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M/S Cypria To Cypria on the "Ships starting with C" page. Owner: A/S D/S Hassel Delivered from Burmeister & Wain, Copenhagen (585) on Apr. 22-1931 as Cypria to A/S D/S Hassel (A/S Rederiet Odfjell), Bergen. 379.4' x 54.2' x 24', two 6 cyl. DM (B & W), 2200 bhp. 1st Mate: Sven Svensen, paid off in Baltimore in Nov.-1942, and was replaced by Jacob Olsen. 2nd Mate: Olav Tufta had signed on as ordinary seaman in Oct.-1936. Was 3rd mate from Febr.-1937 till June-1938, 2nd mate from June-1938 till May-1942, at which time he paid off. Her voyages are listed on these original images from the Norwegian National Archives: Please compare the above voyages with Arnold Hague's Voyage Record below.
(Received from Don Kindell - His source: The late Arnold Hague's database). Follow the convoy links provided for more information on each. Errors may exist, and several voyages are missing. See also the narrative further down on this page.
What follows is a translated summary of a document received from Tor Leiv Tørvik, Norway, who found it in a company newsletter from 1967. It's an excerpt from the captains own report. (The fact that some of the dates are a little different in the captain's report, when compared to the Voyage Record and documents from the Norwegian archives, could simply mean that a different time zone has been used).
Cypria departed Sines, Portugal on Apr. 5-1940 for Wilmington and New York, arriving Wilmington on Apr. 18 where some of her cargo was unloaded before she continued to New York on Apr. 23 to unload the rest of her cargo. She subsequently made 2 more voyages between U.S. and Portugal, before she was returned from Faber Line on Aug. 13-1940 (I assume she must have been on charter to this line). She then loaded 7000 tons of cargo (incl. copper bars) in New York from Aug. 15 till Aug. 22 and unloaded this in Yokohama from Oct. 5 till Oct. 17, before proceeding to Vizagapatam, India where she took on board 7000 tons of manganese ore for Baltimore, arriving Jan. 4-1941 via Capetown. She was subsequently taken over by the Ministry of War Transport, whereupon she was docked in New York. At the same time armament was installed. She now loaded war materials, departing(? see Page 1) Halifax on Jan. 27-1941 for Suez, via Capetown. After her cargo had been discharged in Suez between Apr 7 and Apr. 29 she took on board a cargo of sugar at Mauritius May 20-May 23, then proceeded to Hull via Capetown and Halifax (Convoy HX 141), with arrival Hull Aug. 14. While there, some improvements were made to her armament. She had to endure several air attacks, but was not harmed. After having loaded war materials and ammunition, as well as quite a bit of deck cargo, including 2 large locomotives, she left Hull on Sept. 8, later joining Convoy OS 6 from Oban to Freetown (ref. link provided in the table above - convoy originated in Liverpool on Sept. 12, arrived Freetown on Oct. 3 and also included the Norwegian Vinga, which was bombed and damaged, follow the link for details); Cypria also stopped by Capetown and Aden, arriving Suez on Nov. 16. Cargo was discharged at Port Said from Nov. 17 till Nov. 30, before she headed to Calcutta, via Aden and Colombo, with arrival Calcutta on Dec. 25.
