Cornelis Eyks
In 1763, a large ship, the Amstelveen, part of the fleet of the Dutch East India Company (the 'United East India Company', well known by its acronym VOC), sailed from the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) towards Muscat, the capital of Oman and to Kharg in the Persian Gulf. On the 5th of August it sailed near Ras Madrakah (Cape Mataraca), on the South East coast of Oman. In the evening, as the darkness was setting in and hampered by the foggy conditions, the ship came too close to the coast and ran aground. Due to the very high and powerful wave crashing on and breaking over the ship, she capsized and broke into pieces and sank. On board were 105 men. Seventy-five of them drowned.
Only thirty crewman reached the shore alive. One of them was Cornelis Eyks, a naval officer. He and his companions had to walk more than 500 km through the desert of Oman, to reach the harbour of Ras Al Hadd, where they were able to find transport to Muscat. The shipwreck and the exhausting trek through the desert by the survivors, was recorded in a logbook by Cornelis Eyks and described in his diary.
Some three years after these events that diary was published, although in the past centuries it remained almost forgotten.
This year it will be exactly 250 years since the wreckage of the Amstelveen and Cornelis Eyks' survival trek took place.
In 2011 Oman and the Netherlands signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation with regard to the story of the Amstelveen.
The story of Cornelis Eyks and his fellow castaways can help to revive this important chapter of common Omani-Dutch maritime history in our days.
Only thirty crewman reached the shore alive. One of them was Cornelis Eyks, a naval officer. He and his companions had to walk more than 500 km through the desert of Oman, to reach the harbour of Ras Al Hadd, where they were able to find transport to Muscat. The shipwreck and the exhausting trek through the desert by the survivors, was recorded in a logbook by Cornelis Eyks and described in his diary.
Some three years after these events that diary was published, although in the past centuries it remained almost forgotten.
This year it will be exactly 250 years since the wreckage of the Amstelveen and Cornelis Eyks' survival trek took place.
In 2011 Oman and the Netherlands signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation with regard to the story of the Amstelveen.
The story of Cornelis Eyks and his fellow castaways can help to revive this important chapter of common Omani-Dutch maritime history in our days.
Shipwreck and Survival in Oman
In January 2012, Professor Klaas Doornbos published his book “Shipwreck and Survival in Oman, 1763", based on the diary of Cornelis Eyks that was published in 1766.
In his book, Doornbos tries to establish the precise location of the shipwreck and discusses the facts and circumstances of the survival of Cornelis Eyks, based on new research.
The book is available via bol.com or via Amsterdam University Press (AUP).
Doornbos offered a copy of his book to the Omani minister of Tourism, H.E. Abdulmalik bin Abdullah al-Khalili when Queen Beatrix visited Oman in January 2012.
In his book, Doornbos tries to establish the precise location of the shipwreck and discusses the facts and circumstances of the survival of Cornelis Eyks, based on new research.
The book is available via bol.com or via Amsterdam University Press (AUP).
Doornbos offered a copy of his book to the Omani minister of Tourism, H.E. Abdulmalik bin Abdullah al-Khalili when Queen Beatrix visited Oman in January 2012.