The last vessel along the quayside is the Oranjefontein of the Holland Africa Line of Amsterdam. Built in 1940 by P. Smit, Jr., at Rotterdam, she was taken to Kid by the Germans in 1941 for service as an officers' recreation ship. On the Allies' entry into that port she was found intact and was taken to Newcastle to be refitted, making her maiden voyage as a troopship to the Pacific theatre of operations.
Her first voyage as a passenger liner for her owners was towards the end of April 1946 when she carried 200 passengers to Cape Town. The Oranjefontein is a vessel of 10,547 gross tons on dimensions of 527 ft. x 63 ft. x 33 ft. Her engines are Sulzer-type oil engines driving twin screws providing a speed of 17 knots. She has accommodation for 126 first-class and 49 tourist passengers, on the company's Amsterdam-Southampton-South and East Africa service.
Sea Breezes Sept 1961
Mozambique SG510
Further information from Auke Palmhof:
Built as a passenger-cargo vessel under yard No532 by the yard of P.Smith Jr. Rotterdam for the N.V. Vereenigde Nederlandse Scheepvaart Mij (VNS), s’Gravenhage, Netherlands.
21 March 1940 launched as the ORANJEFONTEIN.
Tonnage 10.574 grt, 9,993 dwt. Dim. 160.7 x 19.2m.
Powered by 2 B&W diesel engines 12,000 shp, twin shafts, speed 17.5 knots.
Accommodation for 100 first class and 60 tourist class passengers.
During a Allied bombing raid on 28 August 1940 on Rotterdam was she damaged when alongside in the Waalhaven
20 December 1940 delivered to owners.
17 March 1941seized by the German Navy and renamed 1942 in PIONEER.
She was managed by the German-Africa Lines in Hamburg.
First used as target ship by the German air force, then used as target ship by the 27 Flotilla U-boats.
Early 1945 she took part in the evacuation from German forces and civilians from the eastern German territories to Germany.
May 1945 found back in Kiel in almost undamaged condition, at that time she was used as recreation ship for the German Navy.
12 July 1945 transferred to the Dutch Government, where after she was taken to Newcastle for a refit.
12 September 1945 she left Newcastle under the name ORANJEFONTEIN and owned again by the VNS bound for the Dutch East Indies, to take Dutch refugees from Indie to the Netherlands.
During the winter of 1945-1946 used in the trade where she was built for from the Netherlands to South Africa and Mozambique.
After 1946 her passenger accommodation increased to 160 first and 60 tourist passengers.
She sailed hereafter without many problems till she in 1967 was taken out of the service.
11August 1967 under the name FONTEIN she arrived Bilbao, Spain where she was scrapped by Hierros Arbulu SA.
Source: various Dutch books.