Monday, May 26, 2014

former NZ Shipping Company ship 'Opawa' (1906)


The refrigerated cargo vessel Opawa was launched at the builders, William Denny & Brothers of Dumbarton, and completed in 1906.

Her length was 460 ft 7 inches (140.4 metres), breadth: 60 ft 2 inches (18.3 metres), and depth: 28 ft 7 inches (8.7 metres). Tonnage was 7,230 gross, 4,588 net and 10,620 deadweight.

In 1928 the ship was sold to Norwegian owners and converted to a whale factory ship, renamed Antarctic, seen in the picture at Tonsberg. In 1934 the ship was sold again to Japanese owners and renamed Antarctic Maru, renamed again the next year as Tonan Maru.

On 28 November 1943 the ship was sunk by U.S. submarine Bowfish 25 miles off Nah Trang, Vietnam, while operating as a tanker.  More info on this webpage

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