SHIP’S TELEGRAPH

MARITIME NEWS FROM AROUND THE PORT OF LYTTELTON

Editor – Clive Keightley PO Box 123 Lyttelton 8841 New Zealand Phone (03) 3288954 Mobile 0276664343 Email [email protected]

Newsletter Number 5/18 1 September 2018

FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK

In my last Edition of Ship’s Telegraph this section was longer than usual. Because this Edition is all about Merchant Navy Day it is again going to be longer than normal. On 3 September 2018 it will be Merchant Navy Day which is commemorated each year, being the anniversary of the sinking of ss Athenia which was the first Allied Merchant Ship to be sunk by Germany during World War 2. The Athenia was a steam turbine transatlantic passenger liner built in in 1923 for the Anchor Donaldson Line. She worked between the and the east coast of

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Canada until , when a from a German sank her in the Western Approaches.

On 1 September 1939 Athenia, commanded by Captain James Cook, left Glasgow for Montreal via Liverpool and . She carried 1,103 passengers, including about 500 Jewish refugees, 469 Canadians, 311 US citizens, 72 UK subjects and 315 crew. She departed Liverpool at 1300 hours on 2 September and on the evening of 3 September was 60 nautical miles northwest of Inishtrahull, Ireland when she was sighted by the German submarine U30 commanded by Oberleutnant Fritz-Julius Lemp around 1630 hours. Lemp later claimed that the fact that she was a darkened ship steering a zigzag course which seemed to be well off the normal shipping routes made him believe she was either a troopship, a Q ship or an armed merchant cruiser. Lemp fired two torpedoes, one exploded on Athenia’s port side in her engine room, and she began to settle by the stern. Athenia remained afloat for more than 14 hours, until she finally sank stern first at 1040 hours the next morning. Of the 1418 aboard, 98 passengers and 19 crew members were killed.

As Athenia was an unarmed passenger ship, the attack violated the Hague Conventions and the London Naval Treaty of 1930 that allowed all warships, including , to stop and search Merchant Vessels, but forbade capture as prize or sinking unless the ship was carrying contraband or engaged in military activity. Even if this was the case, and it was decided to sink their ship, it was required that passengers and crew must be transferred to a “place of safety” as a priority. Although Germany had not signed the 1930 treaty, the German 1936 Prize Rules binding their naval commanders copied most of its restrictions. Lemp, the Commander of U30, did none of these things choosing instead to fire without warning.

Athenia sinking by the stern

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Lemp had made a shocking error in sinking the Athenia. In Germany, when Grand Admiral Raeder first heard of the sinking of the Athenia he made inquiries and was told that no U-boat was nearer than 75 miles to the location of the sinking. When on 27 September U30 returned to Wilhelmshaven, Lemp reported to Admiral Donitz that he had sunk the Athenia in error. Donitz sent Lemp to where he explained the incident to Raeder. In turn, Raeder reported to Hitler, who decided that the incident should be kept secret for political reasons. Raeder decided against court-martialling Lemp because he considered that he had made an understandable mistake and the log of the U30 was altered to sustain the official denials.

It was not until the that the truth of the U-boat sinking of SS Athenia finally came out.

By the end of WW2 36,749 Commonwealth merchant seafarers had lost their lives mostly due to the sinking of Merchant Ships by German U-boats.

Merchant Navy Day in New Zealand is a significant commemoration to honour the several thousand New Zealand seafarers who served under the British red ensign in both the First and Second World Wars. Some 70 are known to have lost their lives during WW1 and at least 140 during WW2, with a similar number taken prisoner.

These civilian volunteers sailed ships delivering troops, military equipment and vital cargoes of food, fuel and raw materials. Many ships were torpedoed or bombed and survivors sometimes spent days or weeks in lifeboats before being rescued. In recent times these civilian volunteers have been given much more recognition for their contribution to the war effort and the Merchant Navy is now looked upon as the fourth service. As proof of this the Royal New Zealand Naval Association in Papanui have invited members of the Merchant Navy Association in Lyttelton to join their Organisation. Those of us who took up the offer have received a great welcome and have thoroughly enjoyed attending the various functions held at the Papanui RSA.

While some people may criticize me for including the next section I think it is time to consider the tragedies and hardships of seafarers serving in the German Navy. In particular the German Submarine Service. They were not all fanatical Nazis but people serving in the German Navy who merely thought they were doing their duty for their country. They were all very young and many of them were still teenagers. The majority of Commanders of the U-boats ranged in age from early twenties to about thirty. Young men were enticed into the Kriegsmarine, the name of the German Navy from 1935 to 1945, with advertisements portraying the glamour of the submarine arm’s success being the main appeal. Crews on the U-boats received extra bonuses and were provided with special facilities for relaxing after each patrol.

