RMS Maloja
Encyclopedia
| RMS Maloja | |
RMS Maloja |
|
| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Nationality | British United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
| Owner: | Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company. |
| Ordered: | 1918, Yard No 588 |
| Builder: | Messrs Harland & Wolff,Ltd,Belfast. |
| Launched: | 19 April 1923 |
| Maiden voyage: | 2 November 1923 |
| Fate: | P & O group service 1923 to 1954. Scrapped on 2 April 1954, Inverkeithing. |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage: | 20,837 gross tons. 12,830 net tonnage. Deadweight 15,900 tonnes (15,650 tons) |
| Length: | 600.8 feet |
| Beam: | 73.4 feet |
| Depth | 43.5 feet. Draught 34.10 feet |
| Propulsion: | 2 Quadruple-expansion steam engines, producing 15,300 shaft horse power (13,300 ihp). Inverted direct acting, balanced to eliminate vibrations. Twin screw. Boilers: 6 D.E. and 2 S.E. Boilers with a steam pressure of 215 lb/in². Fuel: Oil Oil An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils.... |
| Speed: | 16 knots |
| Paintwork | Black hull with white line, red boot-topping, upper works stone, funnels black. |
| Complement: | 327 First Class, 329 Second Class, Crew: 423 made up of 10 officers, 94 seamen, 22 engineers, 82 firemen and 215 saloon crew. |
RMS Maloja was an English
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
steam-powered ocean liner that saw service during the first part of the twentieth century.
The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company
Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company
The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, which is usually known as P&O, is a British shipping and logistics company which dated from the early 19th century. Following its sale in March 2006 to Dubai Ports World for £3.9 billion, it became a subsidiary of DP World; however, the P&O...
placed the order for RMS
Royal Mail Ship
Royal Mail Ship , usually seen in its abbreviated form RMS, a designation which dates back to 1840, is the ship prefix used for seagoing vessels that carry mail under contract by Royal Mail...
Maloja with Harland and Wolff
Harland and Wolff
Harland and Wolff Heavy Industries is a Northern Irish heavy industrial company, specialising in shipbuilding and offshore construction, located in Belfast, Northern Ireland....
Ltd on 29 November 1918. Yard No. 588 was assigned to the project and work began in the Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
shipyard. On the same date, an order was placed for a sister ship, RMS Mooltan
RMS Mooltan
The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company placed the order for RMS Mooltan with Harland and Wolff Ltd on 29 November 1918. On the same date, an order was placed for her sister ship RMS Maloja. RMS Mooltan was given the yard #587 and work began on her in the Belfast shipyard. She was...
. The interior design was in keeping with the high standards of the Line. The public rooms were luxurious, completely decorated and lofty. All first and second class cabins had portholes. The dining saloon seated 330; it was panelled in the Georgian style, finished throughout in ivory white, with the doors and architraves in polished mahogany. The reading and music saloon was in the style of Louis XVI
Empire (style)
The Empire style, , sometimes considered the second phase of Neoclassicism, is an early-19th-century design movement in architecture, furniture, other decorative arts, and the visual arts followed in Europe and America until around 1830, although in the U. S. it continued in popularity in...
with large French windows. RMS Maloja was launched by Hon. Elsie Mackay
Elsie Mackay
For the American actress Elsie Mackay please see Elsie Mackay The Honourable Elsie Mackay was a British actress, interior decorator and pioneering aviatrix who died attempting to cross the Atlantic Ocean with Walter G. R...
the daughter of the company's chairman James Mackay, 1st Earl of Inchcape
James Mackay, 1st Earl of Inchcape
James Lyle Mackay, 1st Earl of Inchcape, GCSI, GCMG, KCIE was a British colonial administrator in India.Mackay was the second son of James Mackay of Arbroath and his wife, Deborah Lyle...
, on 19 April 1923. The Maloja and the Mooltan would eventually earn a reputation for comfort and reliability. Maloja was delivered on 25 October 1923. The two ships were the largest ships that could comfortably pass through the Suez Canal
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
at that time.
