Wikipedia

SS Goentoer

SS Goentoer was a Dutch passenger and mail ship that was built for Rotterdamsche Lloyd in 1902 and scrapped in 1925. Her regular route was between Rotterdam and the Dutch East Indies. She was a UK troop ship from 1918 to 1919, after being seized under angary in Singapore.

Postcard of Goentoer
History
NameGoentoer
NamesakeMount Guntur
Owner
Operator
Port of registry
RouteRotterdam – Sumatra – Java
BuilderKM 'De Schelde' S&M, Vlissingen
Yard number94
Laid down26 February 1901
Launched11 January 1902
Completed15 April 1902
Identification
FateScrapped in 1925
General characteristics
Typepassenger ship
Tonnage5,894 GRT, 3,775 NRT, 5,161 DWT
Length425.9 ft (129.8 m)
Beam50.0 ft (15.2 m)
Depth31.0 ft (9.4 m)
Decks3
Installed power567 NHP, 4,300 ihp
Propulsion
Speed14 knots (26 km/h)
Capacity
  • passengers: 81 × 1st class, 42 × 2nd class, 24 × 3rd class
  • cargo: 195,000 cu ft (5,500 m3) bale
Sensors and
processing systems		by 1910: submarine signalling
Notessister ship: Sindoro

Building

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Between 1899 and 1902 Koninklijke Maatschappij 'De Schelde'. Scheepswerf en Machinefabriek in Vlissingen built a pair of mail steamers for Willem Ruys & Zonen's Rotterdamsche Lloyd company. Yard number 90 was laid down in February 1899, and launched in February 1902 as Sindoro, and completed in March 1902.[1] Her sister ship was laid down on 26 February 1901 as yard number 94, launched on 11 January 1902 as Goentoer, and completed on 15 April 1902.[2] The ships were named after two volcanoes on Java: Mount Sindoro and Mount Guntur.

Goentoer's registered length was 425.9 ft (129.8 m), her beam was 50.0 ft (15.2 m) and her depth was 31.0 ft (9.4 m). Her tonnages were 5,894 GRT, 3,775 NRT,[3] and 5,161 DWT. She had berths for 147 passengers: 81 in first class, 42 in second class and 24 in third class. Her holds had capacity for 195,000 cubic feet (5,500 m3) of baled cargo.[2]

The ship had twin screws, each driven by a four-cylinder quadruple expansion steam engine. The combined power of her twin engines was rated at 567 NHP[3] or 4,300 ihp, and gave her a speed of 14 knots (26 km/h).[2]

Career

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Rotterdamsche Lloyd registered Goentoer at Rotterdam. Her code letters were NTSL.[3] She joined Sindoro on the company's scheduled service between Rotterdam and Java via Sumatra.

 
Passengers luhching aboard Goentoer in 1902. At the head of the table is her Master, Captain H le Clercq

By 1910 Goentoer was equipped for submarine signalling and Marconi wireless telegraphy.[4][5] By 1913 her call sign was MRQ,[6] but by 1914 it had been changed to PFA.[7]

On 13 January 1916 a mine sank the Dutch cargo ship Maasvaven in the North Sea, killing one of her crew. Goentoer, the Stoomvaart Maatschappij Zeeland ferry Prinses Juliana, and another Dutch ship rescued survivors.[8][9]

 
Goentoer in the North Sea off the Dutch coast in 1922

In 1918 the Entente Powers gave the Dutch government an ultimatum to place 600,000 GRT of its merchant ships at their disposal by 18 March.[10] On 20 March, President Woodrow Wilson ordered the seizure under angary of 89 Dutch ships in US ports.[11] The UK authorities also seized Dutch merchant ships in British Empire ports. Goentoer was seized in Singapore and vested in the UK Shipping Controller, who had her converted into a troop ship, and appointed the British India Steam Navigation Company to manage her. She was registered in London. Her UK official number was 140135 and her code letters were TWMQ.[12] On 9 October 1919 the UK returned Goentoer to her owners.[2]

In 1922 Sindoro was sold to the Portuguese Companhia Nacional de Navegação, who renamed her Pedro Gomes.[1] Rotterdamsche Lloyd then took delivery of two new 11,000 GRT ocean liners: the turbine steamship Slamat in April 1924,[13] and motor ship Indrapoera in January 1926.[14] In September 1925 the company sold Goentoer for scrap for 150,000 guilders. The buyer was CHC Sunderman of Zwijndrecht in South Holland.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Sindoro – ID 5900". Stichting Maritiem-Historische Databank (in Dutch). Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Goentoer – ID 2518". Stichting Maritiem-Historische Databank (in Dutch). Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  3. ^ a b c Lloyd's Register 1903, GOE–GOL.
  4. ^ Lloyd's Register 1910, GNA–GOL.
  5. ^ "Marconi International Marine Communication Company, Ltd". Daily Commercial News and Shipping List. Sydney, NSW. 29 September 1911. p. 16. Retrieved 9 July 2023 – via Trove.
  6. ^ The Marconi Press Agency Ltd 1913, p. 269.
  7. ^ The Marconi Press Agency Ltd 1914, p. 413.
  8. ^ "Casualty reports". The Times. No. 41064. London. 15 January 1916. col E, p. 4.
  9. ^ "Imperial and Foreign news items". The Times. No. 41063. London. 14 January 1916. col E, p. 7.
  10. ^ "Allies to take over Dutch vessels". Daily Commercial News and Shipping List. Sydney, NSW. 16 March 1918. p. 2. Retrieved 9 July 2023 – via Trove.
  11. ^ "Wilson ordered Dutch ships seized; declares further parley useless, as Holland cannot exert free will". The New York Times. 21 March 1918. p. 1. Retrieved 9 July 2023 – via Times Machine.
  12. ^ Mercantile Navy List 1919, p. 223.
  13. ^ "Slamat – ID 5945". Stichting Maritiem-Historische Databank (in Dutch). Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  14. ^ "Indrapoera – ID 3027". Stichting Maritiem-Historische Databank (in Dutch). Retrieved 9 July 2023.

Bibliography

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