This ship (Yard No. 1154) was originally built by Harland & Wolff Ltd. Belfast, Northern Ireland during the World War II for the Royal Navy, as the "Landing Ship Tank" (LST) HMS BRUISER. The launching was on 24.10.1942 and she was delivered to the Admiralty on 02.04.1943 (tonnage 5596). She was a twin-screw vessel, driven by a steam turbine plant constructed by Harland & Wolff, giving her a speed of approximately 18 knots. The ship had two sister vessels, HMS BOXER and HMS THRUSTER.
The HMS BRUISER was involved in the invasions in Sicily, mainland Italy and in southern France. In 1944 she was converted into a "Fighter Direction Ship", her bow doors were permanently closed up and she was packed with electronic equipment and an array of antenna masts.
As a surplus warship she was sold in 1946 to the Belgian firm Enterprises Chimiques et Electriques S. A. Vilvorde (near Brussels) (this company owned as well the s/s "FREDERIC " post WW II as "CARITAS I, w"hich flew during WW II as "CARITAS I" (Register No. 011) the Swiss flag) and renamed NILLA. It was planned to convert her into a cargo ship in the port of Ghent. During 1948 some conversion work took place, but was never completed and in 1949 she was offered for sale.
Now the owners commenced sales negotiations with Triora S. A., Panama, which planned to purchase the ship and rename her SILVER STAR. On 02.02.1950 the vessel left Antwerp under tow for Hamburg. However the sale to Triora S. A. had fallen through.
Finally in May 1950 her owners succeeded to sell the NILLA to a Swiss investor, Mr. Vasile L. Winkler, who lived in Paris. He registered her in Panama, owners being Compania de Naviera Rio Grande.
In 1951 the vessel was purchased by SGS Société de Surveillance S. A. in Geneva, Switzerland (registered owner: Compania Naviera Estrella de Plata S. A., Panama, call sign: HOHX) and renamed SILVERSTAR (note, now in one word).
The vessel was brought into the ship yard of Howaldtswerke AG, Hamburg for conversion into a cruise liner, at the same time she was lengthened by 22 feet (6.71 m) at the stern. A total of 171 air-conditioned passenger cabins were provided, accommodating a total of 420 passengers (note at the time air-conditioned cabins were not standard).
Her original four steam turbines and the boilers were retained, but a second, dummy funnel was added. The vessel, originally built as a tank landing ship, had a flat bottom and a low draft, which caused some stability problems, consequently the US-authorities did not permit her to sail across the North Atlantic during winter time. She was confined to sail into more calm seas, like the Caribbean Sea.
On completion early 1952 she sailed to the USA and was chartered to Silver Star Line, controlled by Arnold Bernstein*). The SILVERSTAR undertook holiday cruises from Washington DC, Charleston, Miami, New Orleans to the Caribbean Sea, calling mainly in ports like Bermuda, Nassau, Havana and Vera Cruz. Once a year, at the end of the summer, she sailed to West Germany for her regular dry docking.
From an account given in Arnold Bernstein's book, it appears Mr. Bernstein was involved at an early stage in the conversion of this vessel, mainly because of his vast and detailed knowledge and experience in passenger shipping. Further he claimed the vessel suffered in the beginning from serious engine and boiler breakdowns. Apparently the boiler tubes were leaking badly and eventually she had to return from the US back to Hamburg for repairs (re-tubing of the boilers?). This appears quite possible, as the ship was idle for about 5 years and if no proper precautions were taken during this lay-up, serious corrosion had to be expected. Other sources say, these technical problems were not that grave and overall the ship had performed quite successfully.
The crew of the SILVERSTAR consisted from many nationalities, mainly from Europe. The captain and the officers were Italian and German. About 60 Swiss citizens were employed in the ship's hotel services, both male and female. SGS used to advertise in the "Hotel Revue" and held information seminars in various Swiss towns, such as Zürich, Geneva, Bern and Basel. Successful candidates were enrolled via the SGS-office in Geneva.
In December 1956 the commitment with Arnold Bernstein ended and she was chartered to Caribbean Cruise Lines, run by Mr. John Smith, a well known cruise operator at the time. However only one cruise trip was undertaken, as owners decided in January 1957 to sell the SILVERSTAR to the state-owned Flota Argentina de Navegación Fluvial (F. A. N. F.), Buenos Aires. She arrived at the end of the same month in Buenos Aires to be handed-over to her new owners, which registered her under Argentine flag and renamed her CIUDAD DE SANTA FÉ. It appears she traded across the La Plata to Montevideo, but also up the river Parana to Rosario and beyond.
In 1965 the CIUDAD DE SANTA FÉ was badly damaged in a collision and was subsequently laid-up until she was broken-up in an unknown Argentine scrap yard in 1968.
SwissShips HPS-MB, April 2012
We thank Peter Marti, Zürich an old seaman on the SILVERSTAR for his kind assistance and support.
Names of Crew Members in the Years 1954 until 1956
| Albert Ammann | Ernst Grubenmann | M.C. Malgareli |
| Albert Freiburghaus | Ernst Honsberger | Marcel Kopp |
| Alfons Bütler | Ernst Stauffer | Peter Marti |
| Alfonse Bonvin | Fritz König | Pierre Wolf |
| Alfons Furrer | Georg Süess | Robert Bieri |
| Arthur Peyer | Hans Haueter | Robert Diem |
| Arthur Sali | Hans Hefti | Roland Lehmann |
| Benjamin Peray | Hans Jost | Rolf Nägeli |
| Bruno Wolf | Jack Zimmerli | Walter Blattmann |
| Claire Schneider | Jean Brustino | Walter Plüss |
| Emil Weber | Jean-Claude Jaton | Werner Keusch |
| Enzo Nestasio Salvatore (Koch) | Joe Tschaler | Werner Rubin |
| Erich Mühle | Josef Cavegn | Willy Zäch |
| Ernst Baumann | Kurt Zuberbühler |
This list we have received from Peter Marti, section Zürich of SCS (Seemannsclub Schweiz = Swiss Seaman's Club). On the original list were also the addresses of the crew members, which we have omitted for reasons of data protection. It must be assumed, that many addresses have changed and various crew members have died in the long time elapsed.
Additional Information and Stories
Shipowner Arnold Bernstein
Arnold Bernstein (1888 - 1971) was a German ship owner, who designed and introduced the first car carriers, sailing between USA and Europe (before cars were shipped in wooden boxes). He also operated a shipping line in the early 1920ies from Northern Europe through the Volga river system across the Caspian Sea to Iran. During the great depression in the thirties he ventured into passenger liner services, introducing a few new ideas. He converted his idle car carriers into combined passenger/car carriers to allow rich tourists to cross the Atlantic, taking their own cars with them. During the Nazi period he was imprisoned in Germany and managed shortly before WW II to immigrate with his family to the USA. From zero he commenced again and built up some new shipping ventures in the USA, one was the cruising business to the Caribbean Sea. After his retirement he wrote a book in German language "Ein jüdischer Reeder" (a jewish ship owner), published by Convent-Verlag, Hamburg (2001).