Contrary to Allied wartime propaganda that portrayed U-boat captains and crews as war criminals who gloatingly machine-gunned helpless merchant sailors, atrocities

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had in fact been extremely rare in WW2. In the early years of the war U-boat crews often actually helped their victims. Otto Kretschmer, Commander of U99, in an interview which can be seen on YouTube, made a point of saying that he only wanted to sink the ships and do all he could to save the crews and help the survivors. This attitude all came to an end when in 1942 Captain Hartenstein torpedoed the British troopship Laconia. Hartenstein did all he could to rescue survivors from the Laconia who were a mixture of nationalities consisting of British servicemen and civilians, Italian and Polish. It was impossible to accommodate them all inside the submarine so some remained on deck while others stayed in their lifeboats which were secured to the U-boat. He called for help from any ship or other U-Boat which could take some of the survivors as he could not cope with such large numbers of people. However, before all the survivors were taken off a four-engine B- 24 Liberator bomber with American markings approached the U-boat and lifeboats. Although the pilot was aware that these people were survivors he went ahead and dropped bombs on the submarine and lifeboats killing many people. Women and children were screaming and the U-boat badly damaged, Hartenstein was forced to break off the rescue and head for his home base. Apparently the USAAF antisubmarine base on Ascension Island ordered the pilot to carry out the attack anyway, on the grounds the U-boat remained a danger to ships in the area. Karl Donitz, the German Commander of the whole U-boat fleet, then gave the order to all U-boats “All attempts to rescue the crews of sunken ships will cease forthwith”.

U-Boat Memorial containing all the names of German Navy Personnel who were killed on U-Boats

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The number of U-boats lost in WW1 was 200 and in WW2 739. Between 1914 and 1918 4,700 men serving on U-boats were killed and between 1939 and 1945 30,0026 men were killed.

Two U-boat Commanders stand out above the rest, Otto Kretschmer and Erich Topp. They were both highly intelligent and well educated. Kretschmer’s U99 was depth charged in 1941 and he was forced to abandon his U-boat. He was rescued from the icy water by HMS Walker and taken prisoner. Kretschmer hardly fitted the British captors’ image of a U-boat Commander. Instead of a fanatical Nazi, they found a quiet-voiced, polite, unpolitical, professional officer who spoke good English and was quick to congratulate the Walker’s Captain on his success. Erich Topp was one of the relatively few U-boat men to survive WW2.

Otto Kretschmer spent almost seven years as a prisoner of war and in 1947 he was allowed to return to Germany. He joined the newly formed West German Navy (Bundesmarine) in 1955 and eventually promoted to the rank of Flotilla Admiral in 1965. From 1962 he served as a staff officer in NATO before becoming Chief of Staff of the NATO command Comnavbaltap at Keil in May 1965. He retired in September 1970. After years of involvement with the sea it was extremely sad that Otto Kretschmer died in a boating accident while on holiday in 1998 at the age of 86. He was with his wife in Bavaria on the Danube celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. His body was cremated and his ashes were scattered at sea.

After the war Erich Topp attended the Technical University in Hanover where he studied architecture and graduated in 1950 with a degree in engineering. He rejoined the German Navy (Bundesmarine) in 1958 as Chief of Staff at NATO’s Military Committee in Washington DC. In 1963 he was appointed Chief of Staff in command of the fleet and served from 1965 as Deputy Director in Naval Staff, employed in the Ministry of Defence. Promoted to Flotilla Admiral in 1965 and to Rear Admiral in 1966. He retired on 31 December 1969. Up until his death on 26 December 2005 he had continual nightmares about his war years. He never got over the number of ships he sunk and all the people who were killed as a consequence.

We must now not forget that Merchant Navy Day on 3 September 2018 is a commemoration to honour the several thousand New Zealand seafarers who served under the British red ensign. However, in this Edition of Ship’s Telegraph I thought we might also have a brief look at the German side. It is 73 years since WW2 ended. Was the huge loss of lives on both sides really worth it? I am beginning to think not. WW2 was really all caused by one man who was a lunatic who eventually committed suicide.

As a final comment it is interesting to note that in 2018 the conditions under which Britain leaves the European Union (Brexit) are being dictated to by the German Government!

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History of the Wellington-Lyttelton Ferry Service (continued) Part Eight

Union Steamship Company House Flag

The reconstruction of the Union SS Co fleet after WW2 commenced with a new Inter-Island Express Steamer, the Hinemoa of 1946, and was the first one class vessel to be ordered for the service. The Directors decided that all ships on the Steamer Express Service should be one class and steps were taken to convert the Wahine and the Rangatira into one class vessels by the end of 1946. The Hinemoa was also the first to be fitted with Radar.

TEV Hinemoa

The design of the twin screw, steam driven turbo electric vessel was based on the of the highly successful Rangatira of 1931, but with an enlarged superstructure increasing the accommodation by 100 and a further 800 tons displacement. This expediency ensured a shorter construction period and she was the first passenger vessel launched in Britain after WW2,

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She was launched on 30 May 1946 from the yard of Vickers Armstrong at Barrow on Furness. She departed on her delivery voyage on 21 December 1946. Because all the Shipping Companies had long waiting lists of people waiting to come out to New Zealand when the war ended, it was arranged that the Hinemoa should bring out ninety civilian passengers and ten Deck Officers also as passengers who were migrating to New Zealand to take up positions with the Union Company.

