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M/S Gabon To Gabon on the "Ships starting with G" page. Manager: A/S Rederiet Odfjell, Bergen Built by Nya Varvs A/B Öresund, Landskrona, Sweden (30). Launched Jan. 24-1931, delivered in Apr.-1931 as Sunnanvik to Norrköpings Rederi A/B (Victor Schreil), Norrköping, Sweden. Sold in Oct.-1934 to Skibs-A/S Rose (Gustav B. Bull), Sandefjord and renamed Rose. Sold in 1936 to Cie. Generale de Navigation a Vapeur Cyprien Fabre, Le Havre, France and renamed Gabon. Sold that same year to Skibs A/S Gabon (A/S Rederiet Odfjell), Bergen, Norway. Sold again? in Sept.-1936 to D/S A/S Hassel (A/S Rederiet Odfjell), Bergen. (R. W. Jordan's "The World's Merchant Fleets" gives owner as Skibs-A/S Gabon during the war). Captain: ? Nilsen. 1st engineer on this ship from March until Aug.-1944 was Adolf K. Lines. He had previously been on board Langanger until she was requisitioned, as well as on Duala (1943).
One of the 26 Norwegian ships interned in North and West Africa from 1940 till 1942. My page Interned Ships has a list of all 26. A French visitor to my website has told me that Gabon was seized in Dakar (July-1940), and came under French flag on Febr. 1-1941 without name change. Sailed from Dakar on Apr. 29-1941 in convoy. At Lomé early May-1941. From Lomé to Cotonou , date unknown. Sailed from Cotonou on June 11-1941 in convoy. At Dakar June 25. Sailed from Dakar in convoy on July 2-1941. At Casablanca July 12. Sailed from Casablanca July 13-1941 in convoy. At Oran July 16. Sailed from Oran in convoy on Sept. 5-1942 At Casablanca Sept. 8. Sailed from Casablanca Sept. 12 in convoy. At Dakar Sept. 21. Sailed from Dakar Oct. 22-1942 in convoy. At Cotonou early Nov.-1942. Sailed from Cotonou in convoy on Dec. 6-1942. At Dakar Dec. 25. According to "Nortraships flåte" Gabon was interned on July 5-1940. R. W. Jordan's "The World's Merchant Fleets" agrees with Hegland's internment date, and adds that she sailed under the French flag until 1945, then Norwegian; this is incorrect - she was freed by the Allied invasion in Nov.-1942, and returned to Nortraship's service on March 3-1943. Guri Hjeltnes' "Sjømann - Lang vakt" says Gabon had a crew of 31, 25 Norwegian, 22 escaped, (they were sent to Lisbon by "mistake" and thereby freed), 3 went home. She adds that after having been requisitioned in Dakar in Febr.-1941, the crew was sent to Casablanca where they joined the crew from M/T Jaspis (making it a total of 58), then they were all sent to Lisbon on board the Portuguese passenger ship Nyassa on March 26-1941 and accommodated in hotels there. By June most of them had managed to reach the U.K., where some went to school, others joined the Marines, but the majority joined other allied ships. The external website that I've linked to below has Gabon in Convoy SL 132/MKS 16 in June/July-1943, voyage from Lagos to Mersey with a cargo of lumber, palm oil and general. Other Norwegian ships in this convoy were Audun, Mammy, Arosa, Dux and Kong Haakon VII. The same site lists her in Convoy OS 60/KMS 34 in Nov.-1943, voyaging from Milford to Takoradi via Freetown in station 121 with a cargo of coal. She can also be found Convoy SL 151/MKS 42, the SL portion of which having left Freetown on March 2-1944, while the MKS portion left Gibraltar on March 13, the combined convoy arriving Liverpool on the 24th. The following month she's listed in station 81 of Convoy OS 74/KMS 48, voyage Liverpool-Takoradi/Lagos/Pt. Noire with general cargo. In July-1944 we find her bound for Mersey with Convoy SL 165, which departed Freetown on July 20 and joined up with Convoy MKS 56 on the 30th before continuing on to Liverpool. Gabon had station 72 of the SL convoy, taking up station 54 in the combined convoy; her cargo is given as W.A. produce (the Norwegian Troubadour joined with the MKS 56 portion). In Sept.-1944 Gabon sailed in Convoy OS 88/KMS 62, voyage Milford-Freetown with cargo of coal in station 81 of the convoy, which departed Liverpool on Sept. 4 and arrived Freetown on the 20th. She later returned to the U.K. with SL 177/MKS 68 (note that she's also listed in the previous convoy, SL 176/MKS 67, but may not have sailed or returned to port?). The SL portion of this convoy, in which Gabon and the Norwegian Karmt sailed, departed Freetown on Nov. 15-1944, joined up with the MKS portion from Gibraltar on the 26th, the combined convoy arriving Liverpool on Dec. 5. She was on a voyage from Matadi to Mersey, 7505 tons general cargo consisting of copper, palm kernels, palm oil, cotton, gum copal, rubber and sundries, and was also carrying 3 bags of mail. The following month she joined Convoy OS 100/KMS 74, voyage Liverpool-Takoradi/Lagos/Port Harcourt with general cargo in station 73 of the convoy (departed Liverpool on Dec. 23). Further dates and info are available at the link mentioned. The KMS and MKS convoys will also be added to my own site - in the meantime, please see the section listing ships in all KMS convoys and the section naming ships in all the MKS convoys.
Renamed Older in 1946? (same manager). Sold in Nov.-1952 to Sigbjørn Birkelands Rederi A/S, Bergen and renamed Ole Bratt. From 1961 she sailed as Sassandra River for Cia. Nav. Y Financiera del Sur, Beirut, Lebanon. In Febr.-1965 she was on a voyage Merseille - West Africa, arrived Las Palmas with engine failure. After temporary repairs she went to La Spezia where she arrived Apr. 16-1965. Sold in the summer of 1965 for scrapping and was probably broken up at La Spezia. Related external links: Odfjell ASA today - with fleet lists. Back to Gabon on the "Ships starting with G" page. The text on this page was compiled with the help of: Sources mentioned within above text, and misc. (ref. My sources). Also, some pre war and post war info was received from Rolf Skiold, who runs this website
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