ssMaritime.com & ssMaritime.net
With Reuben Goossens
Maritime Historian
N.Y.K. Lines
MV Hikawa
Maru

Hikawa Maru seen
as a trans-Pacific Liner in the mid sixties
The 11,622 GRT
(gross Registered Ton) Hikawa Maru was built in 1929 by Yokohama Dock Co – yard 177, for
the Nippon Yusen KK line, Tokyo.
She was launched on September 30, 1929 and
completed on April
25, 1930. She commenced on her maiden voyage from Kobe
to Seattle on
May 13. She offered fine service combined with superb food which saw her become
a much sought after ship and passengers gave her the nickname “Queen of
the Pacific.”
Amazingly Hikawa Maru and other N.Y.K. passenger
ships were involved in assisting Jewish refugees escape from the Holocaust.
There were those who escaped via Japan
and sailed to Canada,
as did a Mr. Zorach Warhaftig who later wrote a book
entitled; “Refugee and Survivor, Rescue Attempts during the Holocaust. He
and his family departed Yokohama on Hikawa Maru
on June 5, 1941
bound for Vancouver Canada. His book describes the
sailing as a summer vacation and with the war seeming to be so far away,
although, he said “I didn’t have a peaceful mind because of the
strong responsibility I had to help the Jewish refugees with the troubles they
faced.” The book is by Zorach Warhaftig and was
published by Hara Shobo.
Late 1941 Hikawa Maru became a
hospital ship. For this role her hull and funnel was painted all white with a
wide green band along her hull, as well as two red crosses on each side and on
the superstructure and funnel.
During the war the Hikawa Maru struck mines
on three occasions, however due to her extra thick steel plating and she suffered
only minor damage.

Above and Below: Two images of Hikawa Maru as a Hospital Ship

On August 14, 1945, Japan surrendered unconditionally
and amazingly Hikawa Maru was to be the only mainstream Imperial Japanese
passenger liner to survive World War II. She was immediately seized by the US government. From 1945 to 1947 she was used to transport
US personal between the States and Japan. In 1947 Hikawa Maru operated
as a simple freighter to the United States East Coast. This service ended
in 1954. Thereafter she was refitted into a fine passenger liner once more and
she re-commenced her original trans-Pacific service.
As passenger numbers dwindled, it was decided to end her service in 1960.
I received the following inspiring email from Mr
and Mrs Borchert (on November 25, 2008) in relation to the
final voyages of the Hikawa Maru. I am sure you will find it touching!
“On a return trip to Japan, as
missionaries for the Presbyterian Church, we sailed on one of the last voyages
of the Hikawa Maru, "The Queen of the Seas." Our captain was
Commander Okada. During one of the evening entertainments, the passengers
participated, during which my wife sang "Kojo No
Tsuki" in Japanese! She was garbed in a lovely
Kimono. At the conclusion of the old romantic (and rather sad) ballad Captain
Okada rose and gracefully bowed to my wife, and we noted that he wept! Now
retired, recently we heard Andre Rieu perform this
same piece, that famous old ballad ... and yes, we wept!”
During her 30 years of proud service the MS Hikawa Maru crossed the Pacific some 254 times, and it is
estimated that she carried around 25,000 passengers as well as a massive
amounts of cargo. Her magnificent career was about to end, yet her days were
certainly not numbered!
Soon a new role was found for this fine
ship, for in 1961 Hikawa Maru was refitted to become a floating youth hostel
and a maritime museum. Sadly parts of her engine spaces and lower sections of
accommodation decks were gutted to facilitate dormitories. At first she was an
attraction and was quite popular, however, as years passed visitors to the
hostel rapidly declined and it was closed in 1973.
Hikawa Maru remained at her berth and
continued to operate as a Maritime
Museum, restaurant and banquet
facility. In addition, during the summer a popular beer garden was operated out
on the open decks. However, again due to dwindling clientele, late in 2002 the
restaurant was closed. With only the museum and the seasonal (summer) beer
garden, visitor numbers to the ship dropped dramatically, bringing the future
of the Hikawa Maru into crisis. However in 2003 she was declared to be a
“cultural
asset” to Yokohama.

Hikawa Maru at her Yokohama berth
It came to the point that the Yokohama media reported
that the Hikawa Maru Marine Tower Co., who both owned and operated the Hikawa
Maru, had gone into restructuring, after accumulating a debt of 1.5 billion
yen. The prime shareholders, NYK and the City of Yokohama were willing to bail the company
out. The venture attempted to liquidate and then placed both of its main
assets, the ship and the Tower, up for sale. Sadly in
December 2006 the Hikawa Maru
was officially closed.

Hikawa Maru seen from Marine Tower in 2005
However, “Yomiuri Shinbum
News” quoted an unnamed N.Y.K. spokesperson as saying that, if no buyer
is found for Hikawa Maru, N.Y.K. would “like to” or “hope
to” take over responsibility for the “preservation of” Hikawa
Maru. The ssMaritime “Save a Classic Liner Campaign” supports the
preservation of this vintage liner and hopes to see her remain in Japan, as she
is a fine example of Japanese ship building of the thirties.

This is a
ship with a simple beauty!
Good News:
Happily, NYK Line made good on their promises and began the restoration of the
historic Japanese liner in August 2007. On April 25, 2008, this fine ship was
renamed NYK Hikawamaru
(however I believe that the name on her hull is unchanged) and she was reopened
to the public with great fanfare. The day of her official opening just happened
to be her 78th birthday.
For further information Visit the NYK Maritime Museum
& NYK Hikawamaru Website.
NYK Hikawamaru is
promoted in “Kanagawa Now” - Yokohama’s
tourist guide - It reads …
“In front of Yamashita Park
lies the anchoring passenger ship Hikawa-Maru, formerly called “the Queen
of the Pacific.” It was in service for 30 years from 1930 to 1960. The
luxurious interior of the liner is open to the public, including the guest room
formerly used by Charlie Chaplin.”

Hikawa Maru, a fine stern view
Specifications
Length 163.3m (536ft)
Beam 20.1m (66ft)
Gross
tonnage 11,622 tons
Engine Burmeister & Wain diesel
Propulsion Twin screws
Service
speed 17 knots (max 18.5)
Accommodations 33 passengers – (75 first, 70
tourist, 186 third)
Maiden
voyage 1930
Final
voyage 1960

The reopened Hikawamaru
seen at her berth in 2008
Go to the Hikawa
Maru Photo Page
**************************************************
I trust you have enjoyed reading this page and this loved
passenger liner. If you have sailed on her I would like to hear from you, and
if you have any photographs I would greatly appreciate some, especially those
of the interiors and out on deck. Email Me!
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Photographs
on ssmaritime and associate pages are: 1. By the author. 2. From the author’s private collection. 3. As provided by Shipping Companies and private photographers or
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