SS Port Nicholson (1918)

Last updated

SS PORT NICHOLSON of London (8798867211).jpg
History
Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svgUnited Kingdom
NamePort Nicholson
Namesakehistorical name for Wellington Harbour
Owner Port Line
Port of registry London
Builder Hawthorn, Leslie & Co, Hebburn
Yard number487
LaunchedNovember 1918
Completed13 May 1919
Identification
FateSunk 16 June 1942
General characteristics
Type refrigerated cargo ship
Tonnage8,402  GRT, 5,338  NRT
Length481.2 ft (146.7 m)
Beam62.3 ft (19.0 m)
Draught30 ft 0 in (9.14 m)
Depth33.0 ft (10.1 m)
Installed power967 NHP
Propulsion
  • 4 × steam turbines SR geared
  • 2 × screw propellers
Speed14  kn (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Capacity328,592 cubic feet (9,304.7 m3) refrigerated

SS Port Nicholson was a British refrigerated cargo ship owned by the Port Line. She entered service shortly after the First World War and was sunk by a German U-boat in the Second World War. Her wreck has subsequently been discovered, attracting attention with claims that she was carrying a large cargo of platinum ingots and other precious metals when she was sunk.

Contents

Description

Port Nicholson was 481.2 ft (146.67 m) long, with a beam of 62.3 feet (18.99 m). She had a depth of 33.0 ft (10.06 m) and a draught of 30 feet 1 inch (9.17 m). She was assessed as 8,402  GRT, 5,338  NRT. She was propelled by four steam turbines of 967 nhp, single-reduction geared, driving twin screws. The turbines were built by Hawthorn Leslie, [1] they could propel her at 14 knots (26 km/h). [2]

Port Nicholson was a refrigerated cargo ship. She had 328,598 cubic feet (9,304.9 m3) of refrigerated cargo space. There were two refrigerating machines. Coolant was brine and the cargo holds were insulated with cork. [3]

Construction and early years

Hawthorn, Leslie and Company built Port Nicholson at its Hebburn yard. She was launched in November 1918 and completed on 13 May 1919. Her owners were Commonwealth and Dominion Line, [2] which registered her in London. Her United Kingdom official number was 143508 and her code letters were JWKB. [1] By 1930 her call sign was GRST. [4]

She made sailings between the United Kingdom, and Australia and New Zealand. [5] During her service life, she was involved in a number of incidents. On 23 October 1924, [6] she ran aground at Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain and was holed. [7] She was refloated on 6 November. [6] Port Nicholson was twice damaged by fire. The first incident occurred while en route to New Zealand in 1928, when her cargo caught fire, forcing her to put into Pago Pago. [5] The second occurred while moored in Melbourne in 1937, when the Government Cool Stores caught fire. Port Nicholson was adjacent to the wharves at the time, and had a cargo of cattle on board. Water was sprayed onto the livestock, saving them. [5] In 1937 the Commonwealth and Dominion Line was re-branded the Port Line. [2] Port Nicholson was involved in another accident on 9 June 1938, when she collided with and sank the tugboat Ocean Cock, with the loss of four lives. [5]

Final voyage and sinking

Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
class=notpageimage|
Location where Port Nicholson was torpedoed and sunk off Massachusetts, United States.

With the outbreak of the Second World War, Port Nicholson remained in service, transporting cargoes around the globe. Her last voyage, in 1942, took her from Avonmouth across the Atlantic to Halifax, via Barry. She was at Halifax on 14 June 1942, and left for Wellington, with an intended call at New York City and a transit of the Panama Canal. [8] She formed part of convoy XB 25, one of the coastal convoy routes, that ran between Halifax Harbour and Boston. She was under the command of her master, Harold Charles Jeffrey, and was carrying a cargo of 1,600 tons of automobile parts and 4,000 tons of military stores. [8]

The convoy was tracked by the German submarine U-87, commanded by Joachim Berger. At 4.17 hours on the morning of 16 June 1942 he fired a torpedo at the convoy, which was then 100 miles (160 km) off Portland, Maine. He fired a second torpedo a minute later, but the gale conditions at the time prevented him from observing the results accurately, and he recorded that while one torpedo had hit a ship, the other seemed to have missed. [8] In fact, both torpedoes struck Port Nicholson, the first in the engine room, the second in the stern. Two men in the engine room (7th Engineer William McGrery and Greaser Willian John) were killed immediately, and as Port Nicholson began to settle by the stern, the remaining crew abandoned ship and were picked up by the Royal Canadian Navy corvette HMCS Nanaimo.

