NOAH’S ARK is set to appear on the River Thames in time for the London Olympics, if Boris Johnson gives a Dutch boat builder’s scheme the thumbs up.
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The London Mayor has been asked by modern-day Noah, Johan Huibers, for permission to moor a re-creation of the Biblical flood-beating vessel on the Thames and the signs are Johnson will agree.
“It is to tell people there is a Bible,” said Huibers.
“And that, when you open it, there is a God. It’s a simple meaning.”
Made out of solid Swedish pine over a base of 25 barges, Johan’s ark is 138 metres long and 23m wide, similar to the 300 cubits by 30 cubits dimensions used by the Biblical Noah.
As in the Bible, the ark will be filled with pairs of animals, but this time they will be model animals, like the giraffe in the picture.
Huibers came up with the idea of building the ark after having a dream in which Holland was devastated by a great flood. The 60-year-old construction company boss interpreted the dream as a signal he should spread the word of God.
That was back in 1992 and the first ark Huibers built was half-size so it could sail on the Dutch canals.
Huibers made nearly £1M out of the smaller ark by charging people to board it and has effectively ploughed that cash back into the current project, which should be finished by next month.
