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D/T Suderholm To Suderholm on the "Ships starting with S" page. Manager: Knut Knutsen O. A. S., Haugesund Delivered in June-1917 from Seattle Construction & Dry Dock Co., Seattle, WA, USA as cargo vessel D/S Key West to D/S A/S Key West (Knut Knutsen O.A.S.), Haugesund. Steel hull, 381.4’ x 53.2’ x 27.1’, 4787 gt., 7627 tdwt., Triple Expansion (Seattle C. & D.D. Co.) 472nhp 2200ihp. Used in the company's newly started "Den Skandinaviske Syd-Pacific Linje" along the U.S. west coast, between Vancouver and Valparaiso, Oct.-1927 (Key West, her sister ship Golden Gate and the company's cargo liner Vinland were the first ships in this line. Later on, John Bakke and Samuel Bakke were delivered and used in the line, at which time Key West and Golden Gate were taken out, 1929). Key West was laid up in Stavanger from Febr.-1930, then went to Kockums Mek. Verkstad, Malmö, Sweden in May that year. She was converted to tanker / supply vessel for the company's whale factory Suderøy, 4908 gt, 7060 tdwt., entering service as Suderholm in Oct.-1930, transporting fuel for the Suderøy whaling expeditions, and whale oil from the factory to the market. Captain: Conrad Mørland. Related item on this website: "With great sorrow, I would like to advise you that Mr. Mordechai Limon ("Moka") has passed away two weeks ago, age 85. Mr. Limon was a seaman on board the “S.S. Suderholm” with the undersigned during the Second World War. Later he was a captain of many boats who transferred Jews from the concentration camps in Europe to Israel's shores. He was a brilliant seaman and scholar. He was appointed as the admiral of the Israeli Navy. He was beloved and respected by the public, and especially by seamen. Captain Morland was our captain on the Suderholm when Moka Limon and I sailed then. He always respected Mr. Limon, who was an extraordinary seaman and human being. Her voyages are listed on these original images from the Norwegian National Archives:
In March-1940, Suderholm joined the Halifax-U.K. Convoy HX 29, bound for Liverpool with general(?) cargo in station 34, but is said to have lost touch on the night after departure. According to Page 1 above, she arrived Liverpool on Apr. 5. In May that year she's listed in station 11 of Convoy OB 142, which left Liverpool on May 4-1940 and dispersed on the 8th, Suderholm arriving Trinidad on May 21. The Norwegian Eli Knudsen is also listed. Suderholm went back to the U.K. the following month in Convoy HX 49, in which Eli Knudsen and Randsfjord were sunk. Suderholm was bound for Falmouth with fuel oil, having joined with the Bermuda portion, and sailed in station 86, initially right next to the Dutch Moordrecht which was also sunk, though this ship had straggled by then. Suderholm later shows up in Convoy OB 187, which left Liverpool on July 21 and dispersed on the 25th. No destination is given for Suderholm, but from Page 1 of the archive documents we learn that she arrived Kingston, Jamaica on Aug. 12. She headed back to the U.K. again on Sept. 10 in the slow Convoy SC 4, from Sydney, C.B., which had a large number of Norwegian ships. (The external website that I've linked to at the end of this page has more on the OB convoys mentioned here). At the beginning of Dec.-1940, she's listed as scheduled for Convoy OB 256, leaving Liverpool on Dec. 8-1940, but she did not sail, and shows up again, with destination Curacao, in the next convoy, OB 257, which left on Dec. 10 - again, see the external link below for more info. Note that another section of that site, based on Arnold Hague's database, has not included her in OB 257, but instead has her in OB 258, originating in Liverpool on Dec. 12, dispersed Dec. 15. Suderholm arrived Aruba on Jan. 6-1941, continuing to Bermuda that same day. She headed back to the U.K. on Jan. 21-1941 with Convoy BHX 104 from Bermuda, bound for London with diesel oil (scroll down to the second table on the page for HX 104). In March, she shows up in the Liverpool-Gibraltar Convoy OG 57, originating Liverpool on March 27-1941, arriving Gibraltar Apr. 11 (will be added - see ships in all OG convoys) - Suderholm, however, was bound for Aruba on that occasion, arriving there on Apr. 19 (having started out from Oban March 28). She was scheduled for the Halifax-U.K. Convoy HX 125 at the beginning of May that