M/T Mosli
Updated Febr. 28-2012

To Mosli on the "Ships starting with M" page.

This picture was taken by Captain Eilif Steier (previously 2nd mate) while at Taraffa, Cuba, in 1948.
These 2 pictures were also taken by the captain (at Covenas, Colombia, Sept. 1948).
Location unknown
This one was taken in Arendal, Norway (Febr.-1948).
(Size and quality of all photoes have been reduced to save disk space).
All the pictures on this page were received from the daughter of Eilif Steier, who was Mosli's captain post war. Eilif Steier, who had been the captain of Hermod when she was sunk in Apr.-1942 served as 2nd mate, 1st mate and captain of Mosli in the period Febr.-1945 until the summer of 1950. The above picture was taken on Christmas Eve-1948. The little girl is the captain's daughter Aud - he had his wife and daughter with him on Mosli in 1948-1950. If you recognize anyone in this picture, please contact her at the address provided in her forum message (click on her name). She also has another posting re. Mosli, as well as a separate posting re. Hermod and would like to get in touch with someone who was on board that ship as well. See also this Guestbook message from her (all messages are in Norwegian). This external page also has some pictures (click in them to make them larger).

Mosli had been scheduled for the Bermuda portion of Convoy HX 46 on May 27 that year, but as already mentioned above, she had left Bermuda by then. She had also been cancelled from the Bermuda portion of Convoy HX 47 a few days later (Italia was sunk, follow the link for details), as well as from HX 48 on June 4. Going back to Page 1, we see that she was in New York on that date, having arrived there from Corpus Christi on May 29. She left New York again for Halifax on June 11, joining Convoy HX 51 from there on June 17, bound for Clyde with a cargo of fuel oil. From Clyde, she later joined Convoy OB 202, which originated in Liverpool on Aug. 22 and dispersed on the 26th, Mosli arriving Curacao on Sept. 9. Alaska, Bur, Brask, Einvik and Veni are also listed in this convoy, ref. external link provided in the Voyage Record above (3 ships were torpedoed - see the external link at the end of this page).

From Curacao, Mosli proceeded to Bermua 2 days later in order to return to Clyde. It looks like she joined the Bermuda portion of Convoy HX 75 on Sept. 20, but did not join the main portion of the convoy to the U.K. (did she return to Bermuda?). She's not actually mentioned in the original document for HX 75, but a note for the next convoy, (B)HX 76, which she joined on Sept. 24, indicates she had come from the previous convoy. However, she didn't make it to the U.K. on this occasion either; from the archive document, we learn that she arrived Halifax on Oct. 1, and according to A. Hague she arrived there with engine defects. She did not leave Halifax again until Nov. 10, when she joined Convoy HX 86 (having been cancelled from HX 85), but lost touch with the convoy in the morning of Nov. 14; the Commodore says this was due to engine defects. Going back to Page 1, we see that she arrived St. John's, N.F. on Nov. 16, so again she did not make it to the U.K. She later continued to New York for repairs, before returning to Halifax and Christmas that year was celebrated while in the Halifax-U.K. Convoy HX 97. She finally arrived the River Clyde anchorage on Jan. 2-1941.

Mosli subsequently joined Convoy OB 275, which originated in Liverpool on Jan. 18-1941 and dispersed on the 23rd, Mosli arriving New York on Febr. 4, having started out from Clyde on Jan. 18. Other Norwegian ships in this convoy were Hidlefjord, Maridal and Finnanger. She returned to the U.K. in March with Convoy HX 112, in which the Norwegian Beduin and Ferm and others were sunk - follow the links for more info. Mosli is now listed, together with Granfoss, Leiv Eiriksson and Skiensfjord, in Convoy OB 305, originating in Liverpool on Apr. 2, dispersed on the 6th, Mosli arriving Trinidad on Apr. 22. From there, she headed to Halifax on Apr. 30, arriving May 10 (Page 1) and that same day she was scheduled for Convoy HX 126, which lost so many ships, including John P. Pedersen (follow the links for much more information, several reports are available). It's possible Mosli arrived Halifax too late to join, because she instead joined the next convoy on May 16, HX 127, stopping in Reykjavik on June 1. She left Reykjavik again on June 15, put put back the next day; A. Hague says she was intended for Convoy OB 334, but returned due to defects. She subsequently departed Reykjavik on June 30, joining up with Convoy OB 339 on July 2. This convoy, which also included Kollskegg and Suderøy, had origianted in Liverpool on June 26 and arrived Halifax on July 12. Mosli, however, was bound for Trinidad, where she arrived on the 20th, having parted company with the convoy on July 9 (according to A. Hague). Again, see the external links provided in the table above for more on the OB convoys mentioned here.

