EIDSVOLD

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EIDSVOLD

Post by shipstamps » Mon Sep 15, 2008 11:45 pm



Built as a cargo vessel under yard No 480 by Götaverken A/B, Gothenburg, Sweden for Skibs A/S Eidsiva (S. Ditlev-Simonsen & Co.), Oslo.
02 June 1934 Launched under the name EIDSVOLD.
Tonnage 4.184 gross, 6.900 dwt., dim. 397 x 55.3 x 24.6ft.
Powered by a diesel engine ?hp, speed 12 knots, one screw.
Crew 33.

More info on the ship and war service http://www.warsailors.com/singleships/eidsvold.html

On 20 January 1942 she was at Christmas Island, partly loaded with 3.700 tons phosphates bound for Fremantle, Australia, when a sudden storm came up. She proceeded to sea and dropped anchor off MARGARET Beach. There she waited for the weather to improve, before completing loading.
At that time she was under command of Capt. Samuel Fridvold.
While outside the harbour she was torpedoed by the Japanese submarine I 159 under command of Yoshimatsu, and broken in two upon impact. The crew of 31 was saved.
The vessel drifted out of the Flying Fish Cove along the north coast of the island and grounded about two miles off the torpedoing position. The wreckage could still be seen in the 1950s, but later the heavy swell took their toll and broke the wreck up even more.

The crew of 31 managed to land, which was only about 500 meters away. It turned out that the First Engineer was missing, so the Captain and 2 men immediately rowed back to the ship and found hem safe and sound. In the course of the following night EIDSVOLD broke completely in two, and as both parts drifted towards the shore and settled in shallow waters her crew made many trips back and forth saving equipment, food, clothing, even the radio station was disassembled and taken ashore, where it was used by the inhabitants of Christmas Island.
After 16 days on Christmas Island the 31 crew was picked up on 6 February by the British cruiser HMS DURBAN and taken to Batavia, where they waited for 10 days for further transport.
The Australian passenger vessel MARELLA arrived from Singapore with 400 passengers (evacuees?).
Her Malayan crew had apparently had enough of the war at sea and left the ship soon after arrival, thereby leaving the MARELLA in need of crew.
The entire crew from EIDSVOLD was sent aboard to be in charge of the lifeboats in case something should happen to the ship, and arrived on 21 March at Sydney.

Source: http://www.miramarshipindex.org.nz/ship/show/249289

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