Ponape (barque)
Encyclopedia
Ponape was a four-masted steel–hulled
barque
which was built in 1903 in Italy as Regina Elena for an Italian owner. In 1911 she was sold to Germany and renamed Ponape. In 1914 she was arrested by and confiscated as a war prize
by the Admiralty
. She was renamed Bellhouse In 1915 she was sold to Norwegian owners. In 1925, she was sold to Finland and again named Ponape serving until she was scrapped in 1936.
,. She was 297 in 2 in (90.58 m) long, with a beam of 42 in 5 in (12.93 m) and a depth of 23 in 2 in (7.06 m). She had a GRT
of 2,342, and was 1,974 NRT
. Her DWT
was 3,500.
She had four masts and was rigged as a barque, with royal sails
over double top
and topgallant sail
s. Regina Elena was launched in July 1903, and completed that month.
. Her first voyage under captain Ameglio was from Genoa to New York
and Yokohama
, Japan with a consignment of 98,000 boxes of oil, earning Milesi ¢17
per box. From Yokohama she sailed to Port Royal
, Jamaica
to collect a cargo of lumber
which was taken to Antofagasta
, Chile
where she loaded a cargo of nitrate
s and departed for Genoa. Her second voyage followed the same route as the first, except that her final destination was Rotterdam
, the Netherlands. Regina Elena's third voyage was from Antwerp, Belgium to San Francisco carrying general cargo. In San Francisco, she loaded cereals for Delagoa Bay, Mozambique
. A cargo of timber was then taken to Sydney
. She then loaded coal
at Newcastle
, and sailed to Junín, Argentina
, the passage taking 35 days. Nitrates were loaded, and Regina Elena sailed to Funchal
, Portugal in 89 days, where orders were given to discharge her cargo at Genoa. Her fourth voyage was from Genoa to Barry, Wales
where a cargo of coal was loaded for Callao
, Peru
, which was reached in 104 days. She then sailed to Ballestas where a cargo of guano
was loaded. This was taken to Antwerp, the voyage taking 134 days due to hurricane force winds at Cape Horn
.
In 1911, Regina Elena was sold to F. Laeisz, Hamburg
for £13,000
. She was renamed Ponape. On 20 September 1914, Ponape was arrest
ed by and escorted into Falmouth
. She was declared a war prize and placed under the management of James Bell, Hull
by the Admiralty
. She was then renamed Bellhouse.
In May 1915, Bellhouse was sold to A/S Bellhouse, Tønsberg
, Norway. She was operated under the management of Alf Monsen, Tønsberg. In 1925, Bellhouse was sold to Hugo Lundquist, Mariehamn
, Finland and renamed Ponape. She was assigned the Finnish Official Number 778 and the Code Letters
TPQS. In 1925, Ponape was carrying a cargo of lumber to Melbourne
, Australia when she was caught in a storm to the north west of Iceland
and was almost swamped. The voyage to Melbourne took 155 days. She loaded a cargo of grain at Melbourne destined for Europe.
On 31 August 1929, she was sold to Gustav Erikson, Mariehamn for £4,600. She was employed on the wheat
trade from Australia. Between 1929 and 1932 the following times are recorded for voyages that Ponape made - Geelong to Falmouth in 89 days; Cardiff
to Port Lincoln in 86 days; Port Lincoln to Callao in 50 days; Vlissingen to Port Lincoln in 89 days; Adelaide
to Queenstown
in 99 days; Copenhagen
to Port Lincoln in 106 days; Port Lincoln to Queenstown in 118 days; Lourenço Marques
to Port Lincoln in 34 days. Her Code Letters were changed to OHQX in 1934. In September 1936, Ponape was sold to shipbreakers at Libau
, Latvia
, for £4,600. Her figurehead is preserved at the Ålands Sjöfartsmuseum, Mariehamn.
Hull (watercraft)
A hull is the watertight body of a ship or boat. Above the hull is the superstructure and/or deckhouse, where present. The line where the hull meets the water surface is called the waterline.The structure of the hull varies depending on the vessel type...
barque
Barque
A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts.- History of the term :The word barque appears to have come from the Greek word baris, a term for an Egyptian boat. This entered Latin as barca, which gave rise to the Italian barca, Spanish barco, and the French barge and...
which was built in 1903 in Italy as Regina Elena for an Italian owner. In 1911 she was sold to Germany and renamed Ponape. In 1914 she was arrested by and confiscated as a war prize
Prize (law)
Prize is a term used in admiralty law to refer to equipment, vehicles, vessels, and cargo captured during armed conflict. The most common use of prize in this sense is the capture of an enemy ship and its cargo as a prize of war. In the past, it was common that the capturing force would be allotted...
by the Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
. She was renamed Bellhouse In 1915 she was sold to Norwegian owners. In 1925, she was sold to Finland and again named Ponape serving until she was scrapped in 1936.
