South Shields
South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England; it is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. The town was once known in Roman Britain, Roman times as ''Arbeia'' and as ''Caer Urfa'' by the Early Middle Ag ...
, she was renamed ''Ellen'' in 1881 and then acquired by Peter Mærsk-Møller in 1886 and renamed ''Laura''. The ship was the first to bear the white seven pointed star emblem of the
Maersk
(), usually known simply as Maersk ( ), is a Danish Freight transport, shipping and logistics company founded in 1904 by Arnold Peter Møller and his father Peter Mærsk Møller.
Maersk's business activities include Port operator, port operat ...
Arnold Peter Møller
Arnold Peter Møller (2 October 1876 – 12 June 1965), better known as A. P. Møller, was a Danish shipping magnate, businessman who was the founder of the A.P. Moller-Maersk Group in 1904.
Biography
A. P. Møller was the son of captain Pe ...
.
History
1875 to 1881
''Roll Call'' was built in 1875 by
John Readhead & Sons
John Readhead & Sons was a shipyard on the River Tyne in South Shields, Tyne and Wear, England founded in 1865.
History
John Readhead and John Softley founded the business in 1865 in South Shields as Readhead and Softley. The first ship they bu ...
in
South Shields
South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England; it is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. The town was once known in Roman Britain, Roman times as ''Arbeia'' and as ''Caer Urfa'' by the Early Middle Ag ...
, UK. Her iron hull was long, wide and had a draft of . She was fitted with a 40-HP steam engine which powered a screw propeller.
1881 to 1886
In 1881 the ship was acquired by O Prior & Co and renamed ''Ellen''; she was registered in Copenhagen with J Svendsen serving as captain.
1886 to 1909
In 1886 the ship was acquired by Dampskibsselskabet Laura (Danish for "Laura Steamship Company") and captain Peter Mærsk-Møller in
Svendborg
Svendborg () is a town on the island of Funen in south-central Denmark, and the seat of Svendborg Municipality. With a population of 27,616 (1 January 2025), Svendborg is Funen's second largest city. In 1898 Peter Mærsk-Møller handed captaincy of the ''Laura'' to one of his sons, Hans Nielsen Jeppesen Møller. Peter Mærsk-Møller would go on to found Dampskibsselskabet Svendborg (Danish for "Svendborg Steamship Company") in 1904 with another of his sons
Arnold Peter Møller
Arnold Peter Møller (2 October 1876 – 12 June 1965), better known as A. P. Møller, was a Danish shipping magnate, businessman who was the founder of the A.P. Moller-Maersk Group in 1904.
Biography
A. P. Møller was the son of captain Pe ...
, which would eventually become the shipping conglomerate
Mærsk
(), usually known simply as Maersk ( ), is a Danish shipping and logistics company founded in 1904 by Arnold Peter Møller and his father Peter Mærsk Møller.
Maersk's business activities include port operation, supply chain management, war ...
Danmarks Radio
DR (), officially the Danish Broadcasting Corporation in English, is a Danish public-service radio and television broadcasting company. Founded in 1925 as a public-service organization, it is Denmark's oldest and largest electronic media enter ...
, 30 June 2005
Peter Mærsk Møller
Peter Mærsk Møller ( ; 22 September 1836 – 9 February 1927) was a Danish sea captain and the father of Arnold Peter Møller, founder of the Maersk corporation, and grandfather of Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller, who made Maersk the largest containe ...
attached a blue banner with a white seven pointed star to both sides of the funnel of ''Laura'' when his wife recovered from illness. In a letter to his wife, P.M. Møller explained in October 1886, "The little star on the chimney is a memory of the night when I prayed for you and asked for a sign: If a star would appear in the gray and cloudy sky, it would mean that the Lord answers prayers." The same star later became the emblem of the Maersk Group.
1909 and beyond
In 1909 the ship was acquired by O Litzio of
Catania
Catania (, , , Sicilian and ) is the second-largest municipality on Sicily, after Palermo, both by area and by population. Despite being the second city of the island, Catania is the center of the most densely populated Sicilian conurbation, wh ...
and renamed ''Ignazio''. By 1918 the ship was registered to A&E Halfon of
Benghazi
Benghazi () () is the List of cities in Libya, second-most-populous city in Libya as well as the largest city in Cyrenaica, with an estimated population of 859,000 in 2023. Located on the Gulf of Sidra in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, Ben ...
,
Libya
Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...
, and called ''Adele''.
By
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, ''Adele'' was under German control. On 27 August 1941, she was attacked and damaged by
Soviet Navy
The Soviet Navy was the naval warfare Military, uniform service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy made up a large part of the Soviet Union's strategic planning in the event of a conflict with t ...