From Trinidad, she proceeded to Halifax 3 days later, and on Aug. 5, we find her in Convoy HX 143 from there, together with the Norwegian Thorshavn, Belinda, Andrea Brøvig, Katy, Ravnefjell, Carmelfjell, Salamis, Primero, Benwood and Petter. After having made some voyages around the U.K. (see Page 1 & Page 2), Mosli was scheduled to return across the Atlantic with the the westbound Convoy ON 19 on Sept. 21, but instead joined the next convoy a few days later, ON 20, bound for New York, station 74, arriving her destination on Oct. 14, remaining there until Nov. 1, when she proceeded to Halifax. A. Hague has now included her in Convoy HX 159 on Nov. 8, with a note saying she was detached to Iceland on Nov. 19. She arrived Hvalfjord on Nov. 20, and did not leave Iceland again until Jan. 4-1942.

She now appears in the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 52*, joining from Iceland on Jan. 5-1942. This convoy, which also had Bello, Brasil, Kaia Knudsen, Katy, Morgenen, Nyholt, Solsten, Stigstad, Thorshøvdi, Tungsha and Vanja in its ranks, had started out in Liverpool on Dec. 31-1941 and was dispersed Jan. 11-1942 - Montbretia and Rose are named aong the escorts (see ON convoy escorts). Going back to the archive document, we see that Mosli arrived Hampton Roads on Jan. 22, continuing to Curacao a couple of days later, then headed to Halifax, where she arrived on Febr. 13, remaining there for quite a long time; according to A. Hague, she had arrived with engine defects, so it's possible her long stay was due to repairs being necessary. She did not leave Halifax until Apr. 8, when she's listed among the ships in Convoy HX 184, and arrived Londonderry on Apr. 19. Early in May, she shows up, along with Athos, Belnor, Kaldfonn, Norholm and Toledo, in Convoy OS 27, which originated in Liverpool on May 2 and arrived Freetown on the 19th, but Mosli was bound for Trinidad, where she arrived May 21, having started out from Londonderry on May 3. Her subsequent voyages are shown on Page 2; convoy information for some of these can be found in the Voyage Record.

On one of these voyages, Mosli rescued 49(?) men from the Danish Danmark, Captain Honoré Christensen (sailing under British flag) which had just been torpedoed, shelled and sunk by U-130 (Kals) on July 30-1942, about 680 miles west/southwest of Freetown - see also the external link at the end of this page. Both ships were sailing alone, Mosli with a cargo of petrol. The survivors, 29 Danish, 17 British, 2 Norwegian and 1 Russian, were landed in Freetown by Mosli on Aug. 3. This episode is also mentioned in "Krigsseileren", Issue No. 2 for 1981. The account is based on a diary written by Arnold Mørk Wilhelmsen who had joined Mosli on Apr. 25-1942*. He says Mosli had departed Freetown for Trinidad on July 27**, and 3 days later they saw a column of smoke off their starboard bow and went to investigate. However, shortly after spotting the survivors a fire erupted on board Mosli, around midships on the starboard side, so the lifeboats had to move away because of the explosion danger. The fire was soon brought under control, the 5 lifeboats came alongside and their occupants were taken on board. Around "coffee time" the following day they saw more evidence of U-boats being nearby (what he means by this is unclear, perhaps they saw some debris) but they now encountered an escort vessel which came with them to Freetown, where they arrived on Aug. 3 with the 49 rescued men. According to the archive document, Mosli continued to Trinidad a few days later, with arrival there Aug. 21, heading to Curacao on Aug. 23, arriving Aug. 25. (Mørk Wilhelmsen paid off shortly thereafter and joined Minister Wedel in Nov.-1942, then M/S Salta in Febr.-1943, after Minister Wedel had been torpedoed on Jan. 9-1943).

