Trepassey (supply ship)
Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2008 4:39 pm
In 1945 the Newfoundland Government built at Clarenville Shipyard, Newfoundland, for the Department of the Commissioner for Public Utilities, the wooden 325-ton vessel Trepassey, 124 ft. x 28 ft. x 11.9 ft. She was used in the later stages of the war as a magnetic minesweeper. After hostilities she sailed on January 9, 1946, on the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (1945-49) together with the Fitzroy and the William Scoresby and was engaged on relieving and re-equipping Antarctic bases at Hope Bay, Deception Island and Port Lockroy. She also established a base at Laurie Island, South Orkneys. Perhaps her most important task in 1946 was to establish a base at Marguerite Bay, Stonington Island.
During 1947 she went to the rescue of the Fitzroy which had been caught in pack ice in Antarctic Sound. The stout wooden hull of the Trepassey enabled her to force a way through the ice. Just before this she had established a base at Admiralty Bay, King George Island. On April 2, 1947, she caught fire due to the overheating of the furnace which supplied warmth to the cabins and although the Fitzroy was able to pump water on board, it was not until four hours later that the flames were got under control. The ship was seriously damaged. Temporary repairs were effected enabling her to return to her home port for a thorough refit.
Falk Is Dep SG G27 Brit Ant Terr SG62 221
During 1947 she went to the rescue of the Fitzroy which had been caught in pack ice in Antarctic Sound. The stout wooden hull of the Trepassey enabled her to force a way through the ice. Just before this she had established a base at Admiralty Bay, King George Island. On April 2, 1947, she caught fire due to the overheating of the furnace which supplied warmth to the cabins and although the Fitzroy was able to pump water on board, it was not until four hours later that the flames were got under control. The ship was seriously damaged. Temporary repairs were effected enabling her to return to her home port for a thorough refit.
Falk Is Dep SG G27 Brit Ant Terr SG62 221