 to find a buyer prepared to take on the 122-metre, seven-storey vessel.

Should no-one come forward it will be removed from the Troostwijk online site and he will need to start looking for another solution.

A building contractor and carpenter by trade, Huibers has built not one, but two arks, inspired by a dream about flooding in Noord-Holland province.

His first ark, which cost €1 million to construct, was finished in 2007 and sold in 2010.  At 70 metres long and with only four floors, it was manoeuvrable and light enough to be towed by a tug and taken on tour, although the accident-prone ark managed to ram a stationary vessel in Oslo harbour.

22-metre ark cost €4 million to build

In June 2016 it was stranded for 18 months in Norwich after being deemed unseaworthy in 2019, enduring a two-year wait until the UK authorities allowed to leave.

In 2008 Huibers began work on the second ark, which cost him €4 million and took five years to build.

With its cinema and restaurant, this second ark met with initial success when it opened to the public in Dordrecht, attracting 280,000 visitors over the years and taking part in the boat parade on Koningsdag in 2015 which was attended by the Dutch royal family.

Eventually the enormous ark, which was built to be towed but not to move under its own power, had to leave its Dordrecht mooring to make way for a housing development and was shifted to Krimpen aan de Ijssel in 2016.

Huipers had hoped to take the ark to Rio that same year for the Olympic Games but was unable to locate a vessel capable to towing it across the Atlantic.

Interest in Houston, Istanbul and South Korea

Since then this modern Noah has been looking for a buyer and has received enquiries from Houston, Istanbul and even South Korea.

“They were all interested but nothing came of it. And now I have had enough, and I want rid of it,” he told the Algemeen Dagblad (AD) newspaper.

He added that he was resigned to writing off most of the €4 million the ark has cost him.

“If your hobby is collecting miniature trains and you want to sell them at some point you know you will never get back what you paid for them,” Huipers said.

“That’s how I see this,” he added, making clear that he hoped the ark would be used to spread a message of faith, hope, love and perseverance.

“If they want to turn it into a brothel I’m not selling,” he declared.