An unfinished magnificent dream—Alanzo-1.
By Rajiv Theodore
NEW DELHI: Once upon a time, in 15th century China, at Longjiang Shipyard, Admiral Zheng was very busy. He had been asked by none other than the Emperor Zhu Di to check the pirates abounding the Straits of Malacca, who were causing damage to China’s flourishing trade with the Indians, Sri Lankans and the Arabs.
It was a period when boats were the main medium of transportation. These boats were quite vulnerable and flimsy under attack from pirates. It was with this in mind that Zheng began building ships unprecedented in size during that time – almost 490 feet long, 160 feet wide, 15 stories high and weighing 1500 tons. The admiral constructed about 400 such ships, and the tradition carried on for centuries.
Thus, was born the legend of Zheng, the admiral who dreamed big and who commanded the largest fleets and the largest ships ever to sail the Indian Ocean, until World War II. The name Zheng conjures in naval circles a sense of awe and inspiration, but also of failed potential, of aborted purpose.
Zheng’s fleet – which made the Spanish Armada look insignificant – roamed the Indian Ocean for three centuries, and then vanished from deep blue waters almost magically. When Spanish vessels made significant journeys across the Atlantic, the admiral’s creations, known as ‘junks’, rotted in closed harbors, and Ming China burnt official records of his voyages.
Fast forward to 1984.
An ardent admirer of Admiral Zheng, an Indian marine engineer Bhalchandra Bhandarkar won a boat race in Sharjah, U.A.E. The 32 year-old’s winning boat was a 25 h.p. hydroplane which he had built himself. So enthused was this mariner that he plunged himself completely into building more boats and ships. Through years of intense activity, he founded the Classicraft Marine Works at Mumbai, where he built small boats designed in the US.
In 2005, Bhandarkar’s dream of building a bigger ship took wings when he was approached by a wealthy German, Alanzo Langecker, who had located ClassicMarines per chance on the yellow pages.
So keen was the Indian to build a larger vessel that he readily agreed and decided to give it the appearance of a Chinese wooden pirate ‘junk’ ship that were made famous by Zheng, but with additional modern day luxury and gadgets built in. The ship was to cruise the tourist routes of Europe and the Caribbean. It was to be a reproduction of a Chinese ship ‘The Red Dragon’ built sometime during 1805-1834, and would have cost more than Euro 150 million.
“It was meant to be a high end luxury liner, a partnership of the luxury hotel chain of Dubai—Burj Al Arab. The cruise would have nine suites of 600 sq. ft. each accommodating up to 30 guests; each suite rooms will be air-conditioned and country themed, including China, Egypt, Greece, India, Cyprus, France, Turkey, Italy and Morocco,” Bhandarkar said in an interview to The American Bazaar. It was to be the largest wooden ship of its time when completed, at 160 feet long.
The dream ship, Alanzo I, was also given initial help by German experts. They engaged one of the best shipping law firms to maintain quality right from the construction stage. Langecker had stated then that the ship is expected to complete by December 2007 and will fly Panamanian flag thereafter. The ownership would be transferred to a Germany-based company, Club Alanzo YP Cruises GmbH, before it sails out of India, as strategized by its solicitors Hathi & Partners from India and Von Pereira Rechtsanwalte from Germany.
Langecker also said that the fully air-conditioned cruise hotel would be made using Malaysian Sal timber treated with fire retardant chemicals, and equipped with the latest electronic gadgets and navigation equipment on board. He informed that the hull of the ship was to be is built as per standards of the International Maritime Organization with three masts and a large sail area, powered by engine and sail with a speed of10 knots per hour.
Bhandarkar labored with an army of workers for almost two years to construct the 162 feet long behemoth which had all the beauty of its Chinese predecessors, combined with the safety and luxury of modern day shipping.
“After trying to get traditional ship-builders failed, I utilized ordinary carpenters. They did not have any idea of building a shape but I made them follow my instructions,” Bhandarkar said.
Bhandarkar explained how he used the adhesive Araldite and stainless steel nuts and bolts to construct the wooden ship, which began in 2005.
But then tragedy struck. Just like the Chinese Admiral who was ignored in his overseas endeavors, Bhandarkar was also left in the lurch by his German financiers. The stream of funding from the Germans trickled down and repeated appeals fell on deaf years.
“In 2007 Mr. Alanzo told me that we would come back in six months with more funding. But the wait just got longer,” said Bhandarkar.
Germany was then in the grip of a severe recession which had ensnarled the whole of the western world.
“I sent back around half of the 45 workers by the end of 2008; till then I was paying from my own pocket. Then after few more months of waiting another half was sent back and by 2009 all was over. We only got Rs 4 crore,” said Bhandarkar.
The recession and then the 26/11 attack by Pakistani terrorists who came by sea and attacked Mumbai, forced the shutting down of boat building activity in India’s west coast where Bhandarkar had set up his workshop. The police, the coast guard and the navy were wary of any activity on the coast.
“Till today the situation is as bad …in fact the activity (boat building) is on its death bed,” says Bhandarkar, now 68 years old. “No new boats are being built here and any related work does not come up anymore.”
Today, the unfinished ship Alanzo—1 is weathered and crumbling, lying on a remote creek 55-kilometers off the coast of Mumbai. Its keel heaves to the side like a huge skeleton of a once magnificent animal and is reminiscent of a broken dream, the dreams of those who dared – the forgotten Chinese admiral Zheng and the Indian mariner Bhalchandra Bhandarkar.