It's a bit art deck-o: Grounded ship is used as blank canvas for graffiti artists who transform it from rusting wreck into colourful masterpiece


A rusting former passenger ship is being brought 'back to life' with a spray of paint.

The hull of the Duke of Lancaster steamer has been used as a blank canvas for colourful graffiti by some of Europe's most talented street artists.

The ship has sat in a dry dock at the Dee estuary in Flintshire, North Wales, since 1979.

The Cream Soda Crew, based in Colwyn Bay, created Eduk the Diver, the largest work on the rusting Duke of Lancaster so far at 60ft high and 45ft wide

The hull of the Duke of Lancaster ship has been used as a blank canvas for a street artist collective called DuDug - a play on the Welsh for 'black duke'

Street artists from around Europe have joined forces to decorate the exterior of the steamer with the blessing of its owners

London artist Fin DAC spray-painted this image on the ship's stern, so it will only be seen if the ship is reopened to the public as it is not visible from the coastal path

She was launched in 1956 by Harland and Wolff, who built the Titanic and HMS Belfast.

After serving as a Sealink passenger ferry, she was renamed the Fun Ship and used as a bar and flea market, but closed to the public in the mid-Eighties.

The artists, from the UK, Russia, Latvia and Hungary, have named themselves the DuDug collective - a play on the Welsh for 'black duke'.

They want the ship to become an open air public art gallery.

A spokesman said: 'People love it - everyone is saying we've brought the ship back to life.

'The artists have really enjoyed working on such a huge project, it's not every day you get the chance to paint a ship.'

DuDug wants the Duke of Lancaster to return to its days of entertaining the public by transforming the steamer into an open-air art gallery to show off work such as this masked man by artist Bungle

This work by street artist Bungle looks out at passers-by on the Wales coast path. The ship is a landmark for drivers on the A548 Flint to Prestatyn coast road The ship's owners put the Duke of Lancaster in the dry dock at the Dee estuary in 1979 and are happy for the artists' collective to make their mark on her

The DuDug team were all cans on deck to transform the rusting hull of the Duke of Lancaster into an attractive sight for walkers along the Wales coast path The Prophet of Profit by MrZero is one of the colourful and political creations brightening up the steamer's exterior

Bungle's masked man and MrZero's Prophet of Profit are joined by the Council of Monkeys in covering the hull from top to bottom

The DuDug collective say people have told them they are bringing the former Sealink steamer 'back to life'