With her keel laid in 1938, Artship is one of the very first diesel coasters. There used to be thousands of these ships. She's now the only one left: the last surviving diesel coaster in the UK from before the war. But it's still within living memory that these ships used to fill the docks. My great grandad was a docker - he used to unload these exact ships in this exact dock throughout the 40s and 50s.

At that time they were the lifeblood of short-sea shipping in Europe - they were a critical connection between Britain and the continent, and part of the industry and trade that brought Europe back together after the war.

We found the ship in Flensburg, Germany, and brought her through the Baltic and across the North Sea under her own power - finally arriving in London December 2025. She's a tangible piece of the docks' history of industry and labour, and a symbol of something larger - London's connection to the rest of the world.

W're working on Artship's restoration at the moment. When open, she'll operate in conjunction with Theatreship - as one arts centre split across the two ships. The cargo hold is an incredibly beautiful, cavernous, space - with the riveted steel ribs on display all the way through. It feels like being in the belly of a giant industrial whale. When open, the hold will serve as an exhibition and installation space for larger scale works of art, and as a space for live music and experimental sound.

In total the ship will have a public capacity of around 700 people

As the project unfolds I'll add more to this site about Artship over time. For now you can visit the main Artship site, or read about our sister ship Theatreship. Or use the link explorer below to find other closely (and more tangentially) related topics.