Arrow (barque)

''Parma'' was a four-masted steel-hulled barque which was built in 1902 as ''Arrow'' for the Anglo-American Oil Co Ltd, London. In 1912 she was sold to F. Laeisz, Hamburg, Germany. During the First World War she was interned in Chile, and postwar was assigned to the United Kingdom as war reparations. She was sold back to Laiesz in 1921. She was sold in 1931 to Ruben De Cloux & Alan Villiers of Mariehamn, Finland. Following an accident in 1936, she was sold and hulked at Haifa, British Mandate of Palestine, now Israel, for two years before being scrapped.

Description

''Arrow'' was built by A Rodger & Co, Port Glasgow as yard number 361. She was long, with a beam of and a depth of .
She had four masts and was rigged as a barque, with royal sails over double top and topgallant sails. ''Arrow'' was completed in April 1902. She was a sister ship to ''Eclipse'', which was completed two months later.

History

''Arrow'' entered service with the Anglo-American Oil Co Ltd, London, employed in the kerosene trade. In 1912, she was sold to F Laeisz, Hamburg for £15,000 and was renamed ''Parma''. She was employed in the nitrate trade between Germany and Chile. At the outbreak of the First World War, ''Parma'' was interned at Iquique, Chile. In 1920, she was assigned to the United Kingdom as war reparations. In 1921, she was transferred to the Belgian Government, and placed under the management of Association Maritime Belge, Antwerp. On 8 November 1921, ''Parma'' was sold back to F Laeisz for £10,000 stg. She was again employed in the nitrate trade. In 1926, ''Parma'' sailed from Hamburg to Talcahuano, Chile in 86 days and in 1928 she sailed from Land's End to Talcahuano in 70 days.

In 1931, ''Parma'' was sold to Ruben De Cloux and Alan Villiers of Mariehamn, Finland for . She was the largest sailing ship under the Finnish flag at the time, holding that position until 1935 when Gustaf Erikson bought ''Moshulu''. She was employed in the wheat trade between Germany and Australia. In 1933, she sailed from Port Victoria to Falmouth in 83 days. This was the fastest ever achieved by a sailing ship.

On 1 July 1936, ''Parma'' collided with an observation tower at Princes Dock, Glasgow when a gust of wind caught her as she was docking. As a result of the collision, plates in her hull were sprung open by falling coping stones from the quayside. ''Parma'' was sold to Rederei A/B Parma U V Wennstrom, Mariehamn. She was stripped of her masts and rigging, and converted to a hulk. In 1936, ''Parma'' was sold to Barnett Bros, London. ''Parma'' served as a hulk at Haifa, Palestine (now Israel), until 1938 when she was scrapped. A model of ''Parma'' can be seen at the Ålands Sjöfartsmuseum, Mariehamn.

Captains

The captains of ''Parma'' were:-
* Töpper (1924–26)
* Holst (1926–27)
* Rohwer (1928–29)
* Brockhöft (1928–29)
* Ruben de Cloux (1931–36)

Official Numbers and Code Letters

Official Numbers were a forerunner to IMO numbers. ''Parma'' was assigned the United Kingdom Official Number 115804, she was also assigned the Finnish Official Number 324.

''Parma'' was assigned the Code Letters RBWN when she was under the German Flag, and OHQQ when she was under the Finnish Flag.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parma
1902 ships
Ships built on the River Clyde
Barques
Merchant ships of the United Kingdom
Tall ships of the United Kingdom
Merchant ships of Germany
World War I merchant ships of Germany
Tall ships of Germany
Merchant ships of Belgium
Tall ships of Belgium
Merchant ships of Finland
Tall ships of Finland