Carthaginian ii shipwreck lahaina maui hi
Carthaginian II is the name of a steel-hulled sailing boat, which has been a symbol of the former whaling town Lāhainā on the Hawaiian island of Maui. Built in 1920 and brought to Maui in 1973, it served as a whaling museum for some time, and now serves as a diving destination.
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History
The boat was built in 1920 in Kiel, Germany at the Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft shipyard. The boat was once run as a two-master and was almost 30 meters long. Later the boat was converted to diesel power and in the Baltic Sea used as a freighter for cement. In 1970 the boat was decommissioned.
The vessel was bought in 1972 by the non-profit "Lahaina Restoration Foundation" in Denmark, brought to Hawaii, renamed Carthaginian II (after the eponymous ship in the novel "Hawaii" (1959) by James A. Michener) and restored over several years. Masts made of spruce, a deck of eucalyptus, and other details for a whaling supply ship of the 19th century were installed. In 1980, the ship was opened as a floating whaling museum.
In 2005, the boat was towed half a mile away from the coast and sunk to create an artificial reef, and now stands at a water depth of approximately 35 m. Today, it serves as a destination for diving expeditions.