Hellenic Navy battle cruiser Georgios Averof starts refit

The Hellenic Navy’s century-old battle cruiser “Georgios Averof” which now serves as a floating museum left Athens for an extensive maintenance period that will take two months to complete.

After spending over 60 years as a museum ship, the battle cruiser will now have her hull and upper deck refurbished and interior areas renovated.

The Hellenic navy estimates that works will take two months to complete while part of the funds for the maintenance will be covered by sponsorships.

The battle cruiser was named after Georgios Averof, a Greek national benefactor who paid for 1/3 of her cost, while the other 2/3 was paid by the Treasure of the National Fleet and sponsorships by Greeks from all over the world.

According to Hellenic Navy, the cruiser is the only “alive” ship that participated actively in both World Wars, concluding her mission in 1945 during the celebrations for the integration of the Dodecanese with Greece.

Georgios Averof is now on display at Faliro, in Athens, as a naval afloat museum. She welcomes over 60.000 visitors every year.