Having loaded, among other things, pig iron, cotton and jute in Calcutta, she left again on Jan. 6-1942 for Madras, where groundnuts in sacks were taken on board. She then headed to Colombo for tea and bunkers, departing again on Jan. 16, arriving Liverpool on March 27 (via Durban and Freetown) where her cargo was discharged before she was docked (Cypria had arrived England with Convoy SL 102, which left Freetown on March 4 and arrived Liverpool on the 26th - again, ref. external link provided within the Voyage Record. The Norwegian Brønnøy, Belnor and Velox also took part). Her next voyage, which started from Liverpool on Apr. 23, took her to New York, with arrival May 7. This voyage had been made with Convoy ON 89*, together with the Norwegian Brønnøy, Haakon Hauan, Hamlet, Nueva Granada, Pan Aruba, Samuel Bakke and Torvanger. Cypria left New York again on May 22 for Egypt, via Capetown and Aden, with 1500 tons coal and misc. general cargo, as well as war materials, including vehicles and aircraft crates on deck. She arrived Suez on July 25 where she started to unload her cargo. The captain says they endured a lot of air attacks while there, but again escaped unharmed. She left Suez on Aug. 4 for Safaga where her coal was discharged. While there, several crew members contracted Dysentery and 6 men had to be admitted to a hospital, among them Chief Engineer Corneliussen, who died on Aug. 12-1942, and Boatswain Ole Stebekk, who died Aug. 16. On Aug. 21 she left for Port Sudan and took on board 1500 tons chrome ore, then headed to Aden for bunkers. On Aug. 30 a new chief engineer signed on, namely Arne Berntsen, who had previously served on M/S Hav. Cypria left Aden on Aug. 31, and via Capetown, the Magellan Straits and the Panama Canal (passed Oct. 31), she arrived New York on Nov. 17 (see convoy information in Voyage Record), then on to Baltimore Nov. 19. After having unloaded her cargo there, she went into drydock for misc. repairs, before cargo was again loaded (for Silver Line). This mostly consisted of food stuffs, 1200 tons beer, railway tracks and large tanks as deck cargo. On Dec. 8 she departed for the Persian Gulf in convoys via Norfolk-NewYork-Guantanamo-Colon (Convoy NG 329 - link in table above). The Panama Canal was passed on Dec. 25/26, then via Cape Horn, she arrived Durban on Febr. 4-1943 for routing orders, anchoring off Shat el Arab on March 8.
On March 21-1943 she left for Basra with arrival March 24(?-compare w/archive document), and after having discharged she proceeded to Karachi on Apr. 12, with arrival Apr. 24 (via Bandar Abbas). She now took on board a cargo in Bedi Bundar for Anchor Line on Apr. 27, and in Navalakhi on May 1, arriving Bombay on May 3. Departed Bombay alone on May 8 with a cargo of ground nuts, cotton, pig iron and misc general cargo. Her destination was Liverpool, via Durban, Capetown, Freetown (July 5- July13), convoy from the latter to Liverpool, arriving Aug. 4. Together with Norma and Star, she had been in Convoy SL 133/MKS 18, the SL section of which had left Freetown on July 13 and joined up with the MKS portion* (from Gibraltar) on the 26th. Her voyage information is given as Bombay/Bedi Bundar/Navalakhi for Mersey, cargo of manganese ore, cotton and wool, station 122 (Mike Holdoway, the webmaster of the SL Convoys site, has told me that her exact cargo on this voyage was: Groundnuts 1,300 tons, Cotton Waste etc 1,102 tons, Manganese Ore 1,000 tons, Cotton 560 tons, Seeds 800 tons, Kyanite Ore 500 tons, Hemp 156 tons, French Chalk 120 tons, Myrabolans 100 tons, Gum 86 tons, Cotton Rags 74 tons, Spice 73 tons, Government Cargo 71 tons, Wool 45 tons, Sundries 125 tons). Her cargo was now discharged, whereupon she was docked. At this time cabins were added on her boat deck for 10 gunners. The cement blocks around her wheelhouse and charthouse were replaced by asphalt ones, and misc. improvements to her armament were also made, before she proceeded to Halifax on Aug. 27, joining Convoy ON 199*, together with Haakon Hauan (returned), Høyanger, Kaldfonn, Kronprinsessen, Molda, Norma, Solsten, Spinanger and Stiklestad. Cypria's final destination was St. John, N.B., where she arrived from Halifax on Sept. 12. Having loaded steel and newsprint she left for Manchester on Sept. 25, via Halifax for convoy Sept. 30, and arrived Manchester on Oct. 16. This voyage had been made in Convoy HX 259, which originated in New York on Sept. 28 and ended in Liverpool on Oct. 13, but Cypria had joined from Halifax, as mentioned. This convoy is not yet available among the HX convoys included on my website, but will be added - see ships in all HX convoys. Bañaderos, Emma Bakke, Pan Scandia (returned), Reinholt and Velma are also listed. Having discharged her cargo, Cypria left the U.K. again on Oct. 30 for New York for orders, arriving Nov. 16, having sailed in Convoy ON 209*, which also included the Norwegian Haakon Hauan, Ivaran, Laurits Swenson (Commodore Vessel) and Norsol. Cypria subsequently continued to Baltimore, remaining there for quite a long time - again, see Page 3.
