INDEX PAGE


This page is attached to The First and Last Voyage of the Fort Crevier, Part 3




SHIPS LOST IN THE WWII BOMBAY EXPLOSION






The eleven Allied merchant ships on this page were lost as a result of the two horrendous explosions aboard Fort Stikine at Bombay, India, on April 14th, 1944.

Gross Registered Tonnage (GRT) is the volume of space within the hull and enclosed spaces above the deck of a merchant ship which are available for cargo, stores, fuel, passengers and crew. In the case of Fort Crevier and Fort Stikine the term Bareboat Charter means that when the ship was transferred over to Britain's Ministry of War Transport (MOWT), the country of ownership -- either Canada or the USA -- would provide only the "bare" ship. Britain would then take over the responsibility of supplying the ship's captain, crew and expendable items such as food.

The information about these ships has been taken from A Great Fleet of Ships: The Canadian Forts and Parks by S.C. Heal (Vanwell Publishing of St. Catharines, Ontario, c1999).

BARODA
Gross Registered Tonnage: 3,205

Year Built: 1911

Owner: British India Steam Navigation Company Ltd.

Country of Registration: United Kingdom


FORT CREVIER
Gross Registerd Tonnage: 7,130

Builder: United Shipyards Limited, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Date Built: October 1943

Owner: Dominion of Canada (DOC) which which transferred her over to Britain under bareboat charter.

Nominated Manager: Joseph Robinson & Sons, North Shields, UK which operated her on behalf of Britain's Ministry of War Transport (MOWT)

Remarks: Fort Crevier was beyond repair but, her useful life was not quite over. Her hulk remained afloat and was used for grain storage for a few more years. She was finally broken up at Bombay in 1948.


FORT STIKINE
Gross Registerd Tonnage: 7,130

Builder: Prince Rupert Drydock & Shipyard, Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Canada

Date Built: July 1942

Owner:United States War Shipping Administration/Maritime Commission (WSA)which transferred her over to Britain under bareboat charter.

Nominated Manager: Port Line Ltd. which managed her on behalf of Britain's Ministry of War Transport (MOWT)

Remarks: The little that was left of the Fort Stikine was sold for scrap.


GENERAL VAN DER HEIJDEN
Gross Registered Tonnage: 1,213

Year Built: 1928

Owner: Koninklijke Paketvaart Maatschappij (Royal Dutch Packet Lines)

Country of Registration: Holland

Remarks: Before the war, KPM's large fleet of ships serviced the many islands of the Dutch East Indies. Those ships which were able escaped to Allied ports when the Japanese forces invaded the region in early 1942.




GENERAL VAN SWIETEN
Gross Registered Tonnage: 1,300

Year Built: 1928

Owner: Koninklijke Paketvaart Maatschappij (Royal Dutch Packet Lines)

Country of Registration: Holland

Remarks: She was the second KPM vessel to be lost at Bombay.




GRACIOSA
Gross Registered Tonnage: 1,773

Year Built: 1917

Owner: Skibs A/S Fjeld

Country of Registration: Norway




IRAN
Gross Registered Tonnage: 5,704

Year Built: 1919

Owner: Iran Steamship Company (Wallem & Co.)

Country of Registration: Panama




JALAPADMA
Gross Registered Tonnage: 3,935

Year Built: 1929

Owner: Scindia Steam Navigation Co.

Country of Registration: India

Remarks: She was broken in two when the tidal wave caused by the first explosion lifted her up into the air and flung her down on top of one of the dock sheds.




KINGYUAN
Gross Registered Tonnage: 2,653

Year Built: 1921

Owner: China Navigation Company

Country of Registration: United Kingdom




ROD EL FARAG
Gross Registered Tonnage: 6,842

Year Built: 1910

Owner: Soc. Misr. Navigation

Country of Registration: Egypt




TINOMBO
Gross Registered Tonnage: 872

Year Built: 1930

Owner: Koninklijke Paketvaart Maatschappij (Royal Dutch Packet Lines)

Country of Registration: Holland

Remarks: She was the third KPM vessel to be lost at Bombay.





RETURN TO John Garside's "The First and Last Voyage of the Fort Crevier Part Three or GO TO the Epilogue


INDEX PAGE





This page is written and maintained by Maureen Venzi and it is part of the Allied Merchant Navy of WWII website.