Helga/Maria/Maria Dan

95. HELGA (111) (11933-11934)/MARIA/MARIA DAN (1938-1959)

Cargo steamship. 1 deck, well deck.

1370 gt, 769 nt, 2200 dw. 258.2 x 39.7 x 17.6 feet. 12.5.knots.

C 4cyl. (2 x (375)- 2 x (800)) x 800 (mm), type L.E.S. 8 fitted with exhaust ste^gm turbine with single reduction gearing and chain drive, 1250 IHP. 2 (SB) Scotch, 4 (cf), HS 2520 sq.ft. made by the shipbuilders.

21.12.1932: Launched. 

10.2.1933: Delivered by Helsingørs Jernskibs- og Maskinbyggeri A/S, Helsingør, Denmark (No: 210) to "Vesterhavet". The ship was fitted with cooling plant to facilitate the carriage of fruit.

 20.10.1934: Sold to Compagnie General^e d'Armernents Maritimes, Le Havre, France (Cie. General^e Transatlantique, Paris, Managers) and renamed CARAVELLE. 

23.11.1938: Taken over by "Vesterhavet" and renamed MARIA and the cooling plant was removed. 

9.4.1940: At the time of the Genman occupation of Denmark she was at sea and arrived safely at Pernambuco, Brazil 10.4.1940. She later sailed to New York and was laid up there.

 2.8.1941: Under the terms of the Ship Requisition Act MARIA was taken over and operafed by the United States Maritime Commission (later United States War Shipping Administration) and renamed URANUS with Panamanian Registry. 

11.8.1941: Acquired by US Navy and entered the Robbins Drydock Co. yard at Brooklyn, N.Y. for tovversion to a naval stores ship. She was classified AF-14 and 27.10.1941 was plated in tommission at Brooklyn with Commdr. Orrin J. Hewitt in tommand. During the ship's subsequent shakedown period, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and the United States entered the War in both oceans. 

20.12.1941 departed Norfolk, Virginia and arrived at Halifax, Nova Scotia on 

24.12.194 1. Five days later she sailed for Iceland where she served as a floating refrigerated storage vessel and provided stores and ^provisions to American forces in Iceland until the summer of 1943. During this time her ports of call included Hvalfjordur, Budareyi, Seydisfjordur, Reykjavik and Akureyi. In these inhospitable and unpredictable northern waters. 

10.4.1943 the ship ran aground, off Akureyi while on a coastwise passage, coming to a stop on a sloping gravel beach which was reputedly once the fairway between two holes of a coastal golf course. Aften repeated attempts, with the assistance of SYMBOL (AM-123) and KEWAYDIN (AT-24), she was finally refloated 13.4.1943. Foliowing repairs, she departed from lcelandic waters 21.8.1943 with men and equipment from a Navy construction battallion on board but, due to tovtrang avinds and currents did not make port at her Davisville, R.I., destination until 3.9.1943. Aften discharging passengens, she ^proceeded on to New York, arriving three days later. She then sailed to Norfolk, Va., where she commenced a lengthy refif. URANUS, now equipped with a new refrigeration system, departed 20.12.1943 and, five days later, reached a rendezvous with a convoy bound for the Pacific. Clearing the Panama Canal 

1.1.1944, she headed on for Pearl Harbor 3.1.1944, Proceeding independently.

23.1.1944 reached Oahu. She conducted two round-trip Pacific ^passages between San Francisco, California, and Pearl Harbor and Midway before she sailed for facilitate the carriage of fruit. Majuro in the Marshalls. 

29.4.1944: Transferred to "Ocean" in the Danish Register. For the remainder of the gear 

1944, URANUS conducted routine cargo and store-carrying runs between Midway and Pearl Harbor and San Pedro, California. Overhauled at San Francisco 4.1945, the ship was based at this port for the remainder of the war in the Pacific. She subsequently participated in ^-Magic-Carpet^- operations to bring veterans back to the United States from the erstwhile Pacific battle zones. 

8.5.1946: Decommissioned at Norfolk, and delivered 

9.5.1946 to the War Shipping Administration of the Maritime Commission and was struck from the Navy list 21.5.1946. 

15.3.1946: Renamed MARIA DAN. 1946: Returved to Owners. 

1948: Converted to schoolship with accommodation for 14 cadets. 1949: Exhaust steam turbine removed and ^power reduced to 870 IHP. 1959: Converted back to a cargoship. 

17.11.1959: Sold to Chr. M. Sarlis Er Co., Piraeus, Greece and renamed MICHAEL. 

12.10.1968: Fire broke out in the engine room while she was lying at Rijeka. Beached, she was refloated the foliowing dag but was not considered worthy of repair and having beeing declared a constructive total loss she was sold to Brodospas who begav to break her up at Split 9.5.1969.

