KRIMPEN AAN DE IJSSEL, Netherlands – Dutch businessman, Johan Huibers, completed construction of a full-size replica of Noah’s Ark in 2012. The $5 million ship was built to the specifications outlined in Genesis chapter six.

The 2,500-ton vessel measures 410 feet long, 95 feet wide, and 75 feet tall and contains five decks. Similar to Ken Ham’s Ark Encounter in Kentucky, Huibers’ ark was built to sail and is, in fact, on the water in the south of the Netherlands.

CBN News reported that Huibers plans to complete his vision is not only building the ark as an attraction and a tool for teaching the Word of God but also of sailing it to Israel. He had originally planned to sail after construction was completed in 2012 but circumstances beyond his control temporarily prevented him from making the journey.

Why sail the ark to Israel? Because it “is a copy of God’s ship. It only makes sense to take it to God’s land.”

It took Huibers and his crew of seven amateur carpenters four years to build the ark, proving that the work could have been done by Noah and his sons just as described in the Bible without outside help.

The ark attracted inquisitive sightseers even during its construction. Why would it have been any different during Noah’s construction of the original ark? Surely the carpentry project of the “preacher of righteousness” drew the attention of curious onlookers.

Huibers originally built a half-size replica that was 230 feet long and 33 feet wide to conform to the ordinances for vessel sizes in the Netherlands’ canals. However, the number one question he was asked about the ark was, “Why did you build it at only half size?” After hearing the question repeatedly, he decided to sell the original model and set out to build the current full-size version.

Huibers is in the process of raising the money needed to sail the ark to Israel. Because it had no engine (neither did Noah’s), Huibers will be employing the assistance of tugboats that will guide and keep the ark on its course much like tugs move barges along major rivers.

Although Huibers is a successful businessman, he is first and foremost a Christian who believes the Bible is true from cover to cover. He believes that we are, as the Scripture indicates, living in the end times. And, he wants people to be conscious of that and of their need to come to Christ.

His love for God’s chosen people also has Huibers working on another project. This one is in Israel. He has designed a gravity-fed system that he hopes to construct to convey water from Israel’s coastal desalination plants to replenish the receding waters of the Dead Sea.

To read more news on The Netherlands on Missions Box, go here.