Floating Museum "Hellas Liberty" — Attraction in Attica

The Hellas Liberty is one of only three Liberty Ships surviving of the over 2720 that were built. Built by St. Johns River Shipbuilding at Jacksonville, Florida the ship was launched with the name Arthur M. Huddell on 7 December 1943 only 43 days after the keel was laid. Fitting out took a further 9 days.

In 1944 the Arthur M. Huddell was converted to carry the pipe from the U.S. to England for Operation PLUTO, which built a pipeline across the English Channel to provide fuel to to Allied forces invading continental Europe.

In 1956 A.T. & T. used the ship to lay undersea communication cable. During the Cold War, she laid cable for the Navy’s Sound Surveillance System. She was decommissioned in 1984.

After over 20 years being laid up and used for parts, in 2008 the Huddell was acquired for preservation. in January 2009 the Huddell was towed from the USA to Piraeus. Extensive repairs and alterations were made at Perama and Skaramanga shipyards including the installation of a new rudder, propeller, derricks & lifeboat.

After World War II, the Greek shipping industry was rebuilt using largely War-built tonnage. Important amongst these were 107 Liberty ships, many of which were to serve until the late 1960s. The last three of the 107 ships were broken up in 1985. The preservation of the Arthur M. Huddell, now renamed Hellas Liberty, is a memorial to the Greek mercantile marine, both shipowners and crews.

I was very impressed when I visited the ship. Entry was free and the man on duty, Angelos, was most helpful giving me access to the engine room. The ship appeared to be in good condition. Some items are missing, these having been taken for the restoration of Jeremiah O'Brien and John W. Brown in the USA, but much is still there to be seen. The 2500ihp triple expansion...

Visited 22 Oct 2021. Entrance no charge, hours 10:00 to 17:00. I emailed in advance to confirm they were actually open and got a prompt response.

Wow, what an amazing restoration. The ship is beautiful and if you're into this history, it is a must-see.

The ship itself is the star. The museum presentation is lacking. Regrettably there is no narrative, no context, little relevance in most of the displays (e.g., modern Greek shipping, poster-sized data sheets on each Greek Liberty ship). Artifacts are not captioned in English. A few snippets related to WWII are strewn about but you'd have to be looking hard and what's there is in dark corners and difficult to read.

It makes me sad that this dedicated team who executed such a wonderful restoration and obviously adores the vessel hasn't quite finished the job. If one of the objectives is education (beyond preserving the ship itself), hopefully they will present the history of Liberty ships and the WWII era into which they fit. The other Liberty & Victory ship museums provide ample precedents to emulate.

Likewise I urge the museum to update their website to make a clear, easy to find link for people who wish to visit (top nav, "Visit us"). Clicking on that link would show a page articulating: 1) Entrance is no charge, 2) Hours of operation, 3) That they are currently open because just because a museum has a staid website with hours listed doesn't mean they're open in a pandemic, 4) That they have parking next to the ship, 5) A link to a map of the ship (Google Maps is a fine option).

Thank you Friends of Liberty Association for taking such good care of this historic vessel. I wouldn't want anyone to miss it because they got incomplete or incorrect...

What a wonderful experience & real credit to those involved that have restored & maintain this fantastic piece of history. I was a ships steam engineer & it was a joy to spend time on her & in the company of the trusts representatives on board who were so very passionate about her. I was amazed at the wonderful condition that she was being kept in & would think that far more people would be interested in visiting her if they knew about her. A close relationship with the cruise line companies needs to be adopted as many older cruise passengers coming into Pireaus would find this an enthralling visit... however she is hidden away behind a disused grain silo....a real shame! I was amazed that there was no charge to visit & pleased to make a donation. I left with a very big smile on my face & I think my accompanying wife really understood the "draw of the sea" at last. Keep up the good...