Ship details: The stern trawler SCH33 Maria was built in 1966 at T. van Duijvendijk’s Scheepswerf in Lekkerkerk under building number Z.79 for the account of Rederij Jaczon in Scheveningen. The SCH33 Maria entered service in October 1966.
Gross dimensions: 643,74 reg. tons, net 353,84 reg. tons.
Dimensions: 49.84/46.27 x 8.52 x 5.30 m
Speed: 13 nautical miles
Crew: 16
The ship had an 8 cylinder Industrie diesel engine a power of 1180 hp.
History: Refitted in 1982. A few years later, the ship was sold to Greece and renamed Naftilos. Home port became Piraeus.
Planned offshore radio station: On 25 February 1980, a group of non-commissioned officers seized power in Suriname and successfully installed Desi Bouterse as their army commander and new head of government. During Bouterse’s regime, Henk Chin A Sen was appointed President of Suriname in 1980. Chin A Sen was, in fact, an internist who had studied in the Netherlands. He aspired to a return to democracy but soon found himself in conflict with Bouterse, who sought to establish a socialist, revolutionary system. On 4th February 1982, Chin A Sen resigned after failing to reach an agreement with Bouterse on the allocation of Dutch development aid and the draft constitution. He left the newly independent Suriname and went into exile in the Netherlands. There, he became chairman of the Council for the Liberation of Suriname and supported the armed opposition against Bouterse, including Ronnie Brunswijk’s ‘Jungle Commando’.
While in Dutch exile, Chin A Sen met Steph Willemse, a pioneer of offshore broadcasting. Willemse had already attempted to launch two radio ship projects, including Radio Condor off the Dutch coast. Inspired by these accounts, Chin A Sen conceived the idea of establishing a radio ship for Suriname.
The project had a dual purpose:
- Political education: It was intended to broadcast messages for democracy and against Bouterse from international waters.
- Military use: The ship was also to serve as a means of transport for guerrilla fighters from the Jungle Commando.
A suitable vessel was found in the port city of Scheveningen—the MV Maria, a former fishing trawler. Chin A Sen made an initial deposit while Willemse sought further investors. Rob Olthof, a long-time follower of offshore radio, was also secured as a financier.
However, in March 1985 the Dutch office of the Council for the Liberation of Suriname became the target of a brutal attack in which three members of a pop band lost their lives. It was never fully clarified who was behind the assault.
This incident shocked Chin A Sen so deeply that he abandoned the project. Without his backing, the balance payment for the ship could not be made, and the plans for the radio station ultimately collapsed.
More details: Suriname missed out of offshore radio station
Planned location: Off the coast of Suriname. The plan was that within six to nine months, the impact of the radio ship off the Surinamese coast would achieve its goal—replacing the Bouterse regime with a more democratic government. Upon the ship’s return, it would shift to broadcasting a more commercial message off the Dutch coast, benefiting the larger investors.
