KARAMEA 1998-2003

Particulars of Ship

BuilderSchps&Ghbw v/h Jonker & StansWhere BuiltNetherlandsDate Built1978Tonnage557 GRTOwners & Name1978-1997 Various mid east owners SCHOTLAND,HILAL 2, SCALDIA, SAMSON, ANGLIAN WARRIOR.
1997-1998 Ocean Bulk, Auckland FREDERICK BROWN
1998-2003 USSCo KARAMEA
2003 Sold to eastern owners ABULLATIF ALGHANIMAdditional NotesWith the departure of the KARAMEA and barge the last page of USSCo was closed. One of many people for whom the departure meant some nostalgic memories was Captain John Cleaver of Lyttelton. "It was sad for many former Union Steam Ship Company staff", said Captain Cleaver. Captain Cleaver was a master on the inter-island ferries, and took the last, the RANGITIRA, back to Britain after the closure of the service in 1976. "When I joined them in 1954 they had 66 ships and employed 25,000 people just in New Zealand," he said. "And I can remember when they became the first company in New Zealand to make more than a million pounds annual profit. It was really the end of an era when these went." Captain Cleaver was one of about 300 officers recruited from England on two-year contracts over about 10 years after the war to man the ships of the company's post-war building programme. Many seamen were also recruited in Britain on no-return articles, and most stayed here. "It was a very optimistic time for the company," he said. "As well as its New Zealand services it had trans-Pacific passenger liners and cargo ships running to Ceylon and India."

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KARAMEA 1998-2003