*Arnold Mørk Wilhelmsen had arrived Sweden on Apr. 4-1941 and had previously served on Gudvang, May-1941, and Rigmor, Sept.-1941. He had recently arrived Scotland from Sweden on Apr. 4-1942, after an earlier, unsuccessful attempt to get away with a small vessel in Dec.-1941. In fact, upon checking further, I find that he's listed among those who were on board Rigmor in Operation Performance - follow the links for more details.

**Note that this does not agree with the details found on Page 2, which says Mosli had left Curacao on July 14, Trinidad on the 20th, bound for Freetown. According to A. Hague, she had initially been in Convoy WAT 3, but had been detached from the convoy on July 16 (link in Voyage Record).

Some of the men on board Mosli at this time were 2nd Engineer Gabriel Strøm, 1st Mate Sverre Lie, 2nd Mate Tor Solhaug Larsen, and Chief Engineer Legård Johansen. One of the crew members, a British electrician, was suspected of having started the fire on Mosli. It was also later discovered that he had stolen several Norwegian passports, which were found in his cabin. They were told that British authorities had found him to be involved in German 'underground' work and several industrial fires in the south of England.

From Curacao, Mosli sailed to Halifax on Sept. 2, joining Convoy HX 207 from there on Sept. 13. According to the Commodore's notes, she dropped back with a fire between cylinders at 08:15 on Sept. 17 in 50 30N 46 55W, with HMS Woodstock standing by, but rejoined at 18:00 on Sept. 19 in 57 21N 36 56W. She arrived Clyde on Sept. 24, later returning across the Atlantic with Convoy ON 145, together with the Norwegian Ørnefjell, Thorhild, Skaraas and Brant County; Askepot later joined from Halifax. This convoy originated in Liverpool on Nov. 9; Mosli sailed from Clyde that day and arrived New York City on Nov. 25, reamining there for almost a month (see also this message in my Guestbook, on the bottom of that page). Christmas that year was celebrated while in Convoy HX 220, which left New York City on Dec. 21 and arrived Liverpool on Jan. 9-1943. Mosli had a cargo of Admiralty fuel, and had station 63 of the convoy - her destination is given as Scapa where she arrived (via Loch Ewe and Thurso Bay) on Jan. 15 - again, see Page 2.

She subsequently returned to New York with Convoy ON 162 in Jan.-1943, serving as Escort Oiler. According to Arnold Hague, she went back to the U.K. with Convoy HX 227*, leaving New York on Febr. 18, arriving Liverpool on March 6; Mosli stopped at Clyde, March 5. She had again been in the company of several Norwegian ships, namely B. P. Newton, Belinda, Ferncourt, Haakon Hauan, Kaldfonn, Norholm, Pan Aruba, Polartank (returned, follow link for more info), Skaraas, Stiklestad, Strinda and Thorshov. Acanthus and Eglantine are named among the escorts (see HX convoy escorts). Later that month she shows up, with B. P. Newton, Emma Bakke, Dageid, Ferncourt, Frontenac, Haakon Hauan, Idefjord, Pan Aruba, Skaraas, Stiklestad, Strinda and Thorshov, in the westbound Convoy ON 173*, again serving as Escort Oiler. This convoy departed Liverpool March 13 and arrived Halifax March 29; no destination is given for Mosli, but from Page 2 we learn that she arrived New York on March 31, having started out from Clyde on the 13th. On Apr. 6, she joined Convoy HX 233 from New York, but became a straggler and put in at Halifax on Apr. 9, subsequently joining the next convoy from there, HX 234, which had originated in New York City on Apr. 12. Mosli, which again acted as Escort Oiler, received praise for her station keeping, as will be seen when following the link to my page about this convoy, for which Laurits Swenson served as Commodore Vessel; the Commodore's report on passage is also available.

