Doulos Hope to return with over 200,000 books

KUCHING: Doulos Hope is coming to Kuching!
 
The ship, which provides an opportunity for visitors to experience and explore one of the world’s largest floating book fairs featuring more than 200,000 books and 2,000 titles, is set to dock at the port of Kuching in less than two weeks.
 
Managed by GBA Ships, a non-profit organisation based in Germany, the ship’s website said it will be in Kuching from August 21 to September 4.
 
Additionally, it also confirmed that it will travel to Kota Kinabalu and will be there from September 7 to October 3.
 
However, details on the future ports of call for Bangkok in Thailand and Sihanoukville in Cambodia are yet to be confirmed.
 
Presently, Doulos Hope is still in Penang, where it opened to visitors from July 28 to August 15.
 
As for the ship, the word ‘Doulos’ means ‘servant’ in Greek, and thus the ship is to be a “Servant of Hope”.
 
Originally constructed as a cruise ship in Germany in 1991, Doulos Hope was formally handed over to GBA Ships on May 25, 2022, and underwent some repurposing of spaces before it was launched for service in May this year.
 
It was also reported that Doulos Hope was in Penang Port sometime in May this year to complete renovation works before proceeding to Singapore and subsequently returning to Penang.
 
The ships measure 85.5 metres in length and are 14 metres wide.
 
GBA Ships’ also operates the Logos Hope ship, which is the world’s largest floating book fair. The Logos Hope ship is no stranger to Kuching, as it used to visit Kuching.