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D/S Rio Novo To Rio Novo on the "Ships starting with R" page.
Owner: A/S Sobral Built by Sir John Priestman & Co., Sunderland in 1937. 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 as can be seen, several voyages are missing.
Judging for the information found on Page 1 of the archive documents, it looks like Rio Novo had been to Norway just before war broke out there on Apr. 9-1940. She arrived Norfolk on Apr. 28, proceeding to St. Thomas the next day. Her 1941 voyages start on Page 2 and continue on Page 3. According to Arnold Hague, Rio Novo, together with the Norwegian Atlantic, Bur, Fjordaas, Geisha, Lysaker V and Marianne, sailed in the slow eastbound North Atlantic Convoy SC 50, departing Sydney, C.B. on Oct. 17-1941, arriving Liverpool on Nov. 4 - Rio Novo stopped at Belfast Lough on Nov. 3, before continuing to Avonmouth a couple of days later. She had a general cargo and also carried 2 passengers. This convoy is not yet available among the SC convoys included in my Convoys section, but will be added; see Ships in all SC convoys. Later that month she's listed as bound for Norfolk, VA with a cargo of china clay in station 12 of the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 40*, which originated in Liverpool on Nov. 25 and dispersed on Dec. 4. The Norwegian Arthur W. Sewall, Charles Racine (returned following a collision), Egda, Evita, Fernmoor, Finnanger (returned), Slemdal, Storanger, Tai Shan and Velox are also listed. Rio Novo arrived Hampton Roads on Dec. 18. She returned to the U.K. in Jan.-1942 in Convoy HX 171 from Halifax, for which Acanthus and Rose acted as escorts for a while. At the beginning of March we find her in station 13 of the westbound Convoy ON 73*, which departed Liverpool on March 5 and dispersed on the 16th. Her destination is given as Boston on that occasion; Gausdal and Leiv Eiriksson also took part, and Acanthus and Rose are again named among the escorts, as are Eglantine and Potentilla, see ON convoy escorts. According to Page 3, Rio Novo arrived Boston on March 19, having started out from Milford Haven on the 4th. The following month, she can be found among the ships in Convoy HX 184 from Halifax, having been cancelled from the previous convoy, HX 183, then headed back across the Atlantic at the beginning of May with Convoy ON 91* (left Liverpool May 1, dispersed May 15), together with Bello, Geisha, Heranger, Kronprinsen, Laurits Swenson, Salamis and Skaraas. Rio Novo was bound for New York and had station 12 of the convoy. On May 31-1942, she joined Convoy HX 192 from Halifax, returning to New York in June with Convoy ON 107*, which originated in Liverpool on June 26 and dispersed off Halifax on July 9, Rio Novo arriving New York the next day - see Page 4. She was again in the company of several other Norwegian ships, namely Fernmoor, Garonne, Glittre, Havkong, Polartank and Samuel Bakke. Rio Novo went back to the U.K. again at the beginning of Aug.-1942 in Convoy HX 201 - see also this report on its passage (Rio Novo had been cancelled from HX 200). She arrived Newport, via Belfast Lough, on Aug. 15, returning to New York at the end of that month with the westbound convoy Convoy ON 125, for which Samuel Bakke served as the Commodore Vessel (Vice Commodore in Skiensfjord?). According to the Commodore's notes for ON 125, Rio Novo had a man overboard on Sept. 11. He was picked up, but subsequently died. This must have been Radio Operator Finn G. Hauff who's said to have died in an accident at sea on Sept. 11-1942 at the Stavern Memorial website - ref. link below. She now started making voyages between the U.S. and Progreso, as will be seen on Page 4, Page 5, Page 6, Page 7, Page 8 and Page 9, continuing in this service for the rest of the war.
Related external link: Back to Rio Novo on the "Ships starting with R" page. The text on this page was compiled with the help of: "Nortraships flåte", J. R. Hegland, "The World's Merchant Fleets 1939", Roger W. Jordan - and misc.
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