Since 1978 the Doulos has been carrying affordable books to ports throughout the world. It has sailed to 106 countries and has welcomed 21 million visitors. Their tagline is ‘Bringing Knowledge, Help and Hope’. It was completely staffed by volunteers, hailing from over 40 countries.
Build two years after the Titanic the Doulos is the world’s oldest ocean-going passenger ship. It is owned and operated by a German charitable trust named Gute Bücher für Alle e.V.; which translates to ‘Good Books for All’. Its bookshop carries upwards of 5,000 books with hundreds of thousands more in its hold.
On December 30th, 2009 the party ended. New maritime laws that went to effect in 2010 now prohibit maritime vessels with combustible materials from sailing and since it is made mostly from wood the Doulos has reached the end of the line.
Though there has been some interest from a South African company in the ship it’s days as a beacon of book light are over.
The need to bring ‘Knowledge, Help and Hope’ through books to the underserved of the world; however, remains as strong a need as when the Doulos first set up shop 32 years ago.
Though these are big shoes to fill here’s to hoping that the 21st century version of the Doulos will soon set sail.
The Doulos website
Click on Bookshop in this image for a virtual tour