year, but did not sail, and was also cancelled from HX 126, which lost so many ships (including John P. Pedersen), but eventually got away with the slow Convoy SC 33 from Sydney, C.B. at the beginning of June, destination Manchester. The following month, she's listed as bound for New York in Convoy OB 343, leaving Liverpool on July 6, dispersed July 21, Suderholm arriving her destination on July 26.According to Arnold Hague, she returned to the U.K. with Convoy SC 40, departing Sydney, C.B. on Aug. 10-1941, arriving Liverpool on the 29th; Suderholm stopped at Belfast Lough that day, later proceeding to Milford Haven and Falmouth - see Page 2. This convoy is not yet available on my own site, but I've linked directly to Hague's listing at the end of this page (Brisk, Henrik Ibsen, Ingerfire, Nesttun, Novasli, Selvik, Spurt are also included). Early in Oct.-1941 she's listed as bound for New York in the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 23 (departure Liverpool Oct. 4, arrival Halifax Oct. 19). Suderholm arrived New York on Oct. 26, having sailed from Milford Haven on the 3rd. This convoy is available and will be added to an individual page in my Convoys section in due course, with additional information on it - in the meantime, please see the section listing ships in all ON convoys. She's said to have rescued some Greek seamen in the Atlantic in 1941 (name of their ship and exact date not known). According to an article in the very last issue of "Krigsseileren" (2000) Suderholm, on a voyage alone from Aruba(?) to Cape Town, barely missed an encounter with the German raider Atlantis. Suderholm had to alter course in order to avoid running into the lifeboats from Atlantis being towed by a U-126 after having been attacked by Devonshire on Nov. 22-1941 while replenishing the U-boat. (See the newspaper articles at the end of this page, as well as the external links provided there). Going back to Page 2 of the archive documents, we learn that Suderholm had left Curacao on Nov. 12 and arrived Cape Town Dec. 15. Some of her 1942 voyages are listed on the archive document already mentioned above, while the rest of her 1942 voyages and 1943/1944 voyages can be found on Page 3 and Page 4; convoy information for some of these can be obtained by following the instructions provided at the external link at the end of this page. In June-1944, she made a voyage from Port Said to Palermo in Convoy MKS 54*, which departed Port Said on June 28 - again, see Page 4 above. The following month, she shows up in Convoy MKS 57* (departure Port Said July 28), voyage Port Said to Bizerta. She arrived Bizerta on Aug. 4, and later that month, she's listed as bound for Algiers in Convoy MKS 60*, arriving her destination on Sept. 5 (convoy left Port Said Aug. 27). She later made a voyage from Algiers to Port Said with Convoy KMS 62*, which left Gibraltar on Sept. 12 and arrived Port Said on the 22nd; Suderholm had started out from Algiers on Sept. 14. Her subsequent voyages are available on the archive document already mentioned; see also Page 5 (1945, which also tells us she was in Port Said on VE Day), Page 6 (more 1945), Page 7 (1945-1946), and Page 8 (more 1946). Again, to obtain convoy information for voyages made in between those already noted in this narrative, please follow the instructions provided at the external link below, then compare the results with the details found on the various archive documents.
Suderholm is said to have been in the Suderøy expedition during the 1945/'46 season (but I can't see that this agrees with the details found on Page 7 of the archive documents? - see also Suderøy) and the 1946/'47 season, then the company's tanker Anna Knudsen took over. Sold in July-1947 to S.A. Hellenic Transpetrol, Piræus and renamed Rodos. Broken up in Holland in 1953. Related external links: See also this chronological list of Back to Suderholm on the "Ships starting with S" page. The text on this page was compiled with the help of: Misc. sources. Pre war details (and some of the post war facts) received from T. Eriksen, Norway - His sources: Article about Hvalfanger-AS Suderøy by Dag Bakka Jr. in "Skipet" 1.89, "Knut Knutsen O.A.S., -Høvdingen av Haugesund", Tor Inge Vormedal 2002, and "Hvalfangsten, -Eventyret tar slutt", Dag Bakka Jr. 1992.
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