History
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Due to the effects of World War II, the origin of this small ship is rather obscure, but from the sources available to us, we assume that it happened approximately as follows. The coaster was ordered in 1940 by A/S Nordag, at the shipyard Trosvik Verksted, Brevik, as hull number 056. After the hull was built, it was towed to Glommen's Mek-Verksted A/S, Frederikstad (here as hull number 110) for completion. However, it appears that completion was delayed until the end of the war. The partially damaged construction was then handed over to the Norwegian government and then brought to Falkenbergs Varv AB, Falkenberg, Halland in Sweden for repairs and completion. It was delivered as BARDAL to Erling Sannes, Bodø, Norway on 18.12.1946 and registered in Bodø under the Norwegian flag (Lloyd's Register No. 5392484). (Other sources state that the seatrial took place on 15.05.1947)

The coaster was bought in 1951 by Trafina AG, Basel. The takeover and the registration under Swiss flag as LUCERNE took place on 29.6.1951 in Hull, England (call sign: HBFA). The LUCERNE was used in coastal service in the North and Baltic seas as well as around the British Isles down to France and northern Spain. Once she even made a trip to Seville. In the last year under the Swiss flag, the LUCERNE sailed mostly between Penmaenmawr and Trevor, two small towns on the North Wales coast, and Liverpool and Manchester. Penmaenmawr and Trevor had huge quarries and stone was brought to the big nearby cities.

The crew consisted of 12 men, mainly Dutch, but from time to time also a German, an Englishman or a Belgian. Even a Swiss cook, Albert Lutz, is recorded. Obviously, these people were not averse to beer and schnapps. Four fully drunk Dutch sailors deserted in 1953 in Terneuzen. In 1956, a Dutch 1st officer (name known) sailed on the LUCERNE, who, according to the captain, was always the first to be drunk in port and in no way a support for the captain. Charles Strübin probably visited his ship from time to time and once he was on board from Copenhagen to Kiel.

The long-time master on board was C.A. Blockland, a Dutchman. In November 1952 he was caught in the port of Poole with an overloaded ship. The court pronounced a fine of £110, which was immediately paid by the agent, otherwise the captain would have landed in the "calabooze", delaying the departure of the LUCERNE. On New Year's Eve in 1951, the LUCERNE rescued nine crew members from the tanker ØSTHAV (see report below). On 10.11.1953 when entering the port of Arendal (southern Norway) the vessel ended up on the rocks. She was freed again, but suffered major damage to the hull and engine with repairs lasting until mid-January 1954. Otherwise, no major accidents hit the small freighter, which however had several small collisions in approach passages, e.g. on the Manchester Ship Canal, but without major damage. In August 1955, when the LUCERNE was in Mantyluoto, Finland, Captain Blockland was taken to the hospital in nearby Pori, where he died on 25.8.1955.

In May 1956 it was sold to West Germany to the Partenreederei m.s. "Wolfram" in Lübeck. Manager is Gerhard Kissau from Lübeck (Other sources state the shipping company G. & I. Kissau Lübeck as the owner). Deleted from the Swiss register on 20.9.1956 it was registered under German flag as WOLFRAM in Lübeck (callsign: DJWU) and from 1957 Robert Bornhofen K.G., Hamburg became manager.

On a voyage from Teignmouth to Sölvesborg, Sweden it stranded on 18.1.1960 on the approaches of the port of destination and was declared a total loss. Salvaged on 25.03.1960 by Neptune Salvage Co. it was then towed to Sölvesborg. The wreck was purchased from the shipyard, Donsö Varv & MV A/B, repaired and put back to service with the same name, but now under the flag of Sweden (call sign: SIEG) with Karl Jacobson as manager. In February 1964 it was sold again to A/B Bardal or, according to other sources, P/R Niels, Varberg, Sweden. The ship now reverted to its original name of BARDAL, but sailed under the Swedish flag with home port Varberg. According to a photo, the superstructure now was completely renewed.