Maiden voyage
Rudder
A rudder is a device used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft or other conveyance that moves through a medium . On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw and p-factor and is not the primary control used to turn the airplane...
) it would prove to have difficult handling. On 18 January 1924 the two ships began running the fortnightly service between London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and 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...
via Colombo
Colombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
and 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...
. In November 1923 Maloja became enmeshed in a dockworkers' strike
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and after a delayed departure was forced to abandon 6,000 tons of cargo
Cargo
Cargo is goods or produce transported, generally for commercial gain, by ship, aircraft, train, van or truck. In modern times, containers are used in most intermodal long-haul cargo transport.-Marine:...
sitting on the dockside. In March 1933 Maloja ran aground in 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...
but was re-floated without sustaining significant damage. In January 1933 Maloja was in Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
Bay, loading cargo from a lighter
Lighter (barge)
A lighter is a type of flat-bottomed barge used to transfer goods and passengers to and from moored ships. Lighters were traditionally unpowered and were moved and steered using long oars called "sweeps," with their motive power provided by water currents...
in severe weather. An anchor and 45 fathoms (82 m) of chain pulled free and were lost.
Wartime requisition
On 11 September 1939 Maloja was requisitioned by the Admiralty and converted to an armed merchant cruiser in Bombay, IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. The conversion included having one funnel removed, to increase the arc of the anti-aircraft guns. After the conversion it joined the Northern Patrol as HMS Maloja, No. F26. The Northern Patrol covered the area between Shetland and 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...
. On 13 March 1940 Maloja intercepted a ship southeast of Iceland in position 63.00N, 10.20W, which claimed to be the Japanese vessel Taki Maru. The Maloja captain suspected otherwise, but he was unable to send a boarding party due to the adverse weather conditions. As the weather cleared it became clear that the unknown vessel was German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, namely, the La Coruña of the 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...
South American line. The German crew scuttle
Scuttling
Scuttling is the act of deliberately sinking a ship by allowing water to flow into the hull.This can be achieved in several ways—valves or hatches can be opened to the sea, or holes may be ripped into the hull with brute force or with explosives...
d her to evade its capture, and after they had abandoned ship and been picked out of the water by the British crew, Maloja turned its guns on the German ship and hastened its submersion.
On 6 November 1941 Maloja was returned to P & O and was converted to troopship duty. A shorter version of the funnel was re-installed. On 11 December 1942 the ship took part in the Allied
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
landings in North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
.
Peacetime and the return to commercial services
On 15 January 1947 RMS Maloja was returned once more to P & O and was berthed at the Royal Albert DockRoyal Albert Dock
The Royal Albert Dock is one of three docks in the Royal Group of Docks of east London, now part of the redeveloped Docklands.-History:The dock was constructed to the east of the earlier Victoria Dock by the St Katharine and London dock companies and opened in 1880...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
for full civilian reconditioning, by R & H Green & Silley Weir. Both Maloja and Mooltan were returned to service. After the independence of the Republic of Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
in 1948 the repatriation of Dutch civilians back to the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
was begun. In August 1950 Maloja assisted with the repatriations and this was completed by 1951. On 19 January 1954 Maloja arrived at the Tilbury
Port of Tilbury
The Port of Tilbury is located on the River Thames at Tilbury in Essex, England. It is the principal port for London; as well as being the main United Kingdom port for handling the importation of paper. There are extensive facilities for containers, grain, and other bulk cargoes. There are also...
, London, on its last voyage. On 2 April 1954 it was moved to Inverkeithing
Inverkeithing
Inverkeithing is a town and a royal burgh in Fife, Scotland, located on the Firth of Forth. According to population estimates , the town has a population of 5,265. The port town was given burgh status by King David I of Scotland in the 12th century and is situated about 9 miles north from...
, Scotland, where it was broken up for scrap. British Iron and Steel Corporation (Salvage) Ltd paid £165,000 for the vessel; the scrap work was performed by Thomas W Ward Ltd.
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