Dear all,

another after war mystery!!

POL I 205gt 1926 and POL V ex LORENTZ BRUUN 221gt 1925 both have been lost in 1947.

Lloyd's casualty reports tell:
POL V "abandoned at sea 05.08.1947 o.v. Table Bay - Hongkong under chinese flag 9.00S/41.10E in tow. Last sighting 12.08.1947 5.1S/39.27.30E"
POL I "foundered 29.07.1947 while in tow o.v. Table Bay-Hongkong 21.35S/37.20E".

POL I had been handed back to pre-war owners 07.04.1947. Both vessels have been sold by A/S Thor Dahl in July 1946 to China via the South African shipbrokers (and owners) Thesen from CT.

Lloyd's Confidential index tells that the Chinese owner was Wheelock, Marden & Co.Ltd., Hongkong and that the two vessels have been bought in 1946. It adds to the info above that POL I broke from tow about 400mi south of Mombasa.

Wheelock, Marden is well known with regard to buying surplus war vessels during these years and for having had a lot of trouble with their tows (three corvettes lost early in 1947 in Bay of Biscay).

However there is a difference in buying former (relatively young) corvettes, which did offer at least some (more) options for civilian conversion than small 200gt whalers being already 20 years old.

What did they want to do with these vessels?? Just trading purposes??

Maybe there's someone to tell!?

Regards, Axel