MORE of the medieval Newport Ship will be transported away from the city for preservation today.

The fourth set of wooden parts will be taken by road from the Queensway Meadows Industrial Estate to the York Archaeological Trust after they were arranged by experts yesterday.

The oak will be freeze-dried for about a year after being kept in a liquid wax, polyethylene glycol (PEG). After that has been completed, there will be another two sets to preserve to finish the process.

The 15th century Spanish-built ship was found preserved in June 2002 on the west bank of the River Usk as land was cleared for the Riverfront Arts Centre.

Thousands of pieces that have already been treated are already stored in a controlled room, which is constantly kept at about 10ºC with a relative humidity of 54 per cent to prevent any moisture getting into them.

Ship curator Toby Jones said: “It is just like a museum environment in here. There are thousands [of pieces] already preserved and you imagine when it is all put together, it won’t even fit in this building.”

The 80-foot long ship was so well preserved when it was found that wood preserved by tar when it was sailing still oozed from it.

It would have transported between 200 and 250 tonnes of cargo and up to 30 people as it transported iron and wine, usually from Portugal to Bristol, Dr Jones said.

Every part of the ship is numbered from when it was dismantled – but the way in which the panels were placed in pools for preservation was unspecific.

Dr Jones said visitors will flock to see the ship once it is rebuilt.

“The Mary Rose is getting hundreds of thousands of people – and we should expect tens of thousands, if not more. We are so close to finishing it and we just need a home to display it.”

Once the panels are preserved it will take three people up to 18 months to piece back together.

The Friends of the Newport Ship will hold their next set of open days at the ship’s base in Spytty from Friday. It will open at 10.30am and last entry is at 4pm. The centre will open on Fridays and Saturdays from Friday, July 24.

The chairman of the Friends of the Newport Ship Phil Cox said: “We need volunteers to come and help and we need to public to come and visit. We need a concerted effort.”

For more information visit newportship.org.