Port Nicholson did not sink immediately, and by dawn was still afloat. The following is taken from a letter dated 3 July 1947 from J. R. Roper, Director, Port Line Ltd, to Mrs. Irene Munday, widow of the ship's Chief Officer: "Very early the next morning the cutter from this ship [i.e. HMCS Nanaimo] with a party of eight put off to investigate the possibilities of towing your husband's ship, which was still afloat. The party consisted of Captain Jeffrey [the master], your husband [Chief Officer Philip Munday], and the 1st Lieutenant [Lieutenant John Molson Walkley] and five ratings of HMS... [sic: i.e. Nanaimo]. They all boarded the disabled ship and signalled that everything seemed to be all right. However, 3/4 of an hour later the vessel's stern was seen to be settling rapidly, and the eight men made for the cutter, which unfortunately was unable to get clear in time, and was dragged under by the sinking ship. Only a matter of seconds elapsed between the time the stern commenced settling and the ship finally disappeared. Three of the men were seen to be clinging to a raft and a fourth swimming in the water. A thorough search was made for a considerable while but no trace of any more survivors was seen..." Nanaimo rescued the two surviving ratings, and landed survivors from Port Nicholson at Boston. [8]

Rediscovery

It was reported that the wreck of Port Nicholson was discovered in 2008 by Greg Brooks, of the US company Sub Sea Research, but the discovery was kept secret until February 2012. [9] Brooks at first claimed to be investigating an unidentified vessel, codenamed Blue Baron, that lay off the coast of Guyana in South America. [10] This was an attempt to throw fellow treasure seekers off the trail, as Brooks believed that Port Nicholson was carrying a valuable cargo of platinum, gold, and industrial diamonds at the time of her sinking, payment from the Soviet Union for material delivered under lend-lease, which would now be worth around £2 billion. He reported that two Soviet envoys accompanied the ship, and that the Soviet government reimbursed the US government for the lost payment. [9] The salvors have claimed that underwater exploration of the wreck has revealed boxes too heavy to lift, that are supposed to contain the platinum ingots. The British, US and Russian governments may make claims over the cargo should anything of serious value be discovered. [9] Several maritime and Second World War historians have cast doubts over whether the ship was carrying such a precious cargo, citing the lack of documentation, and that had Port Nicholson been carrying such a cargo, she may have been partly salvaged already. [11]

It was reported in December 2013 that Brooks had put his vessel Sea Hunter up for sale and laid off most of his staff and crew. He is also being sued by a group of investors who had provided over $8 million in financing, on the grounds of fraud and misrepresentation of the actual existence of any platinum or other valuable cargo. Several leading wreck salvage experts, including Robert Marx, had gone on record questioning Brooks' claim of such cargo and laying out a long list of false claims of success in treasure hunting going back for decades. [10] In April 2015, Brooks' rights to Port Nicholson were dismissed with prejudice, preventing him from pursuing any further salvage of the shipwreck. The order also required him to return six items he had recovered. Federal investigators have investigated allegations that Brooks defrauded investors. [12]

On 7 December 2018, the FBI has said it is no longer pursuing the case and there is a five-year statute of limitations on federal fraud cases.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

SS <i>Ceramic</i>

SS Ceramic was a steam ocean liner built in Belfast for White Star Line in 1912–13 and operated on the Liverpool – Australia route. Ceramic was the largest ship serving the route until P&O introduced RMS Mooltan in 1923.