Description
Regina Elena was built by Società Esercizio Baccini, GenoaGenoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
,. She was 297 in 2 in (90.58 m) long, with a beam of 42 in 5 in (12.93 m) and a depth of 23 in 2 in (7.06 m). She had a GRT
Gross Register Tonnage
Gross register tonnage a ship's total internal volume expressed in "register tons", one of which equals to a volume of . It is calculated from the total permanently enclosed capacity of the vessel. The ship's net register tonnage is obtained by reducing the volume of non-revenue-earning spaces i.e...
of 2,342, and was 1,974 NRT
Net register tonnage
Net register tonnage is a ship's cargo volume capacity expressed in "register tons", one of which equals to a volume of . It is calculated by reducing non-revenue-earning spaces i.e. spaces not available for carrying cargo, for example engine rooms, fuel tanks and crew quarters, from the ship's...
. Her DWT
Deadweight tonnage
Deadweight tonnage is a measure of how much weight a ship is carrying or can safely carry. It is the sum of the weights of cargo, fuel, fresh water, ballast water, provisions, passengers, and crew...
was 3,500.
She had four masts and was rigged as a barque, with royal sails
Royal (sail)
A royal is a small sail flown immediately above the topgallant on square rigged sailing ships. It was originally called the "topgallant royal" and was used in light and favorable winds....
over double top
Topsail
A topsail is a sail set above another sail; on square-rigged vessels further sails may be set above topsails.- Square rig :On a square rigged vessel, a topsail is a square sail rigged above the course sail and below the topgallant sail where carried...
and topgallant sail
Topgallant sail
On a square rigged sailing vessel, a topgallant sail is the square-rigged sail or sails immediately above the topsail or topsails. It is also known as a gallant or garrant sail....
s. Regina Elena was launched in July 1903, and completed that month.
History
Regina Elena was built for Pietro Milesi, GenoaGenoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
. Her first voyage under captain Ameglio was from Genoa to New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
, Japan with a consignment of 98,000 boxes of oil, earning Milesi ¢17
Italian lira
The lira was the currency of Italy between 1861 and 2002. Between 1999 and 2002, the Italian lira was officially a “national subunit” of the euro...
per box. From Yokohama she sailed to Port Royal
Port Royal
Port Royal was a city located at the end of the Palisadoes at the mouth of the Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. Founded in 1518, it was the centre of shipping commerce in the Caribbean Sea during the latter half of the 17th century...
, Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
to collect a cargo of lumber
Lumber
Lumber or timber is wood in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural material for construction, or wood pulp for paper production....
which was taken to Antofagasta
Antofagasta
Antofagasta is a port city in northern Chile, about north of Santiago. It is the capital of Antofagasta Province and Antofagasta Region. According to the 2002 census, the city has a population of 296,905...
, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
where she loaded a cargo of nitrate
Nitrate
The nitrate ion is a polyatomic ion with the molecular formula NO and a molecular mass of 62.0049 g/mol. It is the conjugate base of nitric acid, consisting of one central nitrogen atom surrounded by three identically-bonded oxygen atoms in a trigonal planar arrangement. The nitrate ion carries a...
s and departed for Genoa. Her second voyage followed the same route as the first, except that her final destination was Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
, the Netherlands. Regina Elena's third voyage was from Antwerp, Belgium to San Francisco carrying general cargo. In San Francisco, she loaded cereals for Delagoa Bay, Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
. A cargo of timber was then taken to Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. She then loaded coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
at Newcastle
Newcastle, New South Wales
The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...
, and sailed to Junín, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, the passage taking 35 days. Nitrates were loaded, and Regina Elena sailed to Funchal
Funchal
Funchal is the largest city, the municipal seat and the capital of Portugal's Autonomous Region of Madeira. The city has a population of 112,015 and has been the capital of Madeira for more than five centuries.-Etymology:...
