M/S San Andres

To San Andres on the "Ships starting with S" page.


Scanned from Fred. Olsen & Co. fleet list, with permission from the company.

Misc. War Voyages:

San Andres, Captain H. Hansen, is listed in station 82 of the Gibraltar-U.K. Convoy HGF 32 in May/June-1940, bound for Portland with potatoes, sailing right next to Torfinn Jarl. Later in June we find her in Convoy OA 170, which left Southend on June 18 and dispersed 3 later. She was only bound for Falmouth on that occasion. (Ref. external links at the end of this text).

Shortly thereafter she was one of several Norwegian ships transporting Norway's gold to the U.S.A. (see my page about M/S Bomma). Mike Holdoway (webmaster of the SL convoys website that I've linked to at the end of this page) has her in Convoy OA 174 (left Southend on June 25, dispersed June 28), and has sent me the following note in connection with this voyage, presumably from the Commodore's notes: "At 1630, 27th June, I closed "San Andres" and embarked Mr. Mossigen as directed in your signal timed 1247, 27th June. He was reluctant to leave San Andres and explained that he was acting directly under the orders of the Norwegian Government and that he felt considerable hesitation in obeying instructions from any other source. It was not difficult to appreciate this hesitation when Mr. Mossigen explained that he was in sole charge of San Andres's cargo which consisted of gold bullion to the value of £1,250,000". (In today's money, this would be about 18,000,000 pounds, or 33,000,000 dollars).

In Sept.-1941 she was in station 105 of Convoy HX 151, together with the Norwegian Sama (station 85), Dagrun (54), Meline (43), Morgenen (93), Belinda, Thorshøvdi (53), Sophocles, Tigre (44), Hardanger (94), Leiv Eiriksson (24), and Laurits Swenson (listed as Swenson, but I assume it should be Laurits Swenson). The convoy left Halifax on Sept. 22 and arrived Liverpool on Oct. 7. Follow the link for more.

Going back to the first external website that I've linked to at the end of this text, San Andres can be found in Convoy OS 10 on Oct. 25-1941 (station 32). She had a cargo of explosives. Follow the link for more convoy details. Other Norwegian ships mentioned are Fana, Somerville and Rio Verde. The same website also has her in Convoy OS 23 in March/Apr.-1942, on a voyage from Liverpool to Bathurst (station 34). She returned to the U.K. with Convoy SL 108/SLF 108, which departed Freetown on Apr. 26-1942 and arrived Liverpool on May 19, sailing in the fast section (SLF), station 14, voyage Bathurst-Clyde, cargo of groundnuts. In June-1942 she can be found in Convoy OS 30, voyaging in station 14 from Milford to La Guira via Trinidad for bunkers.

In Aug.-1942 we find her in station 45 of the Halifax-U.K. Convoy HX 202, bound for Mersey with a cargo of sugar, sailing next to 3 other Norwegian ships, namely Montevideo, Heranger and Hindanger. All 4 of them are also listed in the westbound Convoy ON 127 leaving Liverpool for New York on Sept. 4, in which several Norwegian ships were torpedoed; however, it's difficult to determine from the available info for this convoy whether San Andres cancelled or not (there's a minus next to her name, not sure what that means). In Nov. that same year she sailed in Convoy HX 215 which departed New York City on Nov. 11-1942 and arrived Liverpool on the 25th. San Andres again had a cargo of sugar and was bound for Clyde. She was scheduled to return with the westbound Convoy ON 153 on Dec. 11 (her destination is given as Cuba), but did not sail. At the end of that month she shows up in station 22 of Convoy Convoy ON 157.

In Febr.-1943 she's listed, with a cargo of sugar for Greenock, in station 34 of Convoy HX 228 in which Brant County was sunk. A couple of months later, in Apr.-1943, she shows up in convoy OS 46/KMS 13, voyage Clyde-Bathurst, station 95, returning to the U.K. the following month with Convoy SL 130/MKS 14, which left Freetown on May 30-1943 and arrived Liverpool on June 21. San Andres had a cargo of groundnuts, voyage Bathurst-Loch Ewe. In Dec.-1943/Jan.-1944 she can be found in Convoy OS 63/KMS 37, voyage from Oban to Dakar and Bathurst in ballast in station 114, subsequently returning to England in Febr.-1944 with Convoy SL 148/MKS 39, cargo of groundnuts, mail and 3 passengers, voyage Dakar-Barry Roads. SL 148 departed Freetown on Febr. 1, joined up with the MKS portion from Gibraltar on the 12th, and arrived Liverpool on Febr. 24-1944. More information is available at the external link provided below.

In Jan.-1945 she was scheduled for Convoy OS 106/KMS 80, but cancelled and instead joined the next convoy, OS 107/KMS 81, departing Liverpool on Jan. 27-1945. San Andres was on a voyage from Southend to Suez and Bombay with ammunition(?) and sulphate in station 63 (KMS 81). The Norwegian Acasta also took part in this convoy.

POST WAR:

Sold in 1958 to to Mohamed Abubakar Bakhashab, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, renamed Dhahran (Dliahran?).

Related external links:
SL convoys and OS/KMS Convoys - The site also has a section for the Russian convoys, as well as OB convoys, and a very useful Multi-Convoy Web Search feature - here's the main page. As can be seen, San Andres is listed in all the SL and OS convoys mentioned in my text above, as are several other Norwegian ships.

Fred Olsen & Co. today

Back to San Andres on the "Ships starting with S" page.

Norway had lost a steamship named San Andrés to WW I, built 1911, 1656 gt (D/S A/S Otto Thoresen) - torpedoed and sunk by U-86 in the Bristol Channel on May 11-1918, voyage Barcelona-Christiania via Swansea. This posting to my Ship Forum has some more details.