| |
 |
Blue Star's
M.V. "Adelaide Star" 1 |
|
|
"The ship that never was" |
| |
|
|
|
| |
Built: |
Akt. Burmeister & Wain's Maskin og Skibsbyggeri, Copenhagen, Denmark |
|
|
Dimensions: |
558.0 x 70.0 x 43.4 feet (161.0 x 21.3 x 10.7 metres) |
|
| |
Tonnage: |
Gross : 12,636 Net : 6,209
DW: 13,750 |
|
| |
Propulsion: |
Two 6-Cyl. 2 S.C.S.D.A. Burmeister & Wain 662WF140 oil engines by shipbuilders,
driving twin screws |
|
| |
Type: |
Refrigerated Cargo Liner |
|
|
|
Contract: |
22/02/1938 |
|
| |
Launched: |
30/12/1939 ( Yard No.646) as Adelaide Star
for Blue Star Line Ltd. |
|
|
|
Seized: |
09/04/1940 by German forces on the invasion of
Denmark,
whilst fitting out. |
|
|
|
Completed: |
06/11/1940 as the Seeburg and allocated to
Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfahrt A.G., (Hamburg-Amerika Line) Hamburg.
Employed as a German submarine
depot ship. |
|
|
|
Trials: |
19/11/1940 at Gotenhafen ( now Gdynia, Poland ). Used as a submarine
depot and target practice ship for the
27th U-Boat flotilla. |
|
|
|
Torpedoed: |
2/12/1944 at 22.00 hrs. by the Soviet Torpedo Boat SC407 off Heistevnest, Gulf of Danzig
in position 54.39N 18.39E |
|
|
|
Raised: |
1952 by Polish salvors and beached at Gdynia. |
|
|
|
Repaired: |
1955 at Gdynia shipyard. Allocated to Polish Ocean Lines
and renamed Dzierzynski for Far East Service. |
|
| |
Collided: |
16/09/1953 while enroute Shanghai-Antwerp-Gdynia with the
Greek steamer Fouli off Ushant.
Put into Brest for examination and temporary repairs. On arrival
Flushing, further temporary repairs were carried out and a faulty sea valve
repaired. At Antwerp the Dzierzynski struck a pier at Baudouin
Lock causing the sea valve to collapse and flood the engine room. She was
subsequently beached at Lillo and on the falling tide a crack appeared in
No.2 hatch. |
|
|
|
Refloated: |
1/10/1963 and towed with tugs to to Liefenshoek where she
was again grounded at No.92 buoy. Not surprisingly she eventually broke her
back and was condemned and taken in two halves to Antwerp for demolition by
Jef de Smedt & Co. |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Sister Ships: |
Imperial Star (1) , New
Zealand Star (1) , Sydney Star (1) , Australia
Star (1) Empire
Star (2) , Melbourne Star (1) , Brisbane
Star (1), Wellington Star (1), Auckland Star (1), Empire
Star (3), Imperial Star (2) & Melbourne
Star (2) |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Allow page to fully load before clicking on
image to enlarge |
|
| |
 |
|
|
|
Adelaide Star after she was requisitioned by the Germans as
the Seeburg
Courtesy the
Historical Department, MAN B&W Diesel A/S, Copenhagen |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
The ship did a trial trip on 8th April 1940 with
representatives from the Blue Star Line. The trials were completed to their
satisfaction and the payments papers were signed. The representatives went
back to their hotel for the night planning to sail back to UK the next day.
The following day, 9th April 1940 the German forces invaded
Denmark! She was fitted out by the Germans as a submarine depot &
target ship Seeburg for the
27th U-Boat flotilla.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Seeburg
was torpedoed and sunk in shallow water in the Gulf of Danzig 4/12/1944 and
was subsequently raised
and repaired, entering service under Polish Ocean Lines as the
Dzierzynski.
Named after Feliks Dzierzynski (1877-1926) who was a Polish communist,
author, journalist, engineer and organizer of the CHEKA (Soviet Secret
Police), which doesn't seem like a auspicious start!
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
As the Polish Ocean Lines Dzierzynski |
|
| |
|
|
| |
In 1947 Blue Star Line sued the builders and the Danish
War Risk Insurance for the equivalent of 14,000,000DK through failure of
the builders to deliver the ship as most of the instalments had been
paid and she was virtually close to delivery. They lost in the Lower Court
but on Appeal to the Danish Supreme Court, Blue Star were awarded the
equivalent of about 10,450,000DK. It seems rather unsporting of Blue Star
to sue, as I am sure the Danes did not appreciate being invaded!
|
|
| |
 |
|
| |
Polish Ocean Lines
Dzierzynski |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
She was broken up in
1963 after striking a pier and breaking her back in the Scheldt. She was
actually on passage from
Shanghai to Antwerp and the chain of events leading to her final situation
started with her being in
collision with the Greek steamer Fouli (692 GRT/1948) near Ushant 16/9/1963.
|
|
| |
 |
|
| |
The Dzierzynski with a broken back in the River Scheldt in
1963 |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
As a footnote: The Port Captain for the Standard Fruit
Company in Gulfport, Mississippi who looked after the Blue Star Line banana
boats , had been Master on her when a German prize. Small world indeed!
The vessel that is first in alphabetical order was the 53rd
vessel to be owned/built by Blue Star Line, must have had the shortest life
in the company and then never even sailed under Blue Star ownership!
|
|
| |
Links:
B&W Museum, Copenhagen
Adelaide Star 2 |
|
| |
|
|
| |
 |
|
| |
Home Page
Blue Star Ships |
|
|
|
Updated:
18-02-2008 |
|
