COLONIA
Built 1902, Swan, Hunter Wigham Richardson Ltd.
Length 487 ft. Breadth 56 ft Depth 27.6 ft Gross tonnage 7891
Built for the Telegraph Construction & Maintenance Company Ltd., specifically to lay the Bamfield - Fanning Island section of the Pacific Cable. No other ship was capable of carrying the cable in one piece. In 1928 the vessel was sold to the Norwegian Whaling Company A/S Thar Dahl of Sandefjord who converted her into a factory ship and renamed her Torodd. In 1934 she was sold to another whaling company, Norseke Hvalproduktor A/S Oslo who renamed her Sydis. Again sold in 1937 to a German company Oelmuhlen Walgang Konsortium, Berlin and renamed Sudmeer. The vessel was sunk during the early part of World War 2.
CABLE WORK
1902 Bamfield (Vancouver Island) - Fanning Island
1903 Honolulu - Midway Island - Guam - Manila
1905 New York - Nova Scotia - Ireland
1906 Porthcurno - Fayal
Cape St Vincent - Fayal
1907 Durban - Mozambique
New York - Cuba - Panama
1908 Cadiz - Tenerife
1910 Cape St Vincent - Ascension - Buenos Aires
Bay Roberts - Penzance
1912 Gibraltar - Malta - Alexandria
1913 Aden - Colombo
1914 Freetown - Accra
Suez - Aden
1915 Peterhead - Alexandrovsk
New York - Cuba - Panama
1919 Ascension - Rio de Janeiro
1920 Miami - Maranham - Barbados
Miami - Barbados
Atalya - Rio de Janeiro
Montevideo - Santos
1921 Gibraltar - Malta
Madras - Penang
Key West - Havana (3 cables)
1922 Suez - Port Sudan - Aden
Aden - Seychelles - Colombo
Maceio - Rio de Janeiro
Pernambuco - Maranham
Santos - Rio de Janeiro
1923 Penang - Colombo
Horta - Le Havre
1924 New York - Azores
New York - Cuba - Panama
Malaga - Horta (Azores)
Rio de Janeiro - Montevideo
Montevideo - Buenos Aires (2 cables)
1925 Porthcurno - Bilbao
1926 Cocos (Keeling) Is- Cottesloe (Australia)
Penzance - Bay Roberts - New York
1927 Alexandria - Port Said (No 2)
1928 Alexandria - Port Said (No 3)
Larnaca - Haifa
Bay Roberts - Horta
"Bill Glover/Atlantic-Cable.com Website"
http://atlantic-cable.com/stamps/index.htm
UPDATED INFORMATION from Auke Palmhof
The COLONIA was built under yard No 387.
14 February 1902 launched.
Powered by two 3-cyl. triple expansion steam engines, 961 nhp. speed 13 knots.
May 1902 delivered to owners.
1928 Sold to A/S Odd (Thor Dahl), Sandefjord, Norway and converted to a whaling factory ship by Framnaes mek. Verksted, Sandefjord. got a slipway aft.
Renamed TORODD.
Commenced whaling in the Antarctic with four catchers.
1934 Sold to Norske Hvalprodukter A/S (Nordstrøm, Jespersen & Co. A/S), Oslo renamed in SYDIS.
Two new rotation cookers and a meat-mill were installed.
In use as a whale-factory ship in the Antarctic from the season 1934/35 with 5 catchers, only one season more used (1936/37).
After the 1937 season the whole whaling fleet was sold in bloc for £106,250.00 to the Hamburger Walfang-Kontor G.m.b.H. (Deutsche Ölmühlen-Rohstoffe G.m.b.H.), Hamburg, renamed in SÜDMEER. While her five catchers received the names SUD I, SUD II etc.
Two seasons used under German flag in the Antarctic waters, the total crew of the expedition under German flag was 280 men.
June 1940 requisition by the German Navy,
27 June 1941 fitted out as advance base depot ship (repair/supply), by the Navy yard in Kiel
She was during a Russian air attack (other sources give Royal Air Fore) torpedoed on 14 October 1944 off Nordkyn, North Norway in a position 70 03N 25 18E. where after she sank.
Source: Register of Merchant Ships completed in 1902. and some web-sites.
Ascension 1999 50p