This small cargo ship was built 1955 by AG Weser, Seebeckwerft in Bremerhaven, West Germany for the Unterweser Reederei AG, Bremen and was named KLAUS. She was registered under German flag with call sign DIJF.
On 19.12.1959 the vessel was purchased by Luby Trading & Shipping, Monrovia, an owner based in Milano, Italy. Her new name was LINORA and she was registered under Liberian flag (GRT: 1228, NRT: 807, DWT: 1728, call sign: 5LXW)
0n 22.06.1966 the ship was acquired by Keller Shipping Ltd., Basel for a reported purchase price of about 80'000 British Pounds. She was registered under Swiss flag with her home port being now Basel (call sign: HBDM). She was named MURTEN, after a small Swiss town west of Berne and the site of a medieval battle.
The MURTEN operated together with the other coastal cargo vessels of Keller-Lines on a liner service between Italy (Genova, Livorno, Marina di Carrara, Savona), France, Algeria, Marocco (Casablanca), Spain (Mediterranean ports and Vigo) and Portugal.
Cargoes carried were large marble slabs from Marina di Carrara to Portugal. On the return voyage sometimes a different quality of marble was transported from Portugal back to Marina di Carrara. From Italy and France general cargo was loaded and from Portugal and Spain large amounts of cork and canned sardines were carried on the return voyages.
In the late sixties the vessel had a crew of 12 persons and life on board was peaceful, usually one night in each port was granted, in Genova and Lisbon 2 to 3 nights. After cargo work in the evening the diesel generator was stopped and lighting was provided only by a few battery powered small bulbs. Usually only one man remained for the deck watch and most of the rest of the crew enjoyed an evening ashore. Later a harbour diesel generator was installed in the engine casing, creating a hell of a noise in the accommodations.
On 26.07.1979 the ship was sold to Haladi Shipping Corp., Panama, which was an owner from the Middle East. She was renamed HALADI I flying the flag of Panama (call sign: HO-6115).
In 1985 she was sold to Rambaran Trading & Shipping Co. Ltd., Kingstown, St. Vincent and The Grenadines and renamed HENRY R III. This company was controlled out of Georgetown in Guyana (East Bank Demerara).
In 1998/99 still registered in Lloyd's Register of Shipping.
Additional Information and Stories
As Engineer on the MURTEN, 1970/71 by H.P. Schwab
In August 1970 the Primo Macchinista (1st engineer) on the MURTEN was discharged sick in Genua and the inspector Gerhard Baumberger sent me from the NEVADA to the MURTEN. In response to my objection, that I couldn't speak Italian, he just said dryly "Well, then you can learn it there, you stay on board for at least two months, then we'll see". It was then about ten months until the end of May 1971, when I signed off in Lisbon.
That's how I got on the MURTEN and I can only say that it was a great experience, very different from the big vessels. The crew consisted of 12 men and life on board was mostly peaceful, normally there was always a night in the harbour, in Genoa, Casablanca and Lisbon even 2 to 3 nights.
Complement:
1 Comandante (Master)
1 Direttore di macchina (Chief Engineer), on small vessels usually called Capo
1 Primo ufficiale di coperta (1st. Mate)
1 Secondo ufficiale di coperta (2nd. Mate)
1 Primo ufficiale di macchina (1st. Engineer)
1 Secondo ufficiale di Macchina (2nd. Engineer)
1 Nostromo (Bootsmann)
3 Marinai (A.B. / sailors)
1 Cuoco (Cook)
1 Ingrassatore (Motorman)
Total: 12 Men
The captain said as a greeting, "if you don't like our Italian grub, tell the cook to make you a steak," but I never had to take advantage of this offer, the food was always excellent.
Life on board was pleasant and relaxed, only at sea was it mostly rough and bumpy on the small ship. Three watches were kept, the old man and the Capo went the 08-12 watch, i.e. the Capo usually left the motor man down, while he mostly sat in his cabin or stayed in the small workshop crafting small decorative items. Repair and overhaul work were usually only done in the harbour, at sea generally only the watches were kept. Our longest sea trips were from Barcelona to Casablanca and from Sevilla to France, each about 3 days. In Italy and in Lisbon we only had watch duty. After arrival in Italy the Capo went home to Savona. Same in Lisbon, he disappeared and only came back on board shortly before leaving, nobody knew what he was doing in the city all the time, but probably he had a girlfriend. The Spanish Ingrassatore also went home, he lived somewhere near Vigo on a farm and only came back on board in Leixoes or Vigo. Most of the time Julio brought homemade sausages, olives, smoked ham or a bottle of farm-made liquor, but then he stayed on board for the rest of the round voyage. The secondo macchinista from Marina di Carrara also enjoyed his time out with his girlfriend in Carrara. The deck officers roughly had the same routine, they too had their rest periods at home.
