mv Fitzcarraldo (277gt)
LOA: 38m Beam: 8.9m Draft: 3.3m (can be deballasted to below 3m)

An ex-Norwegian ferry, now British registered with a loadline certificate, powered with a single 540hp Normo diesel engine, with a cruising speed of 8-10 knots. The ship – built in 1971 in Sandnessjoen, Norway for TFDS – spent twenty years as a general cargo and passenger ferry working the islands around Tromso, North Norway. The mv Bjarkoy left Tromso for the last time in December 1991, when we sailed her to the UK to be adapted for her new life as a touring theatre.

The vessel became part of the British merchant fleet in 1992, and was renamed mv Fitzcarraldo – after Werner Herzog’s film of the same name, in which Klaus Kinski sets off on an adventure with a mad idea which involves hauling a ship over a mountain in the South American jungle… setting up Britain’s first touring theatre ship felt just as hard.

In 1992, artist Maddi Nicholson was commissioned to paint the vessel, and she carried Maddi’s design for eight years. In 2001, thanks to a Year of the Artist award, Martin Cottis and Jim Whitty were commissioned to create a new look – the new design was based on a nautical chart and was unveiled by North West Arts Board’s chairman, Tom Bloxham, at Salford Quays on May 25th 2001.

A schematic diagram of the ship is available to download as a PDF file.

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