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With Reuben Goossens
Maritime Historian,
Cruise‘n’Ship Reviewer & Author
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
Hikawa Maru INDEX:
Page One: Hikawa
Maru main / history page
Page Two: The Schlesinger family escapes Nazi
Germany
Page
Three: Photo page one
Page Four: Photo page
– online in the near future
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Commenced in the passenger Shipping Industry
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Also visit my …
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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!
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