In May that year she served as Escort Oiler for the westbound Convoy ON 184*, departing Liverpool on May 15, arriving New York on the 31st. According to Page 3, Mosli had started out from Clyde on the 15th. A. Hague has also included Chr. Th. Boe, Emma Bakke, Fernmoor, Idefjord, Petter, Salamis, Samuel Bakke (Commodore Vessel) and Slemmestad in this convoy. In June she was Escort Oiler for Convoy HX 243, leaving New York on June 7, arriving Liverpool on the 21st. Mosli, in station 54, arrived Loch Ewe that day, continuing to Scapa Flow that same day. The escorts she had supplied in the course of this voyage were HMS Rockingham, HMS Fennel, HMS Dahlia and HMCS Kamloops - follow the link to my page about HX 243 for dates. She headed back across the Atlantic just a few days later in Convoy ON 190*, along with Brajara, California Express, Dageid, Fjordaas, Gefion, Høyanger, Lynghaug, Norefjord, Norsol (in collision), Orwell, Polartank (in collision), Skiensfjord and Tarifa (departure Liverpool June 24, arrival New York July 9 - Mosli joined from Loch Ewe, her arrival New York is given as July 8). On July 15 she was ready to join Convoy HX 248 from New York (Escort Oiler), again bound for Scapa, where she arrived July 29. See also the Commodore's report. Together with Athos, California Express, Fjordaas, Gefion, Hardanger, Montevideo (Commodore Vessel), Oregon Express, Roald Amundsen, Skotaas and Trondheim, she later joined the westbound Convoy ON 196*, which originated in Liverpool on Aug. 8 and arrived New York on the 21st; Mosli again joined from Loch Ewe, and acted as Escort Oiler.

From New York, she headed to Hampton Roads on Sept. 12, subsequently making a voyage to Bizerta with Convoy UGS 18, which left Hampton Roads on Sept. 15-1943, then returned to New York with Convoy GUS 18 the following month, joining this convoy from Bizerta (GUS 18 arrived Hampton Roads on Nov. 6; Mosli arrived New York that same day, having sailed from Bizerta on Oct. 15). Both these convoys also had other Norwegian ships, as will be seen when following the external links provided in the Voyage Record above. A. Hague now lists Mosli as Escort Oiler in Convoy HX 266*, departing New York on Nov. 13, arriving Liverpool on the 27th (gain, see also Page 3). She also carried extra depth charges on this voyage, and was in the company of Brimanger (Commodore Vessel), Fernwood, Idefjord, Morgenen and Thorhild. Her last Trans-Atlantic voyage that year was made in the westbound Convoy ON 215* (Escort Oiler), together with Abraham Lincoln (Commodore Vessel), Fernmoor, Idefjord, Samuel Bakke and Tungsha (departure Liverpool Dec. 9, arrival New York Dec. 28).

Mosli subsequently made a voyage to Gibraltar, having joined Convoy UGS 29 from Hampton Roads on Jan. 5-1944. She arrived Gibraltar on Jan. 21, returning to the U.S. with Convoy GUS 28, which arrived Hampton Roads on Febr. 15; Mosli arrived New York that same day, having sailed from Gibraltar on Jan. 26 (again, ref. external links in the table above). Having made a voyage to Baltimore, she returned to New York; she had been scheduled for Convoy HX 280 from New York to the U.K. on Febr. 20, but as can be seen when going back to Page 3, she was still in Baltimore on that date. She joined the next convoy on Febr. 27, HX 281, which was escorted by Acanthus, Eglantine and Rose for a while (see HX convoy escorts). Mosli, however, returned to port, arriving Halifax on March 3 and was subsequently scheduled for the Halifax portion of HX 282 on March 8, but instead joined the Halifax portion of HX 283, leaving Halifax on March 15, the main convoy having started out in New York 2 days earlier. She served as Escort Oiler again and arrived Liverpool, via Belfast Lough, on March 29.