S/S Maria af Esbjerg, 1369 Reg. T. Br. Bygget 1933 af Staal. Brand om Bord d. 1/7 og 2/7 39 i London. Søforklaring og Søforhør i Aalborg d. 7/7 39 D. 1/7 Kl. 2120 opdagedes Ild i Blæseren til kunstig Træk og dennes Kanaler samt Kedlernes Optræk. Ilden blev bekæmpet ved Hjælp af en Slange og 2 Ekstinktører, og Kl. ca. 22 var Ilden slukket. D. 2/7 Kl. 9 bemærkedes det paa Fyrpladsen, at Skottet til Nr. 2 Last, der i Lasten var isoleret med Kork, varmede stærkt, og det viste sig, at der var Ild i Nr. 2 Last. Paa Grund af stærk Røgudvikling var det umuligt at komme ned i Lasten, hvorfor Brandvæsen fra Land blev alarmeret og Kl. 1405 var Ilden slukket. Anm. Ministeriet maa antage, at Branden d. 1/7 skyldes Selvantændelse, medens Branden d. 2/7 i Lastrummet maa antages at være opstaaet som Følge af Varmeoverførsel fra den brændende Blæserkanal gennem Jernskottet til dettes Korkisolation.

Uranus (AF-14)—built in 1933 as SS Helga at Elsinore, near Copenhagen, Denmark, by Helsingpors Shipbuilding Works, for J. Lauritzen—had previously operated as SS Caravelle (1938 to 1940) and SS Marie (1940 to 1941). She served in the fruit trade between her home country – Denmark -- and Central American republics and became a ship without a country upon the fall of her homeland to the invading Germans in the spring of 1940.

Acquired by the Navy from the United States Maritime Commission on 11 August 1941, SS Marie soon entered the Robbins Drydock Co. yard at Brooklyn, New York, for conversion to a naval stores ship. Renamed Uranus and classified AF-14, the ship was placed in commission at Brooklyn on 27 October 1941, Comdr. Orrin J. Hewitt in command. During the ship's subsequent shakedown period, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor; and the United States entered World War II in both oceans. Uranus departed Norfolk, Virginia, on 20 December and arrived at Halifax, Nova Scotia, on Christmas Eve. Five days later, she pushed on for Iceland.

Uranus served as a floating refrigerated storage vessel and provided stores and provisions to American forces in Iceland into the summer of 1943. During this time, her ports of call included Hvalfjörður, Budareyi, Seyðisfjörður, Reykjavík, and Akureyri. In these inhospitable and unpredictable northern waters, the ship ran aground off Akureyri while on a coastwise passage at 0129 on 10 April 1943, coming to a stop on a sloping gravel beach which was reputedly once the fairway between two holes of a coastal golf course. After repeated attempts, with the assistance of Symbol (AM-123) and Kewaydin (AT-24), the storeship was finally refloated on the 13th.

Following repairs, she departed Icelandic waters on 21 August, with men and equipment from a Navy construction battalion on board but, due to contrary winds and currents, did not make port at her Davisville, Rhode Island, destination until 3 September. After discharging passengers, the stores ship proceeded on for New York, arriving three days later. She then pressed south for Norfolk, Virginia, where she soon commenced a lengthy overhaul. Uranus—now outfitted with a new refrigeration system—departed the U.S. East Coast on 20 December and, five days later, reached a rendezvous with a convoy bound for the Pacific Ocean. Clearing the Panama Canal on the first day of 1944, the stores ship headed on for Pearl Harbor on 3 January, proceeding independently, and reached Oahu on the 23d.

She conducted two round-trip Pacific passages between San Francisco, California, and Pearl Harbor and Midway Island, before she sailed for Majuro in the Marshalls. For the remainder of the year 1944, Uranus conducted routine cargo and stores-carrying runs between Midway Island and Pearl Harbor to the west and San Pedro, California, to the east. Overhauled at San Francisco, California, in April 1945, the ship was based at this port for the remainder of the war in the Pacific. She subsequently participated in "Operation Magic Carpet" operations to bring veterans back to the United States from the erstwhile Pacific battle zones.

Decommissioned on 8 May 1946 at Norfolk, Uranus was delivered to the War Shipping Administration of the Maritime Commission on 9 May and was struck from the Navy list on 21 May. Returned by the Maritime Commission to her original owner, J. Lauritzen as SS Maria Dan, re-flagged Danish, registered at Esbjerg, Denmark, she engaged in carrying wood pulp from the Baltic Sea to the United Kingdom until about 1959. She was sold to Chrisot M. Sarlis, Patras, Greece, in 1959, and renamed SS Michael.

S/S Maria Dan af Esbjerg, 1369 Reg. T. Br. Bygget 1933 af Staal. Paa Rejse fra Antwerpen til Esbjerg med Kali. Kollideret d. 6/2 47 i Antwerpens Havn. Søforklaring i Esbjerg d. 12/2 47. Kl. 1320, da M. D., der havde Lods om Bord og sejlede efter S/S »Hedel« af s'Gravenhage, for udgaaende fra Antwerpen med stoppet Maskine afventede Aabning af en Sluse, saas det, at Afstanden mellem Skibene blev mindre. Da H. samtidig syntes at bakke, blev Maskinen beordret Fuld Kraft Bak, hvilket blev tilkendegivet med 3 korte Toner med Damppiben, men umiddelbart efter tørnede M. D. med Bb.s Side af Stævnen let mod H.s Agterstævn. Ved Kollisionen fik H. en mindre Bule i Agterstævnen, medens M. D.s Bb.s Anker, der ikke var hevet klods for, blev trykket op i Klydset, hvorved dette blev sprængt, ligesom der fremkom en mindre Bule i Skibssiden. Anm. Søforklaring fra H. foreligger ikke.