The Belen is an iconic ship that will bring the flame to France.

Merchant ship, yacht and training ship: three lives of Belem

The Belem sailed many seas and experienced even more adventures. This is one of the oldest ships of its class, and this is already a feat considering how many times it came close to disaster.

During the maiden voyage to Belém, the Brazilian port city that gave this legendary sailing ship its name, a fire broke out on board. Fortunately, after repairs in France, he was able to return to service.

After several transatlantic voyages transporting cocoa, rum and sugar to France, the Belen managed to survive another tragedy: the eruption of Mount Pele in 1902.

The city of Saint-Pierre in Martinique was destroyed and more than 30,000 people died in the disaster, but the belem managed to escape unharmed.

The day before, due to a lack of space in the port, the ship moored in another bay, at a safe distance from the city.

However, Belen could not do anything against the appearance of steamships. Gradually its commercial use for the transport of goods began to decline and in 1914 it was sold to the Duke of Westminster.

Belem was converted into a yacht and a few years later was acquired by Irish engineer and brewer Sir Arthur Ernest Guinness, who changed the name of the sailing ship to Phantom II.

After a trip around the world, the ship changed owners again several decades later; this time it was sold to an Italian charity and renamed Giorgio Cini in his honor.

The ship, built at the Nantes shipyard, was converted into a training ship and sailed in the Mediterranean for the next 15 years until it was again affected by technological advances.

By the 1960s, the Giorgio Cini, considered too old and small, no longer left the port. And he was taken to carabinieri (Italian police) for use in their training. When it was decided that it was no longer suitable for this purpose, it was sold to a shipyard in Venice for the symbolic price of one lira (about 0.01 euros).

However, as restoration costs rose, the boat returned to the market.