The world’s largest ocean-going wooden sailing ship, the Götheborg of Sweden, has just docked in Malta for the very first time.

This stunning vessel, a replica of an 18th century Swedish East India Company ship, marked its arrival in Valletta with a gun salute, promptly answered from Valletta’s Saluting Battery.

The Götheborg of Sweden will remain moored at the Valletta Waterfront until 18th October, throughout which period it will also be welcoming visitors.

“This is the first time that the ship Götheborg is visiting Malta and Valletta, and we are already overwhelmed by the warm welcome from the city of Valletta. We are looking forward to beautiful days,” the ship’s Expedition Director, Kristoffer Bennis, said.

The Götheborg of Sweden is currently on a two-year-long expedition; the Asia Expedition 2022 / 2023.

This journey will see the replica ship follow in the historic footsteps of the original ship, which sank outside Gothenburg in 1745.

The purpose of the expedition is to give people the experience of sailing an 18th century ship, to welcome visitors from different ports around the world, and to promote trade relations in Europe and Asia.

On each sailing, about 50 members of the public can sail along as deckhands. The ship’s professional crew consists of about 20 professional sailors, meaning that there are between 70 to 80 people on board for each sailing leg.

“As an authority, we are extremely proud to give our support to the first-ever visit of the Götheborg of Sweden in Malta, and we are also very pleased that Malta and the Grand Harbour were chosen as one of the port of calls in the Mediterranean for this Asia expedition,” Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) CEO Carlo Micallef said.

“Having the Götheborg grace the Grand Harbour over the next few days will definitely bring added value to those tourists who will be in Malta on their holidays whilst also serving as a new and unique attraction for locals,” he added.

The Götheborg of Sweden will remain in Europe in 2022, staying in Barcelona throughout the winter, before continuing to Asia in March 2023.

In September 2023, the ship will reach its end destination: Shanghai. The Götheborg left Gothenburg on 8th June 2022 and has since visited Helsingborg, Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Oslo, London, Bremerhaven, Lisbon, Málaga, Nice, and Monaco.