SS <i>Maori</i> (1893) Shoreline historical wreck in Leeugat Bay on the Cape Peninsula west coast

Maori was a British refrigerated cargo steamship built in 1893 by C.S. Swan & Hunter of Wallsend-on-Tyne for Shaw, Saville & Albion Co. of London with intention of transporting frozen meat and produce from Australia and New Zealand to the United Kingdom. The vessel stayed on this trade route through her entire career. In August 1909 while on one of her regular trips, she was wrecked on the coast of South Africa with the loss of thirty two of her crew.

SS Cambridge was a refrigerated steam cargo liner that was built in Germany for the Hamburg America Line. She was launched in 1916 as Vogtland, but after the 1919 Treaty of Versailles the United Kingdom took her as war reparations and sold her to the Federal Steam Navigation Company, who renamed her Cambridge. She operated between Britain and Australasia until 1940, when a German mine sank her off the coast of Australia.

SS Castilian was a British cargo steamship and is now a dangerous wreck in the Irish Sea off the coast of North Wales. She was built in 1919 to a standard First World War design. In 1943 while carrying munitions she struck rocks off The Skerries, Isle of Anglesey and sank.

SS <i>Soesterberg</i> Dutch cargo steamship

SS Soesterberg was a Dutch-owned cargo steamship that was built in Belgium in 1927 and sunk by a U-boat in 1940 in the Battle of the Atlantic.

SS Manistee was an Elders & Fyffes Ltd banana boat that was launched in 1920. She was one of a numerous class of similar banana boats built for Elders & Fyffes in the 1920s.

Cotati was a steam cargo ship built in 1918–1919 by Moore Shipbuilding and Drydock Company of Oakland for the United States Shipping Board (USSB) as part of the wartime shipbuilding program of the Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFC) to restore the nation's Merchant Marine. The vessel was briefly used for the first two years of her career to transport frozen meat between North and South America and Europe. The ship was subsequently laid up at the end of 1921 and remained part of the Reserve Fleet through the end of 1940. In January 1941 she was sold together with two other vessels to the New Zealand Shipping Co. and subsequently in 1942 was transferred to the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) and renamed Empire Avocet. The ship was torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-125 on 30 September 1942 on one of her regular wartime trips.

SS <i>Meriones</i>

SS Meriones was a Blue Funnel Line refrigerated cargo steamship. She was launched in 1921 on the River Tyne as one of a class of 11 ships to replace many of Blue Funnel's losses in the First World War.

Yelkenci was a 7,052 GRT refrigerated cargo ship which was built in 1943 for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) as Empire Camp. She was sold in 1946 and renamed Valacia. In 1951, she was sold and renamed New York City. A further sale in 1955 saw her renamed Loch Morar. A final sale to Turkish owners saw her renamed Yelkenci. She served with them until scrapped in 1971.

SS <i>Inkosi</i> (1937)

Inkosi was a 6,618 GRT refrigerated cargo liner which was built by Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson Ltd, Newcastle upon Tyne for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). She was hired by the Royal Navy in 1940 for use as an ocean boarding vessel, but was sunk in an air raid before she could be used for this purpose. The ship was salvaged, converted to a cargo ship and passed to the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT), who renamed her Empire Chivalry. In 1946 she was sold and renamed Planter. She served until 1958, when she was scrapped.

SS Canonesa was a refrigerated cargo steamship that was built in Ireland in 1920 and sunk by a u-boat in the Atlantic Ocean in 1940.

SS Robin Doncaster was a 7,101 GRT cargo liner that was built in 1940 as a Type C2-S cargo ship by Bethlehem Steel Co, Sparrows Point, Maryland, United States for the United States Maritime Commission (USMC). On completion in April 1941, she was transferred to the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) and renamed Empire Curlew. In 1942, she was transferred to the USMC, regaining her former name Robin Doncaster. She was rebuilt as a troop transport, and entered service with the War Shipping Administration in January 1944. She was returned to the USMC in April 1946 and was sold to Seas Shipping Co Inc in 1948. In 1957, she was sold to Isbrandtsen Lines and was renamed Flying Gull. Sold to American Export Lines in 1962, she served until she was scrapped in 1968.

