Peking is a historically significant steel-hulled four-masted barque built as a Flying P-Liner for the German shipping company F. Laeisz. Launched in February 1911 in Hamburg, she was designed as a cargo vessel primarily engaged in the nitrate trade and wheat trade around Cape Horn. Her construction features a robust iron hull and a traditional sailing rig with four masts, exemplifying the late era of the iron-hulled sailing ships used for long-distance commercial trade before the dominance of steam-powered vessels. After her maiden voyage to Valparaiso in May 1911, Peking’s service was interrupted by World War I, during which she was interned at Valparaiso and remained in Chile throughout the conflict. Post-war, she was awarded to Italy as war reparations but was subsequently repurchased by her original owners, the Laeisz brothers, in January 1923. She continued in the nitrate trade until the advent of the Panama Canal rendered her traditional routes less economical. In 1932, Peking was sold for £6,250 to Shaftesbury Homes, renamed Arethusa II, and repurposed as a children's home and training ship anchored off Upnor on the River Medway. During World War II, she served as HMS Pekin in the Royal Navy. Her long service life culminated in her retirement in 1974, when she was sold to Jack Aron for the South Street Seaport Museum in New York City. For nearly four decades, she remained as a museum ship, although plans for her future involved potential scrapping or transfer back to Germany. In 2015, the Maritim Foundation purchased Peking with the intention of integrating her into the German Port Museum in Hamburg. She was transported across the Atlantic in 2017, followed by extensive refurbishment work at Peters Werft, including structural repairs, rigging review, and hull restoration. The project, costing approximately €38 million, culminated in her relaunch in 2018. As of 2020, Peking is part of the German Port Museum, representing a treasured link to maritime history and the era of iron-hulled sailing ships.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.