Veteran ships of the world

[ombugge]

C-2 type Australian Reef, 10176 dwt.:

From my collection, Australian Reef in Montreal on July 21, 1967. Harry Stott photo.

Cisco Oct 14, 2024 13:52
Launched in 1942 as attack transport USS Comet. In 1946 to the United States Maritime Commision. 1948 sold to United States Lines for their East Coast North America / East Coast Australia service along with a number of her sisters. Renamed Pioneer Reef.
Mid 60s Farrell Lines took over the service, ships renamed with ‘Australian’ prefix. Renamed ‘Australian Reef’ in 1965. Scrapped 1970.

metropolis1210
Nov 5, 2024 11:50 (2 hours ago) • edited
She was turbine powered, consuming 45 tons of bunker C at 14 kts. No Greek shipowners were keen to tramp these types.

Source: https://www.shipspotting.com/photos/3769079?days=1&timestamp=1728663000&page=1&navList=mostPopular

Australian Reef (Freighter (C2-S-B1); built 1943, in Oakland, CA, USA; 6221 tons; naming history: Comet (U.S.S.) (1943); Pioneer Reef (1948); Australian Reef (1965); registration numbers: 244020 (US); AP.166 (US Navy))
Source: Shipindex.org

[ombugge]

A real veteran ship that is still in operation:

M/S Nya Skärgården, Jönköping. Photo: Bengt Oberger - Own work

M/S “Göteborg” leaving Gothenburg on her way to the archipelago,
May 30, 2023, Photo: [MKPhotography]

https://www.faktaomfartyg.se/nya_skargarden_1915.htmspotting.com/photos/gallery?user=176151

[ChaplainDarrell]

And now a liberty ship hatch costs about as much as an entire ship costs. Trying to imagine building a ship in 42 days. Is the Liemba the ship used to transport the Ark of the Covenant in Indiana Jone?

[ChaplainDarrell]

Don’t know if she made this thread or not but the Cuyahoga belongs here. I was permanent party at Yorktown Training Center and stood on her deck while we were doing some work on her. She was to OCS like the Eagle is to the Academy. She was rammed and sank by a freighter in 1978 with a lose of eleven crewmen.

[ombugge]

Quite a story:

The incident took place on October 20th, 1978, in the Chesapeake Bay, during a training voyage for Officer Candidates. Twenty-nine were aboard the vessel, including Officer Candidates and permanent crew. That evening a lookout spotted a navigation light on the horizon and reported it to the Commanding Officer who mistook the navigation light as a small fishing vessel traveling northbound. Instead the vessel was a much larger freighter, the 521 foot Santa Cruz II, traveling southbound. As a result of the misidentification, the Cuyahoga turned to port, placing the Cuyahoga in the path of the rapidly approaching Santa Cruz II. As the likelihood of collision became apparent, the Cuyahoga and Santa Cruz II attempted to take evasive actions; however, it was too late. The vessels collided, creating a hole in the Santa Cruz II and sinking the 125 foot Cuyahoga in less than two minutes. The Santa Cruz II rescued 18 survivors from the Cuyahoga and stayed on-scene until help arrived. The remaining 11 men were lost.

Source: https://www.cgaalumni.org/s/1043/uscga/index.aspx?sid=1043&gid=1&pgid=4724&cid=11020&ecid=11020&crid=0&calpgid=3134&calcid=6778

[ombugge]

A veteran ship that appears on the “Norwegian Shipping Calendar 2025”:

She was a regular on the Great Lakes in the 1960s, chartered by Orient Mid-East Line.
Run aground just outside the harbour of Chicago in 1963 and was among the last ships to get out that autumn.
Source: Redirecting...
Being pull off after grounding in Chicago:

DRA43819600220003 HERMION trekkes av grunnen. Bilde via Per Sundfær.

M/S Hermion in Moji, Japan 1969.

Vancouver, December 2,1967, City of Vancouver Archives Reference code CVA 447-5011 Photo by Walter E. Frost

M/V Hermion: skipshistorie

PS> The calendar can be ordered at:

Norwegian Shipping Calendar 2025 - VORMEDAL FORLAG

[ChaplainDarrell]

The old buck-and-a-quarters were one of the best ships the Coast Guard ever had. For Sale: 125-Foot Former Coast Guard Cutter, Ready To Cruise, $90,000 - PassageMaker

[ombugge]

Royal Norwegian Navy’s LCT KNM Maursund. “The ship that grounded on every trip”:

Loading reindeer to be shipped from Alta to Stjernøya and Sørøya, their summer feeding ground.
The crew had to help the Sami herd the animals on board. We could have approx. 700 reindeer on board each trip. Flushed the deck afterwards by putting the bow ramp into the sea at low speed.
I was an artilleryman, 80-81, and more or less permanent helmsman on board.

