SS Navemar
| Company type | Cargo ship |
|---|---|
| Industry | Shipping |
| Founded | October 1921 |
| Headquarters | Newcastle upon Tyne , United Kingdom |
SS Navemar was a steam-powered cargo vessel constructed in England in 1921. Initially under Norwegian ownership until 1927, she subsequently operated under Spanish ownership for the remainder of her service. In 1942, an Italian submarine torpedoed and sank her in the Strait of Gibraltar.
A significant episode in Navemar's history occurred in 1941 when she transported approximately 1,120 Jewish refugees from Europe to the United States under overcrowded and unsanitary conditions.
Construction
The ship was built by Armstrong Whitworth & Co., located in Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom, originally named Frogner for the Norwegian company Fearnley and Eger based in Oslo. Completion was achieved in October 1921.
Measuring 407.1 feet (124.1 m) between perpendiculars, the vessel had a beam spanning 58.3 feet (17.8 m) and a molded depth of 30 ft 6 in (9.30 m). Her engineering comprised nine corrugated furnaces with a total grate area of 183 square feet (17.0 m2), which heated three single-ended boilers featuring a combined heating surface measuring 8,112 square feet (753.6 m2). These boilers generated steam at a pressure of 180 lb_f/in² to power a three-cylinder triple-expansion steam engine rated at 548 NHP, which propelled a single screw propeller.
Career 1921–41
In 1927, the vessel was acquired by Ybarra y Compania based in Seville, who renamed her Cabo Mayor. Later, in 1932, ownership transferred to Compañía Española de Navegación Marítima, and the ship was given the new name Navemar.
On 22 December 1932, Navemar was involved in a collision with the French steamship Bernardin de St. Pierre near Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, France, resulting in her being beached. She underwent repairs and subsequently resumed operations.
During 1937–38, Navemar became central to a legal dispute in the United States between the Government of the Republic of Spain and the ship’s crew, who sought to prevent her requisition amidst the Spanish Civil War. The Supreme Court of the United States ultimately ruled in favor of the Spanish Government.
Refugee voyage
In 1941, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee—commonly referred to as "The Joint"—was urgently engaged in rescuing Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi persecution in Germany, Austria, and Czechoslovakia. Many refugees possessed US visas that were nearing expiration. Agents of The Joint directed these individuals to Seville, where Navemar had been privately chartered for a transatlantic passage. Passenger cabins were scarce and sold at inflated prices. The captain relinquished his own cabin and charged $2,000 for those able to share the confined space. Bunks were installed within the unsanitary cargo holds that had formerly transported coal. Despite efforts to clean the vessel, time constraints prevented thorough sanitation.
Departing Seville on 7 August 1941, Navemar stopped at Lisbon, Portugal, where numerous visas were extended by the US Embassy. After a subsequent call at Havana, Cuba, she arrived in New York on 12 September 1941. A number of passengers contracted typhus during the voyage, resulting in six fatalities over the course of the five-week journey.
Later service and ultimate fate
Following her role as a refugee transport, the Navemar resumed general commercial operations. On 23 January 1942, she was struck by a torpedo from the Italian submarine Italian submarine Barbarigo, commanded by Marcello-class, and was sunk in the Strait of Gibraltar.
References
Sources
- Agar, Herbert (1960). The Saving Remnant: An Account Of Survival. New York: The Viking Press. p. 136.
External links
- "Search Results – Record View: navemar". Archives. American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee.Template:Fix/category[permanent dead link] archival records of passenger deposit cards for Navemar
- Lange, Leonora. "Guide to the S.S. Navemar – Saul Sperling Collection". Leo Baeck Institute. This collection includes attorney Saul Sperling's documentation and correspondence concerning litigation initiated by passengers against the Navemar owners following her arrival in New York in September 1941.