ssMaritime.com & ssMaritime.net
With Reuben Goossens
Maritime Historian
Three Dutch “Victory” Ships
SS
Zuiderkruis - SS Groote Beer
-
SS Waterman
Photo Album
A fine artist impression SS Groote Beer – This was an official
postcard
Author’s Private collection
I am sure that here will be many who have sailed on
these ships and will be able to look back to their days onboard. I know that
they were certainly not the most stable ships at sea, and many horror stories
have been told over the years. I trust you will enjoy this page, and if you
have anything to add, you are more than welcome to email me.
SS Waterman
The Dutch Government
purchased these three Victory ships and were placed various services without
much alterations. Before their extensive rebuilding in 1951, these three ships
were austere to say the least, as the three SS Waterman items reveal. However,
after their rebuilding in 195q, they were remarkably improved as the SS Groote
Beer Photographs shown down the page prove.
Above:
A cornet of a lounge
Dinning
Room
SS
Zuiderkruis prepares to depart
***************************************************
SS
Groote Beer
SS
Groote Beer seen after her 1951 rebuild
Groote
Beer, as with the other two ships were greatly improved. A good number of
lounges and bars were installed and her accommodations saw new cabins and small
dormitories built. Externally these ships changed remarkably. One deck was
added and the bridge was placed on top, but far forward. Spacious sport and
sunbathing decks were added aft. As can be seen below, the lounges, dining room
and cabins remained basic. I personally remember my many visits to these ships (I was employed by Dutch Mails in Wellington New Zealand) these ships were well maintained
and her public rooms were quite cheerful. Generally passengers tended to be
happy with their surroundings and pleased with the service and food onboard.
These three ships were simple but offered that distinctive Dutch atmosphere.
Above & below:
The Main Lounge
This
was one of the interior lounges located between the passageways
Plain
and simple
Dinning
Room
Sports
Deck
Four
berth cabin
Above & Below:
A Trans-Ocean brochure
SS
Groote Beer ready to depart
So we have come to the
end of ssMaritime’s feature on these three Dutch Victory ships. Sadly, I
was unable to obtain and photographs of the Margareta (Waterman) and
Marianna IV (Groote Beer),
owned by the Latsis Shipping Company.
A fine painting of one of the
Dutch Victory ships
Painter unknown
If you have anything of interest to add, be it a
story and photographs, I would appreciate hearing from you email me: info@ssmaritime.com
INDEX
Page One The history of these three ships
Page Two Photo Album
Page Three Theo Kroon
Story - They sailed from Amsterdam to Wellington - September
1956 - Lots
of great photos!
Page Four Passenger List for the SS Groote Beer, Rotterdam,
Halifax, New York on January 16, 1957. Provided by passenger Simon de Vente – Two other (SS Waterman) passenger lists are also
available on THIS page via links provided.
Page Five Here is another passenger list,
but this time for the SS Zuiderkruis sailing from Holland
to new Zealand
and Australia.
She departed on December
9, 1960. It was kindly provided by Mr. Gabriel-Bosch.
Page Six Hugo Schouten’s voyage on the Groote Beer including, Groote Beer passenger lists from
various voyages. This link takes you to Hugo’s own website.
Other
passenger lists currently available online
Passenger
List dated 25 April, 1955
View
it online
http://www.frontiernet.net/~hdebruyn/waterman/passengerlist1.HTM
Also SS Waterman departed from Rotterdam
on Friday April 1,
1955
http://www.frontiernet.net/~hdebruyn/waterman/passengerlist.HTM
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Who is the Author of ssMaritime?
Commenced
in the passenger Shipping Industry in May 1960
ssMaritime.com & ssMaritime.net
Where
the ships of the past make history & the 1914
built MV Doulos Story
Also
visit my …
“Save The Classic Liners Campaign” & “Classic Ocean
Voyages” pages
Photographs on ssmaritime and associate pages are by the author
or from the author’s private collection. In addition there are some images that have been
provided by Shipping Companies and private photographers or collectors. Credit
is given to all contributors. However, there are some photographs provided to
me without details regarding the photographer/owner concerned. I hereby invite
if owners of these images would be so kind to make them-selves known to me (my
email address may be found on www.ssmaritime.com only), in order that
due credit may be given. I know what it is like, I have seen a multitude of my
own photographs on other sites, yet these individuals either refuse to provide
credit or remove them when asked, knowing full well that there is no legal
comeback when it comes to the net. However, let us show these charlatans up and
do the right thing at all times and give credit where credit is due!
This
notice covers all pages, although, and I have done my best to ensure that all
photographs are duly credited and that this notice is displaced on each page,
that is, when a page is updated!
ssMaritime is owned and © Copyright 2010/12 - by Reuben
Goossens - All Rights Reserved