It'll be noticed, when going to Page 4 of the archive documents, that she now spent quite a long time in Liverpool - she had departed Liverpool on March 30 but put back on Apr. 1 and did not leave again until May 19, when we find her, together with Brimanger (Commodore Vessel), Emma Bakke, Ferncourt, Glarona, Herbrand, Laurits Swenson (whose captain served as Vice Commodore), Maud, Norefjord, Noreg, Norma, Pan Scandia, Skaraas and Velma, in the westbound Convoy ON 237*, which arrived New York on June 3. Some of these ships, including Mosli, headed back to the U.K. a week later with Convoy HX 295, for which Elisabeth Bakke acted as Commodore Vessel. With Geisha, Grey County, Kaia Knudsen, Norden, Noreg, Norse Lady, Reinholt (Commodore Vessel), Rutenfjell, Skaraas, Sommerstad, Sørvard and Velma, Mosli later sailed in the other direction with Convoy ON 243*, which originated in Liverpool on July 3 (Mosli joined from Clyde) and arrived New York on the 18th. She had again served as Escort Oiler.

She now headed across to Algiers, where she arrived Aug. 11, having taken part in Convoy UGS 49, which had left Hampton Roads on July 24. From Algiers, she made a voyage to Augusta with Convoy KMS 59*, which originated in Gibraltar on Aug. 13 (Thorshavn is also named in this convoy). Mosli arrived Augusta on Aug. 19, having sailed from Algiers on the 15th. For details on further voyages in that part of the world in this time period, please see Page 4 and Page 5 of the archive documents. Convoy information for some of these can be found in the Voyage Record above.

At the beginning of 1945 she was in Abadan, having arrived there on Jan. 20. She left Abadan for Colombo on Jan. 23, arriving Colombo on Febr. 4. On Febr. 8 she departed for Bombay where she arrived on Febr. 12, then left again the following day for The Persian Gulf. She was reported off Khor Kuwai on the 17th, arrived Shatt el Arab on the 19th. On Febr. 26 she left Abadan for Sydney, with arrival there on Apr. 4, remaining until June 3, when she left for Newcastle N.S.W., arriving the same day, then continued to Abadan on June 6, arriving on July 11. While there, some repairs to her engines were undertaken, before she started loading marine diesel oil on July 23, then left Abadan for Suez on July 25, arrived Aug. 9, left Sept. 5 and arrived Port Said on Sept. 6, then departed for Curacao the same day and arrived Willemstad on Oct. 5. On Oct. 17 she departed for the U.K., with arrival Liverpool on Nov. 6, continuing to Stanlow that same day. On Nov. 8 and Nov. 9 she was at Ince, and on the 10th she left England for Stavanger, Norway. From Stavanger she departed for Aruba on March 9-1946, arrived Curacao on Apr. 2, then continued to England on Apr. 4-1946. (The details in this paragraph are from Mosli's log book for the period, and were received from Captain Steier's daughter; however, he was not the captain at that time, but served as 2nd mate on the ship. The captain was P. Pedersen). The information agrees with the details found on Page 5 of the archive documents.

* The ON convoys will be added to individual pages in my Convoys section in due course, along with further details on each. In the meantime, the ships sailing in them are named in the section listing ships in all ON convoys. Note also that the entire HX series will eventually be updated and completed, including the already existing convoys (some have already been updated); see ships in all HX convoys. The KMS convoys will also be added, for now, go to ships in all KMS convoys. (As mentioned, Mosli appears in KMS 59 in Aug.-1944).

More details on the other Norwegian ships mentioned on this page can be found with the help of the alphabet index below, or go to the Master Ship Index

POST WAR:

According to this external page, she sailed as Smeralda for Citmar Cia. Italiana Transporti Maritime, Genoa from 1951. Sold in Nov.-1960 to Italian breakers, arriving La Spezia Nov. 25 that year.

Related external links:
Ships hit from Convoy OB 202

The attack on Danmark - Uboat.net gives 46 survivors.

Back to Mosli on the "Ships starting with M" page.

The text on this page was compiled with the help of: "Nortraships flåte", J. R. Hegland, and misc. as named within the above narrative - (ref. My sources).