Launch of Hinemoa

Dining Room

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Passenger Foyer and Purser’s Bureau

Deluxe Cabin

Significant Dates

1946 - 21 December Delivery Voyage via Port Said, Colombo and Fremantle.

1947 - 26 January Arrived at Wellington passing the liner Wanganella stranded on Barrets Reef.

1947 - 10 February Commenced maiden voyage to Lyttelton.

1966 - 1 August Final sailing, replaced by the new Wahine and laid up at Wellington.

1966 - 12 October Used as a hotel ship during the visit of US President Lyndon Johnson,

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1967 -19 October Sold to the Hydro-Electric Commission of Tasmania and renamed the George H Evans.

1967 - 25 October Final departure from Wellington under her own steam for Bell Bay. Tasmania where she was used as an electrical power ship. Her main engines were disconnected from the screws and the power generated was fed into the main grid network. Because of the onset of rain increasing output from the shore based hydro system the ship was hardly used.

1969 - Sold to the Hammersley Iron Ore Co for accommodation and power generating services in Dampier Western Australia.

1970 - Towed to Hong Kong for demolition.

LYTTELTON PORT COMPANY

Channel Deepening Project Begins

Fairway – One of the world’s largest dredges

The Fairway, which is one of the largest dredges in the world, arrived in Lyttelton on Monday 27 August 2018 with dredging commencing on Wednesday 29 August 2018. The Fairway is huge with a length of 230m. She sailed from Mumbai, India, with a stop in Singapore for cleaning and anti-fouling. The LPC was granted consent in March to dredge the channel. The project was opposed by Ngai Tahu and the surfers group Surfbreak. During the consenting process, Ngai Tahu lodged environmental and cultural objections as to the local effects of dumping the silt. As

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part of a mediated settlement, the Port Company will provide real time data on the project on its Harbour Watch website at the following link www.lpcharbourwatch.co.nz and is setting up video monitoring of the surf break at Taylors Mistake as a result of its settlement with Surfbreak. The LPC will also pay Ngai Tahu $650,000 over 25 years to go towards mahinga kai (food gathering).

How the dredging works:

 The trailing suction hopper dredgers collect sand and silt from the seabed.

 In the first stage the existing shipping channel is being lengthened by approximately 2.5km, widened by 20 metres and deepened by up to 2 metres. The dredged sediment will be relocated to a designated 2.5 x 5km spoil ground approximately 5 km off Godley Head.

 The dredges are equipped with one or two suction pipes ending in drag heads. When a vessel reaches the dredging location it reduces speed and lowers the suction pipe to the seabed.

 The drag head moves slowly over the bed collecting the sand like a giant vacuum cleaner. The mixture of sand and water is pumped into the hopper of the dredging vessel. Excess water flows out through the overflows. Dredging stops when the maximum hopper capacity is reached.

 The sand can be deposited through doors located in the bottom of the vessel. Accuracy is achieved by manoeuvring the vessel precisely above the desired location.

Over the last ten years the size of container ships has doubled in size. The dredging programme will mean larger ships will be able to call at Lyttelton. This in turn will decrease freight rates for Lyttelton customers by more than 10 per cent.

Port Talk

Port Talk which is situated on the corner of Oxford and London Streets in Lyttelton is in the process of being upgraded. The two containers have been replaced by a single building which is clad in a material which blends in with the rest of the buildings much better than the two containers.

Although the new facility was originally going to be ready for use at the end of August, at the time of writing, the opening date looks more like early September. It is hoped that the local community will make full use of Port Talk to ask any questions or find out more about all the developments currently taking place in the Port.

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Hotel Queen Elizabeth 2 and the Steam Tug Lyttelton (Two Historic Ships)

The above photograph was taken from the QE2 sailing down Lyttelton Harbour after her 2007 visit showing the Steam Tug Lyttelton in the background. In May this year the liner QE2 which is now berthed in Dubai opened as the Hotel Queen Elizabeth 2. As part of the process to convert the liner into a hotel her propellers were removed and these will be on display at the quayside. In addition all underwater openings such as the bow thrusters and stabilisers have been welded shut. All her lifeboats and davits have also been removed. Although the ship will never sail again this is great news knowing that this very special icon of a ship has not been lost in the way of other maritime icons

The following are just a few pictures of how the Hotel Queen Elizabeth now looks: .

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That sorts out a fantastic future for the QE2. Now what is planned for the Steam Tug Lyttelton, being the other maritime Icon in the first of the above pictures in this section? For over three years now she has been laid up in Lyttelton.

SOURCES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Lyttelton Port Company Sea Breezes Magazine Bay Harbour News Express Steamers of Cook Strait by Allan A. Kirk Reuben Goossens (Maritime News) The U-Boats by Douglas Botting World War Two At Sea by Jeremy Harwood

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