Factory ships, the Jan Wellem
Whales and Whaling pictures

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Re-fitting of a ship as a whaling factory ship, the Jan Wellem: 147m (482ft) long,  21.68m (71ft) across the beam (widest part),  11,700 tonnes

It is difficult for those not associated with shipping to imagine the size of the vessel from the usual descriptions, particularly of tonnage. This is a small ship as factory ships go, here seen undergoing a refit from passenger ship to whaling factory ship just before the second world war.

These pictures give a better idea of the size of the ship involved from the scale of the workmen in the pictures in just a small part of the ship. The "Factory" aspect really does relate to a very substantial factory if it were based on land.

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