Tonnage: 1683 gt

Pre War:

Delivered in Oct.-1920 from Helsingørs Jernskibs- & Maskinbyggeri, Helsingør, Denmark (161) as cargo vessel Rødfaxe to A/S Dampskibsselskabet Primula (Schach Steenberg & Co.), Copenhagen, Denmark. Steel hull, 249.8' x 38.3' x 15.4', 1683 gt, 2400 tdwt, Triple Expansion (Helsingørs) 158nhp, 9,5 knots. Sold in Dec.-1922 to Det Bergenske Dampskibsselskab, Bergen and renamed Castor for use between the Baltic and London, mostly in the lumber trade. As per the summer of 1939 she was in North Sea service.

WW II:

Castor is mentioned in connection with Convoy HN 10 from Norway to the U.K. in Febr.-1940, bound for London with general cargo (this was before Norway had become involved in the war). Follow the link for more convoy information; several Norwegian ships took part.

R. W. Jordan has told me she was later in Germany-Norway trade 1940-'44. Struck a mine near Egersund Norway on Nov. 24-1944, laid by the French submarine Rubis (Rousselot) on Oct. 24, but was only damaged.

POST WAR:

Sold in Jan.-1948 to A/B Tankar Steamship Co. Ltd. (manager Gunnar Andersson, Kokkola, Finland), delivered in Trondheim on March 12 and renamed Tankar. Sold in 1956 to Varustamo O/Y Sisukas Rederi-A/B (manager Harald Gadeke, Turku, Finland / Laivaus OY Aura Shipping AB, Helsinki), and renamed Sisukas. Sold in 1963 to Tramppilaiva O/Y (manager J. Konkola, Helsinki), and renamed Sisal. (T. Eriksen's sources says she was sold to the company Sisal / Fenno Steamship Ltd. OY, Helsinki, Finland in 1963, possibly before owners became Tramppilaiva O/Y?). Arrived at Bruges Oct. 10-1964 to be broken up.

Back to Castor on the "Homefleet Ships starting with C" page.

(Sources: E-mails from R. W. Jordan, as well as "Allied Submarine Attacks of World War Two", Jürgen Rohwer, and "Bergenske, byen og selskapet" Dag Bakka Jr. Pre war details were received from T. Eriksen, Norway - His sources: Article about BDS in "Skipet" 1-2.88 by Dag Bakka Jr. and "Norges eldste Linjerederi, BDS 1851-1951", Wilhelm Keilhau).

Other ships by this name:
Bergenske had lost a Castor in WW I, built in Grimstad in 1909, 1313 gt - struck a mine and sank near Lister Tief on Jan. 1 (Jan. 10?)-1915, voyage Stavanger-Hamburg - crew was saved. (Norway had also had a barque by the name Castor, built Arendal 1866, 318 gt, a seal catcher operating in the Antarctic 1893-1894. Sold to Denmark 1896, lost that same year on a voyage to Greenland). BDS had another Castor from 1887, built in Sunderland and delivered in July-1875 as Rügenwalde for E Hemptenmacher, Rügenwalde, 512 gt. Purchased by BDS in 1887 and renamed Castor, stranded at Lister-Raunen on March 17-1905, voyage Bergen-Oslo. Another Castor (tanker) was built for Bergenske D/S in 1951, later named Norsk Skald 1960 and Gezina Brøvig 1964, sank in Febr.-1970 following an explosion in the engine room. The Clydebuilt Ships website has some details on this ship.

There was also a Dutch and a Swedish ship by this name during the war. The Swedish one was a tanker, torpedoed and sunk by U-46 on March 31-1941, en route from New Orleans to Gothenburg with 12 000 tons oil, with the loss of 15, incl. the captain.