Company behind Whitby Endeavour visitor attraction goes into liquidation
The company behind the replica of Captain Cook’s ship HMS Endeavour which has been in Whitby for eight years has gone into liquidation.
The life-size replica has been berthed in the port as a visitor attraction since 2018 after being bought at auction by Whitby businessman Andrew Fiddler for £155,000.
After an extensive renovation the 33-year-old three-masted ship, which can hold up to 250 people, was sold to a new owner in 2024.
Now the company behind The Endeavour Experience, Endeavour Whitby Ltd, has gone into liquidation following a winding up order last month.
Barnsley-based Gibson Booth have been appointed to sell off assets and distribute funds raised.
The replica has been previously on sale for £1.5 million and it is understood that it will go on the market imminently.
Built and launched in Whitby, HMS Endeavour is one of the most famous ships in maritime history, taking Yorkshire-born Captain James Cook and his crew on their voyage of discovery to Tahiti, New Zealand and through uncharted Pacific waters to Botany Bay, Australia, where they landed in 1770.
While Whitby’s replica doesn’t have an engine, and has to be towed, the only other replica, which is in Sydney, has completed two round-the-world voyages and two circumnavigations of Australia.