Empire Engineer was a 5,358 GRT refrigerated cargo ship that was built in 1921 as Canadian Commander by Canadian Vickers Ltd, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She was sold to an Italian firm in 1932 and renamed Giaocchino Lauro. She was seized by the United Kingdom in 1940, passed to the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) and renamed Empire Engineer. She served until 4 February 1941 when she was torpedoed and sunk by U-123.

SS Hertford was a refrigerated cargo steamship that was launched in Germany in 1917, seized by the United Kingdom in 1920 as World War I reparations, and sunk by a U-boat in 1942 with the loss of four members of her crew.

SS Clan Macarthur was a British refrigerated cargo steamship. She was built for Cayzer, Irvine and Company's Clan Line Steamers Ltd as one of its Cameron-class steamships. She was launched in Greenock in 1936 and sunk in the Indian Ocean by enemy action in August 1943.

SS <i>Pennland</i>

SS Pennland was a transatlantic ocean liner that was launched as Pittsburgh in Ireland in 1920 and renamed Pennland in 1926. She had a succession of UK, German and Dutch owners and operators. In 1940 she was converted into a troopship.

Antinous was a Design 1015 ship steam cargo ship built in 1919–1920 by Guy M. Standifer Construction Company of Vancouver for the United States Shipping Board as part of the wartime shipbuilding program of the Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFC) to restore the nation's Merchant Marine. The vessel was chiefly employed on the Gulf to Europe routes throughout her career. In September 1942, while on a passage to British Guiana to load her cargo, she was torpedoed and sunk by German submarines operating at the time in the Caribbean.

MV <i>Waimarama</i>

MV Waimarama was a UK refrigerated cargo liner. She was built in Northern Ireland for Shaw, Savill & Albion Line and launched in 1938. She carried perishable foods, particularly meat, from New Zealand to the United Kingdom.

SS Huntingdon was a refrigerated steam cargo liner that was built in Germany in 1920 as Münsterland. The United Kingdom took her as war reparations and sold her to the Federal Steam Navigation Company, who renamed her Huntingdon. She operated between Britain and Australasia until 1941, when an Italian submarine sank her in the Atlantic Ocean.

HMS Crispin was a British cargo steamship that was launched in England in 1934 and operated by Alfred Booth and Company between Liverpool and the east coast of South America. In 1940 the British Admiralty requisitioned her and had her converted into an ocean boarding vessel. In 1941 a U-boat sank her in the Battle of the Atlantic, killing 20 of her crew.

References

  1. 1 2 "Steamers & Motorships". Lloyd's Register of Shipping (PDF). London: Lloyd's Register of Shipping. 1933. Retrieved 21 February 2012– via Southampton City Council.
  2. 1 2 3 "Port Nicholson". Tyne Built Ships. Shipping and Shipbuilding Research Trust. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
  3. ↑ "List of Vessels Fitted with Refrigerating Appliances". Lloyd's Register of Shipping (PDF). London: Lloyd's Register of Shipping. 1930. Retrieved 21 February 2012– via Southampton City Council.
  4. ↑ Mercantile Navy List. London. 1930. Retrieved 15 August 2022– via Crew List Index Project.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Commonwealth & Dominion Line - Port Line". red-duster.co.uk. Archived from the original on 22 January 2012. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
  6. 1 2 "Port Nicholson Refloated". The Times. No. 43803. 7 November 1924. p. 21.
  7. ↑ "Condition of the Port Nicholson". The Times. No. 43792. 25 October 1924. p. 19.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Helgason, Guðmundur. "Port Nicholson". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
  9. 1 2 3 Osborn, Andrew (2 February 2012). "£2 billion treasure chest of sunken Second World War British steamer 'discovered'". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 5 February 2012. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
  10. 1 2 Russell, Eric (30 December 2013). "Key investors lose faith in Gorham treasure hunter's big claims". Portland Press Herald.
  11. ↑ "British cast doubt on treasure find". Associated Press. 5 February 2012. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
  12. ↑ Fishell, Darren (1 April 2015). "Gorham treasure hunter loses rights to salvage S.S. Port Nicholson". Bangor Daily News. Bangor, Maine. Retrieved 12 May 2015.

Coordinates: 42°11′N69°25′W / 42.183°N 69.417°W / 42.183; -69.417

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.