Text and Photo: Roar Høifødt

Here is a special picture of L4504 KNM Maursund, before conversion. In the summer of 1993, she had a transport assignment to England, and is here on a sandy bottom, in the mouth of the Thames, Southend. Photo: Tor Melsbø

It is still going on every spring and autumn:

Reindeer on their way to winter grazing on the mainland after spending the summer on an island on the coast of Finnmark. Photo: Ina Therese Sara.
Source: Tusenvis av reinsdyr tar nå ferge hjem etter sommerbeite - Landbruksdirektoratet

PS> This is “KNM Maursund” after refit in 1993. (Now in civilian ownership):
KNM “Maursund” was one of the three Norwegian landing craft built around 1972. In 1993 it was rebuilt, and later sold for civilian use in 2003.** **It is Seaworks A/S in Harstad that owns “Maursund”, and it is used, among other things, a. for transporting reindeer to and from the islands in Finnmark, as well as emergency vessels in oil spills. Many who served in Northern Norway in their first service will probably remember these vessels, then in a slightly different version. They were rebuilt in 1996.
Photo of “Maursund” in Kr.sund:.

Source: Ex landgangsfartøy

[ombugge]

Veteran ship or an AI creation?:

Source: Redirecting...
See comments.

What says the experts on US historical vessels on this forum?

[ombugge]

The passenger ship “Venus”, blt. 1931, broken up in 1968.
She sailed on the route between Bergen - Stavanger and Newcastle, except when she was commandeered by the Germans during WWII.
Later also on cruise to Madeira and the Canary Isle,

Here is a video about this famous ship, known as “Queen of North Sea” and the pride of Bergen: (Norwegian with English subtitles)

MS Venus, Nordsjøens dronning.

M/S Venus: skipshistorie

Late at night on Jan. 19-1937 Venus was en route to Newcastle in a storm when an SOS was heard from the cargo vessel Trym , which was en route from Kirkenes to Middlesbrough. Venus went to assist and remained standing by Trym , with the winds increasing to hurricane force. Early in the morning of the 21st Venus launched a lifeboat with 9 volunteers under the leadership of 2nd Mate Rolf Andreassen. In a spectacular rescue operation, in which Trym 's Ordianry Seaman Perry Opsahl jumped into the wild seas with a line to the lifeboat, 6 of Trym 's complement were rescued over to Venus . In a last effort to save the others, Captain Dreyer chose to maneuver Venus ’ bow close to Trym so that those still on board could get across. The success of this rescue operation became headlines in all of Europe’s newspapers. In the same hurricane the company’s Leda saved the crew from the cargo vessel Karmt of Haugesund, while Jupiter saved the crew from Weni of Stavanger, and Lyra saved the crew from the Swedish fishing vessel Nordland .

Venus and Trym . Picture received from Jan Goedhart, Holland (painting by Frank Mason R.A.).

Source: Norwegian Homefleet WW II - M/S Venus

[ombugge]

Once upon a time ships were launched like this:

M/S " SANCT SVITHUN " launching. - Hurtigruten ship - delivered 1949 - stack discharge May 6, 1950 - 450 passenger capacity and 17 knots speed - Had a sad fate, but that’s another story - from my collection. Torleif Andersen Heggøy

She sunk in 1962 under tragic circumstances:
https://www.captainsvoyage.com/hurtigruten/story-of-sanct-svithun.html

[ombugge]

M/S Thorcarrier, blt. 1959:

https://skipshistorie.net/Tramp%20og%20linje/Tekster/LTK00119591300000%20THORSCARRIER.htm

[ombugge]

Being restored for the second time, D/S Stavenes:

D/S Stavenes is a steamship that was built for Nordre Bergenhus Amts Dampskibe in 1904. The ship was used in local traffic in Indre Sogn .
Stavenes was rebuilt in 1934. After the reconstruction, the vessel could take 7–8 cars.
In 1954, the ship was upgraded to a motor ship at Frydenbø Slipp & Mekaniske Verksted. The steam engine and boiler were replaced by a British diesel engine built in 1942. This war-built engine proved to be unreliable, and was replaced with a BMV diesel engine in 1956.
In 2010 a new coal-fired steam engine was purchased, and work on the hull and interior continued.
Today work to restore the Post Office onboard is ongoing. Funds are sought for this purpose by, among other things, selling drawings of the vessel by Tommy Vågen:

This drawing was sold on auction for NOK 11500

The ship is owned as of 2020 by the Veteranskibslaget Stavenes in Sogndal .

As she looked in 1939:

She spent the years from 1971 - 1919 as a private yacht in Britain:

And was found in Liverpool in this condition:

In 1991 she was brought back to Norway for restauration by the Veteran Ship Association Stavenes with support from among others, the Norwegian Ministry of Cultural Heritage , the Cultural Heritage Fund and Vestland County Municipality

.

