Owner: A/S Sobral
Manager: Øivind Lorentzen, Oslo
Tonnage: 2490 gt

Built by Sir John Priestman & Co., Sunderland in 1937.

Misc. War Voyages:

(A voyage record will be added).

The first external website that I've linked to at the end of this page has included Rio Novo, along with the Norwegian Atlantic, Bur, Fjordaas, Geisha, Lysaker V and Marianne, in the slow eastbound North Atlantic Convoy SC 50, departing Sydney, C.B. on Oct. 17-1941, arriving Liverpool on Nov. 4. She had a general cargo and also carried 2 passengers, and there's a note saying she had previously traded around North and South America. Later that month she's listed as bound for Norfolk, VA with a cargo of china clay in station 12 of the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 40*, which left Liverpool on Nov. 25-1941 and dispersed on Dec. 4. The Norwegian Arthur W. Sewall, Charles Racine (returned following a collision), Egda, Evita, Fernmoor, Finnanger (returned), Slemdal, Storanger, Tai Shan and Velox are also listed.

In Jan.-1942, Rio Novo was in Convoy HX 171, again with several other Norwegian ships (follow the link to this convoy). At the beginning of March we find her in station 13 of the westbound Convoy ON 73*, which departed Liverpool on March 5-1942 and dispersed on the 16th. Her destination is given as Boston on that occasion, cargo of coal; the Norwegian Gausdal and Leiv Eiriksson also took part, and the Norwegian corvettes Acanthus, Eglantine, Potentilla and Rose are named among the escorts. The following month she can be found among the ships in Convoy HX 184, having been cancelled from the previous convoy, HX 183, then headed back across the Atlantic at the beginning of May with the westbound Convoy ON 91* (left Liverpool May 1, dispersed May 15), together with Bello, Geisha, Heranger, Kronprinsen, Laurits Swenson, Salamis and Skaraas. Rio Novo was bound for New York and had station 12 of the convoy. At the end of that month, on May 31-1942, she joined Convoy HX 192 from Halifax, returning to New York in June with the westbound Convoy ON 107*, which left Liverpool on June 26, dispersed off Halifax on July 9. She was again in the company of several other Norwegian ships, namely Fernmoor, Garonne, Glittre, Havkong, Polartank and Samuel Bakke. Rio Novo went back to the U.K. again at the beginning of Aug.-1942 in Convoy HX 201 (having been cancelled from HX 200), returning to New York at the end of that month with the westbound convoy Convoy ON 125. According to the Commodore's notes for ON 125, Rio Novo had a man overboard on Sept. 11. He was picked up, but subsequently died. Ref. external link to the Stavern Memorial below.

Related external links:
Misc. Convoys - Clicking on "Ship Search", typing "Rio Novo" as keywords will bring up several convoys that are not mentioned in my own text. Here is SC 50, mentioned above.

Stavern Memorial Commemoration - Radio Operator Finn G. Hauff is commemorated, said to have died in an accident at sea on Sept. 11-1942, so this must have been the man who fell overboard while in Convoy ON 125.