Cypria left Baltimore on Jan. 7-1944 for Philadelphia in order to load misc. war materials, again with a lot of deck cargo. She left for India on Jan. 24, this time through the Mediterranean, and arrived Port Said on March 1, Bombay on March 18, where her cargo was discharged. 1000 tons of general cargo was subsequently loaded before she departed for Mauritius on Apr. 4, arriving Apr. 16. Having discharged her cargo, she loaded sugar and left for Egypt on May 4, arriving Alexandria on May 26, discharged her cargo and left on June 1, arrived Suez on June 3, loaded about 2000 tons asphalt and other oil products, as well as ammunition and misc. military equipment, with a mobile newspaper press on deck, then departed on June 7 for Mombasa (via Aden for convoy - see Voyage Record above), arriving June 28. Cargo was unloaded there, then she took on board about 1000 tons cargo for Durban, mostly soda and coffee, left July 2 and arrived Durban on July 11, unloaded, then went into dock again for misc. work, including inspection of her propeller, which had been damaged in the Suez Canal. With a cargo of sugar, she departed for the Persian Gulf on July 27, arrived Basra on Aug. 18, discharged the sugar, then loaded railroad cars. The captain says it was very hot, with temperatures up to 114° F. On Aug. 23 she was ready to leave for Karachi (compare w/Page 4), where she arrived Aug. 29, unloaded the railroad cars, then continued to South America for orders on Sept. 3, stopping at Capetown from Sept. 24 till Sept. 26 for routing instruction and supplies. In Rio de Janeiro she loaded cargo from Oct. 12 to Oct. 21, in Paranagua from Oct. 23 to Oct. 27 and in Santos from Oct. 29 to Nov. 3 - lumber, cotton, leather, starch and other general. Arrived Manchester on Dec. 6, having stopped at Dakar for bunkers on Nov. 17. A. Hague has included her in Convoy SL 177, which originated in Freetown on Nov. 15 and joined up with Convoy MKS 68* from Gibraltar on the 26th, the combined convoy arriving Liverpool on Dec. 5 (according to the archive document, Cypria had started out from Dakar on Nov. 18). Ref. links in the table above; Novasli and Thalatta are also named in the combinded convoy. After her cargo had been unloaded (presumably in Manchester) she went into drydock where her wheel and propeller were repaired.
Completed Jan. 15-1945, left Manchester on Jan. 17, delayed at Belfast due to fog, but eventually left in convoy for Halifax on Jan. 27, arriving Febr. 10. According to A. Hague, she had initially started out in Convoy ON 279, but returned to port (Belfast Lough), later joining Convoy ON 281* from Belfast Lough, again in the company of other Norwegian ships, namely Brasil, Havprins, Tai Shan and Thorhild, as well as the Panamanian Norlys, which had Norwegian managers and is included under the N's of this website. Cypria subsequently continued in a coastal convoy from Halifax to Digby, N.S. where her ballast was unloaded before she proceeded to St. John, N.B. for repairs of misc. damages received during the Atlantic crossing. A cargo of grain was now loaded for the Middle East, departing St. John on March 10, arriving Palermo on Apr. 6, via New York for convoy March 12-March 18 (UGS 81), and via Bizerta Apr. 5. Half of her cargo was discharged at Palermo, while the other half was unloaded in Catania from Apr. 10 to Apr. 19. She now proceeded to Casablanca to load phosphates Apr. 24-Apr. 26, and via Freetown she arrived Capetown where her cargo was discharged May 19-May 30, then on to Montevideo with arrival June 15 to pick up a cargo for Norway. In Fray Bentos she took on board canned meat, back to Montevideo for more canned food and wool, departing again July 3, stopping at Rio de Janeiro on July 7 to load 1000 barrels of castor oil as deck cargo. She arrived Bergen, Norway at midnight on July 31, having gone by Kirkwall on July 30 for routing instructions across the North Sea. Further voyages are shown on Page 5.
Sold to Polskie Linie Oceaniczne, Gdynia, Poland on Dec. 22-1950 and renamed Curie Sklordowska. Later used as store ship in Gdynia under the name MPH GDY MP 4. Broken up in 1986(?) Related external link: Back to Cypria on the "Ships starting with C" page. This company also had a Cypria post war, originally delivered as Foria to French owners in 1949, 4993 gt, then sold in 1954 to Skibs-A/S Hassel (A/S Rederiet Odfjell), Bergen and renamed Cypria. Renamed Bow Hill in 1955, sold to Monrovia in 1957 and renamed Acapulco. Broken up around 1972.
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