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With Reuben Goossens

Maritime Historian, Cruise‘n’Ship Reviewer & Author

Memories of the JVO

MS Johan van Oldenbarnevelt

Introduction

JVO in her original appearance 1930 – by Mr. C.E.A. van Boeckel
Visit Mr. Van Boekel’s magnificent site at http://www.omnispective.nl/vbp/

Ship enthusiast’s worldwide love to delve back to a time when "ships were really ships," fo0r it was the era when a passenger liner was a great ocean going ship with a Hotel fitted in them, offering a variety of accommodations. In those days, ships were built with a sheer, unlike the modern cruise liners, which look like huge box like five star hotels, which happen to float. However, in defence and logic, it must be noted that these modern cruise liners do feature accommodations and appointments, which are in fact far superior to the graceful liners of bygone days.

This book is going to deal with a passenger liner, which was a much-loved ship, especially in the Southern Hemisphere. Sadly, she departed Wellington New Zealand on 30 January and Sydney Australia on 3 February 1963 for her final voyage back to Europe. As we will discover, this gracious Dutch liner enjoyed six distinctive lives and several transformations during her long and distinguished career. To this day, she is remembered for her long and difficult name, a name most people had great difficulty in pronouncing. The ship in question is the ms Johan van Oldenbarnevelt. During her thirteen years of regular service to and from New Zealand and Australia (February 1950 to February 1963) this grand lady of the sea became so much loved, that Kiwis and Australians alike lovingly called her the JVO. At the end of her service with the "Netherlands Line" or "Royal Dutch Mails", at the grand age of thirty-three, she was sold to become the Greek cruise liner, TSMS Lakonia, which caught fire on 22 December 1963 and subsequently sank on December 29 with the tragic loss of 128 lives, and many others injured.

For the many who sailed on the JVO, and ship lovers around the world, her loss was a time of great sadness. Sadness for the lives lost, and sadness for the demise of what once was a much loved, a great ship. The tragic events relating to the burning and sinking of the Lakonia assured her a place in maritime history. However, it will be the memory of the JVO, which will remain in the hearts of those that have known and sailed on her, especially for the people of New Zealand and Australia.

This is her story, a story of a ship, which carried the Dutch flag with great pride around the world for 33 years.

Reuben Goossens

Maritime Historian

Celebrating 95 years in the passenger shipping industry

A typical view of the JVO in the early 60’s

Photograph by the author

Go to Chapter 1

JVO Index

Chapters with an * were recently updated

Introduction Remembering the JVO

Chapter 1 The New Pride of the Netherlands

Chapter 2 JVO the Trooper

Chapter 3 A New Service

Chapter 4 New Lease of Life *

Chapter 5 JVO the Cruise Ship *

Chapter 6 Goodbye JVO *

Chapter 7 Cruise Ship TSMS Lakonia

Chapter 8 Lakonia's Final Voyage *This Chapter has 17 new photographs and stories – Dec 2009.

Chapter 9 The End is Near

Chapter 10 Conclusion *

Passenger stories

Page One Boelen Family – The night the JVO almost went down

Page Two - NEW Pieter Goldhoorn –1947 – a soldier’s voyage to the East Indies (Indonesia)

Page Three William Hamlyn – 1945 Royal Signalman’s voyage home from wartime duties

Page Four - NEW Laszlo Pal – A Voyage to Canada

Page Five – NEW Harold Heasman – His service on the JVO from March 1942 to August 1943

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Who is the Author of ssMaritime?

Commenced in the passenger Shipping Industry in May 1960

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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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