was a

cargo In transportation, cargo refers to goods transported by land, water or air, while freight refers to its conveyance. In economics, freight refers to goods transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. The term cargo is also used in cas ...

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

that was built in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in 1911 and sunk off the coast of

Bali Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...

in 1944. Sit was launched as ''Bra-Kar'' for Fred. Olsen & Co. of

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. In 1916 it changed owners and was renamed ''Havø''. In 1935 it changed owners again and was renamed ''Mabuhay II''. In 1938

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese owners acquired the ship and renamed her ''Ryūsei Maru''. In 1944 it was serving as a hell ship when a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

submarine torpedoed it, sinking it with the loss of between 3,000 and 5,000 lives. This was the first of four Fred Olsen ships to be called ''Bra-Kar''. The second was a steamship built in 1920, sold in 1922, and renamed. The third was a motor ship built in 1928, and sunk by enemy action in 1943. The fourth was a Type C1 motor ship bought second-hand in 1946, sold in 1961, and renamed.

Building ''Bra-Kar''

The Tyne Iron Shipbuilding Company built the ship as yard number 177 at

Willington Quay Willington Quay is an area in the borough of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear in northern England. It is on the north bank of the River Tyne, facing Jarrow, and between Wallsend and North Shields. It is served by the Howdon Metro station in Howdo ...

on the

River Tyne The River Tyne is a river in North East England. Its length (excluding tributaries) is . It is formed by the North Tyne and the South Tyne, which converge at Warden, Northumberland, Warden near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The ...

. She was launched on 14 February 1911 and completed that March. Her registered length was , her beam was , and her depth was . Her

tonnage Tonnage is a measure of the capacity of a ship, and is commonly used to assess fees on commercial shipping. The term derives from the taxation paid on '' tuns'' or casks of wine. In modern maritime usage, "tonnage" specifically refers to a cal ...

s were and . She had a single

screw A screw is an externally helical threaded fastener capable of being tightened or released by a twisting force (torque) to the screw head, head. The most common uses of screws are to hold objects together and there are many forms for a variety ...

, driven by a three-cylinder

triple-expansion engine A compound steam engine unit is a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages. A typical arrangement for a compound engine is that the steam is first expanded in a high-pressure (HP) Cylinder (engine), cylinder, then ha ...

built by John Dickinson and Sons of

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

. The engine was rated at 349 NHP, and gave her a speed of . ''Bra-Kar''s owner was Akties Bonheur, and Fred Olsen & Co managed her. She was registered in Christiania. Her

code letters Code letters or ship's call sign (or callsign) Mtide Taurus - IMO 7626853"> SHIPSPOTTING.COM >> Mtide Taurus - IMO 7626853/ref> were a method of identifying ships before the introduction of modern navigation aids. Later, with the introduction of ...

were MGNT.

''Havø'' and ''Mabuhay II''

In 1916 Henrik Østervold acquired ''Bra-Kar'' and renamed her ''Havø''. By 1920 she was equipped for

wireless telegraphy Wireless telegraphy or radiotelegraphy is the transmission of text messages by radio waves, analogous to electrical telegraphy using electrical cable, cables. Before about 1910, the term ''wireless telegraphy'' was also used for other experimenta ...

, and that year Østervold transferred her registration to

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

. In 1934 the

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally as ...

LDCA superseded her code letters. In 1935 the Far Eastern Steamship Co Ltd A/S acquired ''Havø'', renamed her ''Mabuhay II'', and appointed Johan Gran to manage her.

''Ryūsei Maru''

In 1938 Matsumoto Masaichi acquired ''Mabuhay II'' and renamed it ''Ryūsei Maru''. It was registered in

Kobe Kobe ( ; , ), officially , is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. With a population of around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's List of Japanese cities by population, seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Port of Toky ...

, and its call sign was JXDM. In 1943, Matsumoto Masaichi merged with Nakamura Kisen KK. On 5 November that year the

Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...

requisitioned ''Ryūsei Maru'' for its Railways and Shipping Section. On 24 February 1944 ''Ryūsei Maru'' left

Surabaya Surabaya is the capital city of East Java Provinces of Indonesia, province and the List of Indonesian cities by population, second-largest city in Indonesia, after Jakarta. Located on the northeastern corner of Java island, on the Madura Strai ...

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

for

Ambon, Maluku Ambon (formerly ) is the capital and largest city of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of Maluku (province), Maluku. This city is also known as , which means "beautiful" or "pretty" Ambon in the Ambonese language. It covers a lan ...

carrying about 6,600 men: 1,244 Japanese Army soldiers, 2,865 Indian prisoners of war, and 2,559 rōmusha conscripted labourers. It was part of a convoy with '' Tango Maru'', escorted by the

minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

s '' W-8'' and ''W-11'', and the auxiliary submarine chaser ''Takunan Maru No. 5''. Allied naval intelligence was aware of the convoy, and the US Navy sent the submarines and to the Bali Sea to intercept it. At 2045 hrs on 25 February, ''Rasher'' sank ''Tango Maru'' by torpedo at position , about north of Bali. At least 3,000 of the people aboard were killed. At 2225 hrs on the same evening, ''Rasher'' fired a spread of four torpedoes at ''Ryūsei Maru'' at position . Three hit the ship, splitting it in two. Estimates of fatalities range from at least 3,000 to 4,998.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ryusei Maru 1911 ships Maritime incidents in February 1944 Merchant ships of Norway Ships built on the River Tyne Ships sunk by American submarines Shipwrecks of Indonesia Steamships of Japan Steamships of Norway World War I merchant ships of Norway World War II merchant ships of Japan World War II shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean

Building ''Bra-Kar''

''Havø'' and ''Mabuhay II''

''Ryūsei Maru''

See also

References

Bibliography