World Art Utopia

Eduard Bohlen

The long rusted skeleton of the Eduard Bohlen lies half buried in pale desert sand on the Skeleton Coast of Namibia, with no water in sight.
Artwork FileConception Bay, Namibia

Eduard Bohlen

ReportedNov 2025

1890; wrecked 1909 · Conception Bay, Namibia

Photo: Martin Cígler / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Eduard Bohlen lies in the Namib Desert near Conception Bay, separated from the sea by accumulated sand. The German-built cargo and passenger ship grounded in September 1909; the shoreline subsequently shifted west. Source Source Checked

Latest dated evidence checked: Reported present Nov 2025. This is not a present-day condition survey. Source Reported

💡 4 things to know

  1. Built in HamburgNDR identifies Blohm & Voss as the builder and dates the launch to 23 October 1890. Source Reported
  2. The groundingNDR reports that fog and strong wind accompanied the grounding on 5 September 1909. Source Reported
  3. The shoreline movedThe Atlas of Namibia places the wreck about 470 metres inland, compared with 390 metres in 2004. Source Reported
  4. More than an empty hullThe atlas notes that brown hyaenas sometimes shelter inside the wreck. Source Reported

📍 Where it is

Conception Bay, Namibia Source Checked

Open in Maps

Map search; no clearly framed Street View image was verified.

🗓️ Sightings

  1. 189023 Oct

    Launched at Hamburg.

  2. 19095 Sep

    Grounded near Conception Bay.

  3. 2004

    Atlas records the wreck 390 metres inland.

  4. 201412 Aug

    Martin Cígler photographs the sandbound wreck.

  5. 202528 Nov

    NDR reports the wreck remains visible in the desert.

Green stamps mark dated photographs; amber stamps mark records or reports. Publication dates are not camera dates.

✅ The facts

Builder
Blohm & Voss, Hamburg Source Checked
Operator
Woermann-Linie Source Checked
Grounding
5 September 1909 Source Checked
Location
Near Conception Bay Source Checked
Distance from shore
About 470 metres in the atlas account; not a current survey Source Reported
Photo record
Martin Cígler, 12 August 2014 Source Checked

In the press

NDR · 2025-11-28 · "Eduard Bohlen": Gestrandet an der Skelett-Küste von Namibia
“Das Wrack liegt inzwischen in der Wüste.”
The wreck now lies in the desert. Source

🔗 Related

All sources & image credits

Photo: Martin Cígler / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Last checked: 25 October 2026 · How we verify art