The Mebo II was originally the Dutch freighter, "Silvretta," built in 1948 by De Groot en van Vliet, Slikkerveer

Slikkerveer

Slikkerveer is a village in the municipality of Ridderkerk, South Holland, the Netherlands. In 2004, 8550 people lived in Slikkerveer.It is located about 6 km eastsoutheast of the city of Rotterdam...

. It had a weight of 630 tons and a length of 186 feet. In 1969, it was bought by Edwin Bollier

Edwin Bollier

Edwin Bollier and his partner, Erwin Meister, founded Mebo Telecommunications AG in Zürich, Switzerland in 1969.-Radio Nordsee International:...

 and Erwin Meister

Erwin Meister

Erwin Meister is a Swiss businessman who, with his partner Edwin Bollier, formed the company Mebo Telecommunications in 1969. They bought a Dutch freighter, renamed it Mebo II, and converted it into an offshore radio station.-RNI:...

, renamed and converted into an offshore radio

Offshore radio

Offshore radio is radio broadcasting from ships or fixed maritime structures, usually in international waters. The claimed first wireless broadcast of music and speech for the purpose of entertainment was transmitted from a Royal Naval craft, the HMS Andromeda, in 1907...

 station at the same shipyard where it had been built. It was famous for its dramatic art nouveau

Art Nouveau

Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...

 color scheme.

From 1970-74, it broadcast as Radio Nordsee International

Radio North Sea International

Radio North Sea International also known as Radio Nordsee International in German and Radio Noordzee Internationaal in Dutch, was a European offshore radio station, run by the Swiss firm Mebo Telecommunications, jointly owned by Swiss engineer, Edwin Bollier, and his business partner, Erwin Meister...

 (RNI)

Radio North Sea International

Radio North Sea International also known as Radio Nordsee International in German and Radio Noordzee Internationaal in Dutch, was a European offshore radio station, run by the Swiss firm Mebo Telecommunications, jointly owned by Swiss engineer, Edwin Bollier, and his business partner, Erwin Meister...

) from international waters

International waters

The terms international waters or trans-boundary waters apply where any of the following types of bodies of water transcend international boundaries: oceans, large marine ecosystems, enclosed or semi-enclosed regional seas and estuaries, rivers, lakes, groundwater systems , and wetlands.Oceans,...

 four miles off Scheveningen, the Netherlands. Transmissions were on AM medium wave (max105kW), shortwave (2x10kW) and FM (1 kW).