, Portugal in 89 days, where orders were given to discharge her cargo at Genoa. Her fourth voyage was from Genoa to Barry, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
where a cargo of coal was loaded for Callao
Callao
Callao is the largest and most important port in Peru. The city is coterminous with the Constitutional Province of Callao, the only province of the Callao Region. Callao is located west of Lima, the country's capital, and is part of the Lima Metropolitan Area, a large metropolis that holds almost...
, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, which was reached in 104 days. She then sailed to Ballestas where a cargo of guano
Guano
Guano is the excrement of seabirds, cave dwelling bats, and seals. Guano manure is an effective fertilizer due to its high levels of phosphorus and nitrogen and also its lack of odor. It was an important source of nitrates for gunpowder...
was loaded. This was taken to Antwerp, the voyage taking 134 days due to hurricane force winds at Cape Horn
Cape Horn
Cape Horn is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island...
.
In 1911, Regina Elena was sold to F. Laeisz, Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
for £13,000
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
. She was renamed Ponape. On 20 September 1914, Ponape was arrest
Arrest
An arrest is the act of depriving a person of his or her liberty usually in relation to the purported investigation and prevention of crime and presenting into the criminal justice system or harm to oneself or others...
ed by and escorted into Falmouth
Falmouth, Cornwall
Falmouth is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It has a total resident population of 21,635.Falmouth is the terminus of the A39, which begins some 200 miles away in Bath, Somerset....
. She was declared a war prize and placed under the management of James Bell, Hull
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
by the Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
. She was then renamed Bellhouse.
In May 1915, Bellhouse was sold to A/S Bellhouse, Tønsberg
Tønsberg
is a city and municipality in Vestfold county, southern Norway, located around north-east of Sandefjord. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tønsberg....
, Norway. She was operated under the management of Alf Monsen, Tønsberg. In 1925, Bellhouse was sold to Hugo Lundquist, Mariehamn
Mariehamn
Mariehamn is the capital of Åland, an autonomous territory under Finnish sovereignty. Mariehamn is the seat of the Government and Parliament of Åland, and 40% of the population of Åland live in the city...
, Finland and renamed Ponape. She was assigned the Finnish Official Number 778 and the Code Letters
Code letters
Code letters were a method of identifying ships before the introduction of modern navigation aids. Later, with the introduction of radio, code letters were also used as radio callsigns.-History:...
TPQS. In 1925, Ponape was carrying a cargo of lumber to Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia when she was caught in a storm to the north west of Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
and was almost swamped. The voyage to Melbourne took 155 days. She loaded a cargo of grain at Melbourne destined for Europe.
On 31 August 1929, she was sold to Gustav Erikson, Mariehamn for £4,600. She was employed on the wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
trade from Australia. Between 1929 and 1932 the following times are recorded for voyages that Ponape made - Geelong to Falmouth in 89 days; Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
to Port Lincoln in 86 days; Port Lincoln to Callao in 50 days; Vlissingen to Port Lincoln in 89 days; Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
to Queenstown
Cobh
Cobh is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork, Ireland. Cobh is on the south side of Great Island in Cork Harbour. Facing the town are Spike Island and Haulbowline Island...
in 99 days; Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
to Port Lincoln in 106 days; Port Lincoln to Queenstown in 118 days; Lourenço Marques
Maputo
Maputo, also known as Lourenço Marques, is the capital and largest city of Mozambique. It is known as the City of Acacias in reference to acacia trees commonly found along its avenues and the Pearl of the Indian Ocean. It was famous for the inscription "This is Portugal" on the walkway of its...
to Port Lincoln in 34 days. Her Code Letters were changed to OHQX in 1934. In September 1936, Ponape was sold to shipbreakers at Libau
Liepaja
Liepāja ; ), is a republican city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea directly at 21°E. It is the largest city in the Kurzeme Region of Latvia, the third largest city in Latvia after Riga and Daugavpils and an important ice-free port...
, Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
, for £4,600. Her figurehead is preserved at the Ålands Sjöfartsmuseum, Mariehamn.
Captains
The captains of the ship were:-- Giovanni Ameglio (1903–11)
- Johan August Danielsson (1925–27)
- Arthur Marander (1927–29)
- Erik Uno Eliel Karlsson (1929–32)
- Hugo Donatus Karlsson(1932–33)
- Carl Valfrid Granith (1933–36)