D/S Kari - Norwegian Merchant Fleet 1939-1945 (original) (raw)

D/S Kari Updated Nov. 24-2011

To Kari on the "Ships starting with K" page.

Crew List

This picture of Ste. Colette (ex. Kari) was sent to me by Xavier Escallier, France
who says it was taken in Casablanca on Nov. 8-1942 (Operation Torch)
by his (now deseased) friend Maurice Bouthie.

Shown as Leif (from Bjørn Milde's postcard collection).

Owner: Dampsk-A/S Truls
Manager: M. Thorvik, Oslo
Tonnage: 1925 gt, 3000 tdwt
Signal Letters: LCSJ

Built in Bristol in 1920. Previous names: Bygdø until 1925, Leif until 1937.
According to this external page, she was delivered from C. Hill & Sons Ltd., Bristol as Bugdø(?) in Oct.-1920 to A/S D/S Nørvø (P. A. Musæus), Kristiania. From Nov.-1924, sailed as Leif for D/S A/S Laly (C. T. Gogstad & Co), Oslo. Owned from Febr.-1936 by D/S A/S Truls (M. Thorvik), Oslo, same name. Renamed Kari in March-1937.

Related items on this website:Guestbook message from the daughter of the captain, who had his wife on board - see crew list below.
Another Guestbook message from the son of Norman Solie (also in crew list).

Kari was 1 of the 26 Norwegian ships interned in North Africa 1940-1942. My page Interned Ships has a list of these ships. According to Roger W. Jordan's "The World's Merchant Fleets 1939", Kari was interned in Casablanca on June 22-1940, but as will be seen below she was later moved to Port Lyautey. "Nortraships flåte" agrees with this internment date.

According to a letter from Captain Roness dated Port Lyautey, Dec. 28-1940 to Shipowners Agency, New York, Kari had departed Eastham in the morning of Apr. 9-1940 and arrived Belfast the next morning (archive document gives arrival Apr. 11). They were at anchor there until Apr. 30 at which time they commenced discharging. Left Belfast on May 25 after having been timechartered to Societé Maritime Nationale, Paris. They loaded coal and coke in Partington for Casablanca where they arrived on June 12, and started discharging on the 28th (note that Kari listed in Convoy 48B, together with Eikhaug and Skotfoss - external link. This convoy left Brest on June 6 and arrived Casablanca June 13; again, see also the archive document). This was completed on July 2 but they were detained by the authorities, so perhaps this means the official internment date was July 2-1940? On Sept. 10 that year, Kari was moved to Port Lyautey, where they remained under guard of the naval authorities. Captain Roness adds "Till a month ago we never had any difficulties in obtaining the necessary funds for provisions, deck and engine stores and cash to the crew. Now we are only allowed a certain amount for provision."

Arnold Hague has included her in Convoy EN 27/1 (external link) in Nov.-1940, but this listing must be an error - Kari had already been interned by then. The convoy departed Methil on Nov. 17 and arrived Oban on the 21st.

The following men had paid off in the U.K.:
Harald Nilsen, Anton Sakshaug, Bernhard Skorgen and Sverre Andersen.

The following signed on:
2nd Mate Arne Jentoft, Cook Louis Smith Tønnesen*, Able Seaman Johan Kjeld Kopsland, Ordinary Seaman Nils Reinhard Nilsen, Ordinary Seaman Niels K. V. Andreasen (Strandby, Denmark), Ordinary Seaman Johannes Andersen (Vejby, Denmark), Jr. Ordinary Seaman Arthur Ugland.

*Cook Tønnesen drowned in Port Lyautey on Oct. 5-1940 and was buried on Oct. 10. He was replaced by Cook Karl Rudolf Sjøberg (Bertsfors, Sweden).

A French visitor to my website has told me that according to his records (presumably from French archives), Kari was seized in Port-Lyautey in July-1940. Under French flag at Port-Lyautey June 26-1941 as Sainte-Colette. "Nortraships flåte" agrees with this date. A posting to my Ship Forum says she was in Convoy K 95 from Casablanca to Oran on July 14-1941, arriving on July 17. The ships in the convoy were Saumur, Acturus, St. Marthe (ex. Ringulv) and Ste. Colette (ex. Kari), escorted by Mameluck.

What follows is a translated excerpt from a letter from 3rd Engineer Amund Torp (ex D/S Kari) to Nortraship, London (he was on board D/S Hellen when the letter was written in Oct.-1941, and is listed among the crew of this ship when sunk in Dec.-1941):

"Above mentioned seaman signed on D/S Kari on Dec. 27-1939. In June-1940 the ship was interned in Casablanca, later Port Lyautey. On Apr. 3-1941 Engineer Torp escaped together with some crew from D/S Oria in a small boat, arrived Gibraltar 4 days later where the boat was turned over to the Norwegian Consulate. Immediately after arrival Gibraltar, Torp signed on Andrea Brøvig".