[ombugge]

Veteran ferry M/F Urnes (blt. 1969):

Now in winter layup:

M/F Urnes moored in Solvoren. Photo: Karl Johan Ølnes

Photo: Finn-Ole Koch

Still in service between Solvoren and Urnes, crossing Lusterfjorden, an arm of Sognefjorden:

MF Urnes

[ombugge]

Those were the days when ships looked like this:

M/V SALLAND - IMO 7348827, blt 1974 in Rostock.

Source: https://www.shipspotting.com/photos/3807051?utm_source=brevo&utm_campaign=SSCOM%20March%202025&utm_medium=email

BalticShipping.com

[AKBJR]

There was a Venezuelan line with freighters even more massive than that, and outfitted with Stülcken derricks, which used to dock at Governor Nicholls Wharf in New Orleans. Anyone recall the name of the line? ECVN maybe?

[ombugge]

I have posted about this old car ferry here before, but now she is in the local news again because she need more volunteers to keep her operational and in class.
:

MS “Bilfergen” was built by Johan T Nerhus in Ølve in Hardanger in 1921.
There is also a change in the management of the support group

New chairman in place

The good old “Bilfergen” is an adornment for the city and the inner harbor. Unfortunately, most people take it for granted. But historic vessels don’t take care of themselves.
At the last general meeting, Capt. Amund Halsebakke stepped down as chairman of the board. He will be 88 on April 1st, and that is no joke.
Captain Halsebakke hands over leadership responsibility for the “Car Ferry” to engineer Hjelm who calls for more help.

Flag Captain Amund Halsebakke on his way ashore with the extended passenger certificate. The ship’s inspection requires that the propeller shaft be COMPLETELY removed for inspection measurement this spring.Photo: Bjorn Halvorsen

The “car ferry”'s faithful servant in the engine room, Bjørn Hjelm, will now ensure the progress:

Engineer Bjørn Hjelm takes care of the over 100-year-old engine as if it were his own. Photo: Marius Simensen

– The situation doesn’t look very bright, as we lack both people and funds to run the “Bilfergen”. But we agreed to try a little more, says Hjelm.
Halsebakke is of course still involved and available for “consultative tasks”. The board otherwise consists of deputy chairman Sindre Furuli, Frank Kerak, Inge Nupen and Rolf Juliebø. Deputies Finn Gjørtz and Amund Halsebakke.
– We lost the certificate for 42 passengers because we did not complete the five-year classification in time, so now we can only take twelve people until we can finance the spring release. Fortunately, we have good supporters in Bunker Oil, Servitech, Vegsund Slipp and the Ålesund Arbeiderparti, says newly elected chairman Bjørn Hjelm.
– My sincere wish is that we can get some new helpers. Especially mates, skippers and those who would like to give us a hand in running the café. We can’t do all this alone, says Hjelm.

All friends of veteran vessels know that a very real alternative is that Ålesund loses the “Bilfergen” (“Car Ferry”) to Kristiansund. Once and for all. Around the Mellemverftet there is both the competence and the courage that the boat deeply deserves.
But that would be a major defeat for Sunnmøre’s museum operations.

Source: Ny styreleder på plass - smp.no
(Google translation)

MF Bilfergen vs. a modern car ferry:

MF Bilfergen met the LNG powered ferry “Bergensfjord” at Halhjem.

[ombugge]

Live fish carrier Tonny northbound in Tromsøsundet this afternoon:

Photo: Asimut III

Built as patrol vessel NN.02 KREBS at Moss Værft & Dokk, Moss for Die Deutsche Kriegsmarine in 1942

She has gone thru many conversions in her long existence:

• Bombed by alled air crafts 17/07 on Lopphavet near Hammerfest. Beached.
• The wreck taken over in May by Den norske Stat. Refloated and repaired. Renamed KREPS in.1945.
• Converted to whale catcher “Suderøy X” in 1948.
  
  
  
  HAU20319480120001 SUDERØY X. Photo via https://www.facebook.com/260547403966084/photos.
• Sold to breaker in 1960, Deck house and machinery removed.
• Sold to to Ole Torrissen & Sønner in 1961. Converted to a motor trawler.
• Lengthened in 1968. New dim.: Loa: 1152,0’-Lbp: 144,2’-B: 25,2’-D: 15’ 0’’
• Converted to Live fish carrier in 2000. New tonnage: 499 grt, 149 nrt.
• Sold to Tonny A/S, Sævelandsvik/Åkrehamn. Renamed TONNYin 2007
  Still in active service per today.
  Source: skipshistorie

[ombugge]

“Cape Race” on the northbound in Karmsundet. Former Canadian trawler converted for expedition cruises.

Photo: Arild B.

All about the MS Cape Race

PS> Passing Ålesund at this time. Bound for Bodø via inner fairway.
Final destination probably Svalbard for the summer season cruising there.

[ombugge]

This 40-year old short sea ship is still serving a regular service between NW European ports and ports along the Norwegian west and northern coasts:

“Scan Fjell” northbound in Karmsundet. Photo: Arild B. via NSF

Scan Fjell