Pierre Goiffon, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Climate activists from the left-wing group ‘Restore Wetlands,’ known for resorting to criminal acts to advance their agenda, forced their way past protective barriers on Wednesday and climbed aboard the Vasa—the world’s only surviving intact 17th-century ship—housed inside the museum that bears its name.
According to Expressen, the activists tied themselves to the mast, unfurled a banner reading “Stop Peat Mining,” and shouted slogans before being removed by police. Their organization—which, in its manifesto, declares that “playing along” with parliamentary democracy is “purely destructive”—was proudly and unapologetically promoting the stunt on its website.
The Vasa, a warship built for King Gustav II Adolf, sank just minutes into its maiden voyage outside Stockholm in August 1628, killing all but 30 of its crew. It was rediscovered in 1956 by an amateur archaeologist, with salvage operations beginning in 1959 and continuing until 1961. The museum that now houses the ship was inaugurated in 1988, and the Vasa is widely regarded as a vital part of Sweden’s cultural heritage.
Lars Amréus, Director General of the Swedish National Maritime and Transport Museums—of which the Vasa Museum is a part—said in a press release:
We strongly condemn this type of action, which endangers both personal safety and our shared cultural heritage. Such actions have no place in museums or the cultural sector at large. Our main focus is to ensure that Vasa has not been damaged.
Amréus emphasized the ship’s fragility: “Ninety-eight to ninety-nine percent of the ship is original, so they have undoubtedly moved on original parts of the ship,” which could have caused harm to the vessel.
He noted that while climate activists have, in other incidents, damaged artifacts with paint or glue, there is currently no indication that this kind of vandalism occurred in this case.
As of now, no significant harm to the historic ship has been identified, though further inspections will be conducted, according to the museum. Still, putting the best-preserved 17th-century ship at risk “reveals the activists’ fanaticism,” columnist Linda Jerneck wrote: “Restore Wetlands wants us to show solidarity with future generations—by pissing on what previous generations left behind.”