In May 1965 the company A / B Underås of Enhörna, southwest of Stockholm, bought the freighter and renamed her UNDERÅS SANDTAG V. This shipping company operated several ships in the transport of building materials, such as sand, gravel and stone. The centre mast and the winches were removed and the two cargo holds were connected together to form one large hold. In 1967, the main engine was renewed, an 8-cylinder engine of 680 HP from Alpha Diesel A / S, Frederikshavn, was installed and in 1972 the ship was extended by 12 metres at a shipyard unknown to us, but probably Swedish (new survey: 499 GRT, 293 NRT, 1016 DWT, 10 knots, new home port: Södertälje).

The Swedes sold the ship in 1978 to Bror Hussell, Mariehamn, on the Swedish-speaking Aland Islands, Finland. Renamed SANGARD and registered in Mariehamn under the Finnish flag (call sign: OIIP). There then followed a number of changes of ownership in Finland as well:

It appears that from 1979 to 1997, the Ariston Sora Oy group of companies, which operate in the building materials trade, were always the owner of the ship (this company also produced hard concrete). The SANDSTORM was laid-up in 1995 in a small bay near Porvoo (Swedish: Borgå), east of Helsinki. The main engine already had been removed before. Resold in 1997 to Dennis Maritime O/Y Ltd. Porvoo and should have been renamed ANNIKA and registered in Helsinki. Apparently this plan was never implemented. In 2011 they towed the old ship to Savonlinna in the Finnish Lake District and a year later it was demolished in the dry dock of the Teknola Oy.

SwissShips HPS, MB, NB, October 2019

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Additional Information and Stories

Rescue of shipwrecked crew from the tanker ØSTHAV (call sign LKCD), New Year's Eve 1951

The Norwegian tanker ØSTHAV was built in 1931 at the Deutsche Werft in Hamburg and came safely through the turmoils of World War II. The ship was 142 meters long, could carry 12'450 tons and was powered by a MAN diesel engine of 3'100 BHP.

            osthav

Norwegian tanker ØSTHAV

Carrying a cargo of diesel oil, the ØSTHAV was under way from Pauillac (near Bordeaux) to Lisbon as a heavy storm was raging in the Bay of Biscay. On 29.12.1951 off the coast of northern Spain, north of Santander, at position 43° 55 'N / 004° 28' W the tanker broke apart.

The LUCERNE was in the port of Santander and should have sailed with ballast to Bordeaux. The captain waited in harbour for better weather and decided on 31.12.1951 to sail after the sea had noticeably calmed. The vessel left port at 11:00 and in the afternoon at 14:30 the watchkeepers on the bridge sighted the drifting wreck of the ØSTHAV on starboard. The starboard lifeboat was brought to the water and after a difficult and dangerous crossing they reached the wreck, of which only the foreship was above the waterline. Despite the high swells and waves that rolled incessantly over the tanker's deck, they succeeded in rescuing five people, one a woman (the captain’s wife), from the tanker and bringing them back to the LUCERNE. On a second trip, the lifeboat took the remaining four men, including the ØSTHAV's captain, to safety. After all these exhausted and frozen people were saved, the sailors tried to tie a towing line to the wreck, but failed. At 16:30, the freighter continued on its voyage and the crew, along with the nine rescued, probably spent an uncomfortable night, crammed into the confined quarters. The next day, it was New Year 1952, they arrived in the afternoon in Pauillac in the estuary of the Gironde. The survivors were given on shore into medical care. Afterwards the LUCERNE continued to Bordeaux and went alongside her loading pier. Various reporters came aboard to ask and report on these events.

Three Spanish fishing trawlers attempted to take the stern in tow, but the towline broke and this part drifted onto the rocky coast at Galiziano, about 20 miles east of Santander. The foreship drifted to Zumaia in the east, where it stranded on 2.1.1952. Both parts of the wrecked tanker were later scrapped in Spain.
Very little is known or was written about this calamity. There is no record of deaths and it must be assumed that the entire crew survived without major injuries. A large part of the oil cargo was spilled into the sea, but this is hardly mentioned; it was a different epoch.

The rescue operation of the LUCERNE is nowhere mentioned, but our story is based on the report and logbook entries of the captain.

SwissShips HPS, MB, NB, October 2019

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