Sibajak (ship)
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The Sibajak was a comfortable, tropicalized motorized passenger ship for the postal service between the Netherlands and the Dutch East Indies . During the Second World War she was used as a troop transport and emigrant ship.
prehistory
In 1923 the Dutch government renewed the postal contract with NV Rotterdamsche Lloyd and, in cooperation with the Steamship Company Nederland (Amsterdam), transferred the passenger and postal services to the Dutch East Indies . There should be weekly departures from Amsterdam and Rotterdam to the Dutch East Indies. The distance was 9200 nautical miles or 17,000 kilometers.
In addition to the passenger ships Slamat (11,406 GRT) and Indrapoera (10,772 GRT) put into service in April 1924 and February 1926 , Rotterdamsche Lloyd gave a third ship, the Sibajak , to the Koninklijke Maatschappij "De Schelde" for regular services in November 1925 in order; their construction corresponded roughly to the Indrapoera . The shipping company has been working with the shipyard since 1882. The construction costs were estimated at 6.8 million guilders.
construction
The Sibajak was designed as a twin screw ship with a length of 161.55 meters and a width of 19.20 meters. It was equipped with two eight-cylinder Schelde-Sulzer diesel engines with a total of 10,200 shaft horsepower for a continuous speed of 16.5 knots and had a chimney. There were also three five-cylinder Sulzer auxiliary diesels on board for generating energy. The ship should meet the latest standards, offer comfort for long-term trips in the tropics and therefore had spacious, well-ventilated open decks for numerous deck chairs.
For the first time ever, stabilization tanks were installed on a ship to prevent the ship from rolling and yawing in rough seas. The ship was also equipped with an echo sounder . The interior fittings in Art Nouveau style were carried out by the renowned company Mutters & Son in The Hague . The installation of electric elevators for the cabins and dining room of the first class was new for the shipping company. The Sibajak was designed for 200 first class passengers (not counting 30 cots), 196 second, 68 third and 34 fourth class. The fourth class was intended for ranks of the colonial troops.
On March 13, 1926, the ship with the Baunnumer 181 was laid down . The construction time was just under 13 months. On September 2, 1927, the new building was launched and was baptized in the name of a striking volcano on Sumatra . The hull was dove gray, the water pass and superstructure were painted white except for the wooden bridge, the chimney was black. These were the traditional colors of Rotterdamsche Lloyd. In January 1928 the sea trials took place, with the ship reaching a top speed of 17.65 knots.
In 1935 a conversion took place with a new aft deckhouse protected from smoke gases, which increased the converted space to 12,226 GRT. After that, the ship could carry 200 first, 150 second and 75 third class passengers. The fourth grade was omitted.
Trips in regular service
On February 8, 1928, the Sibajak's maiden voyage began from Rotterdam via Southampton , Lisbon , Tangier (where it got caught in a severe storm that caused some damage), Gibraltar , Marseille , Port Said , Suez , Colombo , Sabang , Belawan , Singapore to Batavia (now Jakarta ) and on to Surabaja . The return journey ended on April 24th in Rotterdam.
At times the Sibajak was also used for cruises to Scandinavia, England, Scotland, Madeira and Italy. On the 19th voyage, the ship ran into a reef near Port Sudan and had to be provisionally repaired in Port Said.
In 1930/31 two other larger ships of the shipping company started service to the East, the MS Baloeran and MS Dempo . During the Spanish Civil War , the passenger ships were accompanied by Dutch warships as they passed through the Strait of Gibraltar .
In 1938/39 the Sibajak transported many Jewish refugees from Europe with the goal of Australia to Colombo . After the outbreak of war, she chose the route around the Cape of Good Hope to South Asia. On November 15, 1939, she returned to Rotterdam for the last time during wartime. Then she ran with a tug escort as mine protection through the English Channel and via the Mediterranean route to the Dutch East Indies. The ship and its cargo and mail were searched several times by British warships after the outbreak of war.
Travel time as a troop transport
At the time of the German occupation of the Netherlands in May 1940, the Sibajak was in Surabaja . Since then she has carried the flag of Curacao . The 51st and 52nd voyages carried cargo but no passengers through the Panama Canal to the US east coast and back. The British Ministry of War Transport (BMWT) chartered the Sibajak with its Dutch crew under the direction of the British shipping company P&O in May 1941 and converted it in Singapore into a troop transport for 2,300 (maximum 2,500) soldiers with minimal ship armament.
In March 1942, the Dutch troops surrendered to the Japanese in the Dutch East Indies. On July 1, 1942, the ship in Liverpool was confiscated by the Dutch government-in-exile in London. The Sibajak was then used on alternating routes between Singapore, Australia, India, Suez, Sierra Leone , South Africa and Singapore, partly around Cape Horn and mostly in armed convoys . In August 1943 a fire broke out in the port of Durban , which required lengthy repairs. In 1944 the Sibajak was equipped with a radar device. After deployments and docking in the Mediterranean, she saw the end of the war in Liverpool. In total, she carried 75,000 soldiers during the war and covered 410,000 nautical miles.
Trips for the repatriation of Dutch settlers and as an emigrant ship
After the end of the war in Europe, unrest and chaos broke out in the Dutch East Indies. The Japanese supported the anti-colonial insurrection movement. After the Japanese surrender, the Republic of Indonesia was proclaimed on August 15, 1945 . The Japanese POW camps were overcrowded with Dutch people, but outside the camps it was unsafe for them too. In part, the Japanese had to protect the Dutch from the Indonesians. On June 6, 1945, the Sibajak in Singapore was returned to the Dutch government. It initially transported soldiers for police operations to and from the Dutch East Indies as well as Dutch people who wanted to return to Europe. Since 1948 she has been flying the flag of the Netherlands again. Until 1950, she and other ships participated in the repatriation of a total of 70,000 Dutch settlers, soldiers and administrative officials.
Because of high unemployment and a lack of housing in the Netherlands, many Dutch people decided to emigrate after the war. At the same time, Australia actively recruited European immigrants. The Sibarak's first journey with emigrants from Rotterdam to Australia began on April 15, 1950. On the return journey, Dutch people were repatriated from Indonesia. These trips lasted until August 1951. Occasionally, cars had to be carried on the promenade deck .
After the shipping company put the luxurious Willem Ruys into service in 1947, the Sibajak was converted into a standard class ship with less comfort for up to 956 passengers in 1952. Sometimes in large dormitories with up to 138 bunks. The enclosed space was now 12,342 GRT. The ship was chartered by the Dutch government and has transported emigrants to Canada, the USA, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand since 1952. In 1957 the charter contract with the Dutch government ended. After that, the ship was mainly used for British passengers and those from the British Dominions in the round-the-world service with transits through the Panama Canal and Suez Canal .
In 1958, the shipping company decided to decommission the obsolete ship. From June to August 1959 there was a last trip to Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong, where the ship was sold for demolition.
literature
- Nico Guns, Frans Luidinga: Sibajak: 'Grand Old Lady' van de Koninklijke Rotterdamsche Lloyd. Van Soeren, Amsterdam 2003.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Peter Plowman: Sibajak in: Australian Migrant Ships 1946-1977. Dural, ( New South Wales ) 2006, ISBN 1877058408 .