In the officers' mess we sat around a big table, always in clean clothes and normally it was very civilized. We only ate when everyone was sitting at the table, then the cook served the food. Two topics, however, could lead to excited and heated discussions, football and Mussolini. In regards to football, one part was for Juventus Turin and the other for Inter Milano. In the case of Mussolini, the old Capo defended the Duce, while the rest objected and gave him a good bashing. In the port of Livorno, looking at the broken harbour cranes, the Capo said: "If Mussolini were still alive, all these cranes would be repaired and in operation. And at my home I wouldn't have to lock the front door twice, I could leave it open, nothing would go missing". When the cook prepared a big fish, the capo thought it was his right to receive the head, in his opinion the best part of the fish. When the head was gone, the capo would rant and rage, but would calm down quickly.
After about four months, the old man said to me "you're always on board when we get to go home, why don't you go home to Switzerland, the capo will give you a call". So said, done, on arrival Savona I took the train home and after a week the Capo ordered me back on board. On a beautiful morning I marched with my bag to the ship in Genoa, at the gangway stood to my horror the inspector Bärtschi, instead of the expected scolding he only said "well, did you have a nice holiday? So it was clear that these times off were part of an unwritten "deal" with the shipping company. On this coastal trade one earned less than on the deep-sea ships of the Nautilus-Line on long voyages, despite this, the married crew attached great importance to a regular time at home (by the way, on the German coaster there was about the same system).
In the harbour, after the cargo work was finished in the evening and all the crew had a shower, the diesel generator was switched off. Lighting was supplied by battery-powered bulbs, which gave a rather dim illumination. Most of the time everyone went ashore, only one man stayed behind as deck watch. At that time, the "evil" General Franco in Spain and the "evil" Salazar in Portugal still ruled, a good time for us. In the restaurant, half a dozen, immaculately dressed waiters were hopping around our table. When the waiters took the orders, I joined the others, there was mostly only fish and other sea food, so I learned to love and appreciate these dishes. The Fundador was served almost ceremonially and the glasses were preheated at the table.
Supposedly for safety reasons, a harbour diesel generator was installed in the engine casing on my last trip, which naturally made a terrible noise. Instead of installing the thing under the forecastle as on other coasters, the shipping company saved on an expensive cable from the forecastle to the engine room aft.
On the morning of 16.02.1971 the MURTEN suffered an engine failure, while moving from the roads to the pier at Marseille. This malfunction was that the main engine would not reverse, causing the vessel to slam hard into the pier. The result of this impact was that the vessel’s stem was pushed in above the waterline. The repair gave us three extra days in the harbour, it's a pity it didn't happen in Lisbon, it would have been like winning the lottery. The reversing problem already announced itself about two weeks before, as once or twice in an Italian port, we could only reverse after several attempts. As everyone wanted to go ashore, we didn't bother to follow up the incident. Well, fortunately Marseille was not a favoured port to go ashore, so we had ample time to investigate the cause. Under the reversing lever there was a control disc with a milled curve groove, which was moved by a pin (about 8-10 mm diameter). This pin was broken and depending on the situation it took the rest with it and changed direction - or not. It can be assumed that the capo pulled himself out of this affair very well, at least we never heard anything more about this unfortunate story. For me it was a lesson not to take such bad omens lightly in the future.
Long before our dear friends in the north even had the idea of collecting waste from the ships in the port, the Italians in Livorno and Genoa had already set up a garbage collection service. Old wooden barges came alongside and the sailors could empty the "shit bins" hanging at the stern. The barge people in Livorno brought us a little dog, which soon became the captain's and the crew's favourite. From time to time he also liked a sip of beer. One morning in Seville he escaped onto the pier and barked at a moving big articulated lorry. Unfortunately the young dog was inexperienced with car traffic and got under the wheels of the trailer. With serious injuries he breathed his last in the captain's arms and received a "sailor's funeral" from the stern of our ship.
If there was something wrong on board, the Italians said "Hei Svizzero, tell the inspector ..., he won't listen to us anyway". When the inspector Bärtschi arrived at noon, I had to tell him what was wrong on board, e.g. that the heating had not worked properly for some time, etc. etc. The poor man, who actually only came on board to enjoy a good lunch, then had to listen to all my complaints, which he obviously didn't like at all. One evening I met Bärtschi in the "Texas Bar", he paid me a few beers and talked for about two hours. To cut a long story short, he said "instead of just grumbling, go to the nautical school and you can complain afterwards". So it was thanks to Mr. Bärtschi, that I was able to make up my mind to go to the marine college in England.
SwissShips - HPS, JTA, August 2020