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Built as a cargo vessel under yard No. 280 by the yard of Ct. & At. Provence, Port de Bouc, France for Cie des Messageries Maritimes, Marseille.
25 June 1955 Launched under the name MOONIE.
Tonnage 6.936 gross, 3.810 net, 8.953dwt., dim.489 x 62 x 26ft (draught)
Powered by one Schneider/B&W 9-cyl diesel, 8.400hp, speed 16 knots.

1976 Sold to Orli Lines Ltd., Cyprus and renamed GABRIEL V.
1977 Sold to Teresina Nav. Co., Cyprus, renamed GENEVA.
1978 Sold to Teresina Nav. Co., Cyprus, renamed BRIGHT TIDE.
August 1978 arrived Shanghai, China, for scrapping.

Source. Navicula. Merchant ships World built Vol IV. Register of Merchant ships completed in 1955.

I got an e-mail from Mr. Jean-Louis Araignon wherein he wrote: According to a French discussion group of Messageries Maritime it is not possible to affirm that she is the MOONIE who is depict on the stamp.
Six vessels of this 8300 ton class were built, the SI KIANG, NATAL, TIGRE, YARRA, MOONIE and GODAVERY, the first four vessels did have 9 windows in the superstructure below the bridge and not 10 like the MOONIE. The stamp depicts a vessel with 10 windows.
Mr. Araignon wrote also that that the MOONIE carried for some time the name GENEVA, between the GABRIEL V and BRIGHT TIDE.

The book Merchant Ships built 1955 did have a photo of the GODAVERY, she has only 3 windows and some ports on the deck below the bridge, the MOONIE was built on the same yard
This book gives also that the GODAVERY was the first of a series of ten ships built on yards in France for the Cie des Messageries Maritimes.


I have not photo’s of all this 10 ships, that I can not say which vessel of the class is depict

Ivory Coast 1984 125f sg 817