As mentioned, Kari was requisitioned on June 26-1941 and renamed Ste Colette.

Crew List: Incomplete(?) - "Sjømann - Lang Vakt" by Guri Hjeltnes says Kari had a crew of 23, 16 of whom were Norwegian, 1 died, 5 escaped, 1 went home.

I checked the above names against what can be found in "Nordmenn i fangenskap" (Norwegians in imprisonment) by Kristian Ottosen and found the following:

Captain Bjarne Roness - "arrested" July 2-1940 (the date the captain said they had finished discharging cargo in his letter above), transferred to Sidi-El-Ayachi on June 26-1941, later transferred to Marrakech, then Mazagan, then back to Marrakech. Freed Nov. 19-1942. My Norwegian Guestbook has a message from the daughter of the captain and his wife. She says her mother and the officers were separated (moved to Marrakech) from the rest of the crew in order to prevent further escapes, the officers having maritime knowledge that was of value to anyone who wanted to escape (for instance, across to Gibraltar). After Operation Torch they were sent to the U.K. with a troop transport, Mrs. Roness being the only female among thousands of men. She lived in London for the rest of the war, and experienced the bombing there, while Captain Roness joined another ship.

Lars Rossevold is not listed in this book.

1st Mate Terje Jacob Eide - arrested July 2-1940, transferred to Sidi-El-Ayachi on June 26-1941, later to Qued Zem, then to Mecheria. Freed Nov. 16-1942.
The same details are also given for 2nd Mate Arne Jentoft, 1st Engineer Alf Andersen, 2nd Engineer William Kjørsvik, Kristian Salen, Norman Solie (see also this Guestbook message).

* Able Seaman Johan Kopsland is listed as having escaped from Port Lyautey on June 18-1941, in other words, just a few days before Kari was requisitioned. This external page names his other ships (it'll be noticed that Cap Cantin is mentioned, so he must have been among those who took this ship to the U.K. - ref. text below).
Ordinary Seaman Nils R. Nilsen is also said to have escaped on June 18-1941 (for some reason this source says he had been transferred to Dakar?).
Jr. Ordinary Seaman Arthur Ugland - escaped from Port Lyautey June 18-1941.
This then corresponds with an article in the book "Tilbakeblikk", which says 3 Norwegian and 3 Danish crew members escaped from Kari and arrived Gibraltar in 3 days. "Nordmenn i fangenskap" only lists Norwegians, so I'm not sure whether the 2 Danish ordinary seamen took part in this escape, and possibly the Swedish cook(?). From Gibraltar, they formed part of the crew for the captured French Cap Cantin which escapees from M/T Regina had been asked to take to the U.K. See my text for Regina. Checking further, I've found that Cap Cantin is listed in Convoy HG 67 (external link), which left Gibraltar on July 8-1941 and arrived Liverpool on the 24th - perhaps this was the voyage the escapees from Kari and Regina made?

Date of "arrest" is given as July 2-1940, and date of "transfer" as June 26-1941 for all of the above. My page Labor Camps names all the camps mentioned

Torpedoed and sunk on Oct. 16-1943 while under the German flag with the name Kari (from 1943) by the British submarine HMS Torbay (Clutterbuck), 36 59N 26 10E. 180 troops died, about 320 survived. (I've received a document from Theodor Dorgeist, Germany which indicates Kari / Ste Colette had the name Norda 9 at some point while under German control. The same document gives Norda 8 for Ringulv / Ste Marthe and Norda 7 for Skotfoss / Ste Lucile).

The info on Kari's demise is from "The World's Merchant Fleets 1939" by R. W. Jordan. Charles Hocking adds she was torpedoed soon after leaving Piræus with about 1500 German troops on board. J. R. Hegland ("Nortraships flåte") gives the date Oct. 16-1942 for her sinking, as do most Norwegian sources, though "Sjøforklaringer fra 2. verdenskrig" agrees with the date Oct. 16-1943, adding "east of Naxos".

Related external link:
British Submarines

Back to Kari on the "Ships starting with K" page.

A small boat, M/B Kari escaped from Rogøysund at the end of May-1943 with 5 people on board, arriving Wick on May 30.

The text on this page was compiled with the help of: "Nortraships flåte", J. R. Hegland, "Sjøforklaringer fra 2. verdenskrig", Norwegian Maritime Museum, Volume I, and misc. others as named within above text - (ref. My sources).