M/S Rita - Norwegian Merchant Fleet 1939-1945

Manager: Chr. Østberg, Oslo
Tonnage: 1753 gt

Built in Rotterdam in 1922. Previous names: Dordrecht until 1925, Romø until 1928, Karibia 1928, Zulia until 1935.
According to the external page that I've linked to above, she was delivered from N.V. Burgerhout`s Machine Fabriek & Sceepswerf. Rotterdam in Oct.-1922 as Dordrecht to Stoomvaart Maats de Maas (N.V.Phs.van Ommeren's Scheepvaart Bedrijf), Rotterdam. From 1924, sailed as Romø for J. Petersen, Haderslev, Denmark. Renamed Karibia in 1928, then Zulia for H.C. Horn, Hamburg that same year. Owned from 1935 by Rederi A/S Rita (Odd Godager), Oslo, renamed Rita. From June-1936, Rederiet Besseggen A/S (Chr. Østberg), Oslo.

Please compare the above voyages with Arnold Hague's Voyage Record below.

Voyage Record
From Dec.-1941 to May-1945:

(Received from Don Kindell - His source: The late Arnold Hague's database).

Follow the convoy links provided for more information on each.

Errors may exist, and as can be seen, her 1940 and most of her 1941 voyages are not included.

	Departure	From	To	Arrival	Convoy	Remarks
1941	Dec. 24	Philadelphia	Hampton Roads	Dec. 25	Independent	Earlier voyages: Page 1 & Page 2
	Dec. 29	Hampton Roads	Bermuda	Jan. 2-1942	Independent	–
1942	Jan. 6	Bermuda	Antilla	Jan. 10	Independent	–
	Jan. 11	Antilla	Hampton Roads	Jan. 17	Independent	–
	Jan. 18	Hampton Roads	Baltimore	Jan. 19	Independent	–
	Jan. 20	Baltimore	Charleston, SC	Jan. 23	Independent	–
	Jan. 26	Charleston, SC	Maracaibo	Febr. 3	Independent	–
	Febr. 9	Maracaibo	Aruba	Febr. 11	Independent	–
	Febr. 18	Sagua	Philadelphia	Febr. 24	Independent	–
	Apr. 14	Philadelphia	New York City	Apr. 15	Independent	–
	May 2	New York City	Bermuda	May 6	Independent	–
	May 11	Bermuda	New York City	May 15	Independent	Notional sailing date
*	May 27	New York City	Boston	–	Independent	–
*	May 29	Boston	Halifax	May 31	BX 21	To St. John's, N.F. Convoy available at BX convoys (external link)
	* Stop at Boston and Halifax not mentioned on Page 2.
	June 3	Halifax	Sydney, C.B.	June 5	HS 9	Convoy available at HS convoys (external link)
	June 5	Sydney, C.B.	St. John's, N.F.	June 8	LC 22	Convoy available via this page (external link)
	June 16	St. John's, N.F.	Botwood	June 18	Independent	–
	June 23	Botwood	St. John's, N.F.	June 25	Independent	–
	June 27	St. John's, N.F.	Halifax	June 30	JH 8	Convoy available via link above
	July 1	Halifax	New York City	July 4	Independent	–
	July 13	New York City	Cape Cod Bay	–	Independent	–
	July 15	Cape Cod Bay	Halifax	July 18	BX 29	Convoy available at BX convoys (external link)
	July 21	Halifax	Sydney, C.B.	July 23	HS 32	Convoy available at HS convoys (external link)
	July 23	Sydney, C.B.	St. John's, N.F.	July 26	LC 31	Convoy available via this page (external link) On to Botwood, Aug. 6 (Page 2).
	Aug. 18	Botwood	St. John's, N.F.	Aug. 19	NJ 9	Convoy available via link above
	Aug. 23	St. John's, N.F.	Sydney, C.B.	Aug. 26	CL 53	Convoy available via link above
	Aug. 26	Sydney, C.B.	Halifax	Aug. 29	SH 38	Convoy available at SH convoys (external link)
	Sept. 1	Halifax	New York City	Sept. 4	Independent	–
	Sept. 18	New York City	Providence, RI	Sept. 18	Independent	–
	Sept. 24	Providence, RI	New York City	Sept. 24	Independent	–
	Sept. 26	New York City	Halifax	Oct. 1	Independent	–
	Oct. 2	Halifax	Sydney, C.B.	Oct. 4	HS 56	Convoy available at HS convoys (external link)
	Oct. 9	Sydney, C.B.	Argentia	Oct. 12	BW 7	For Argentia. Convoy available at BW convoys (external link)
	Oct. 22	Argentia	Sydney, C.B.	–	Independent	–
	Oct. 26	Sydney, C.B.	Corner Brook	Oct. 27	SB 32	For Corner Brook. Convoy available via this page (external link) See also Page 3
	Oct. 31	Corner Brook	Sydney, C.B.	Nov. 2	WB 11	Corner Brook to Sydney, C.B. Convoy available via link above
	Nov. 4	Sydney, C.B.	Halifax	Nov. 7	SH 59	Convoy available at SH convoys (external link)
	Nov. 10	Halifax	New York City	Nov. 15	Independent	–
	Dec. 6	New York City	Gitmo	Dec. 13	NG 327	For Trinidad. Convoy available at NG convoys (external link)
	Dec. 13	Gitmo	Trinidad	Dec. 20	GAT 29	Convoy available at GAT convoys (external link)
	Dec. 26	Trinidad	Paramaribo	Dec. 30	Independent	–
1943	Jan. 2	Paramaribo	Trinidad	Jan. 7	Independent	–
	Jan. 19	Trinidad	Paramaribo	–	Independent	–
	Jan. 26	Paramaribo	Trinidad	Jan. 28	Independent	–
	Febr. 1	Trinidad	Paramaribo	–	Independent	–
	Febr. 7	Paramaribo	Trinidad	Febr. 9	Independent	–
	Febr. 15	Trinidad	Paramaribo	Febr. 18	Independent	–
	Febr. 21	Paramaribo	Trinidad	Febr. 23	Independent	–
	Febr. 27	Trinidad	Paramaribo	March 3	Independent	–
	March 4	Paramaribo	Trinidad	March 6	Independent	–
	March 18	Trinidad	Paramaribo	March 22	Independent	–
	March 24	Paramaribo	Trinidad	March 26	Independent	–
	March 30	Trinidad	Gitmo	Apr. 4	TAG 51	Convoy available at TAG convoys (external link)
	Apr. 9	Gitmo	Key West	Apr. 12	GK 730	Convoy available at GK convoys (external link)
	Apr. 13	Key West	New Orleans	Apr. 16	KH 466	Key West to New Orleans. Convoy available at KH convoys (external link)
	May 24	Port Arthur	Port Arthur	May 31	Independent	A. Hague says: Voyage data unknown Page 3 gives via Galveston, May 25
	June 3	Port Arthur	Galveston	June 4	Independent	–
	June 4	Galveston Bar	Key West	June 8	HK 190	Convoy available at HK convoys (external link)
	June 8	Key West	Gitmo	June 12	KG 638	Convoy available at KG convoys (external link)
	June 13	Gitmo	Trinidad	June 19	GAT 68	Convoy available at GAT convoys (external link)
	June 22	Trinidad	Para	July 8?*	TB 18	Convoy available via this page (external link) Compare w/Page 3*
	July 20	Para	Paramaribo	July 25*	JT 1	Belem to Paramaribo. Convoy available at JT convoys (external link) *Page 3 gives arrival July 23.
	July 29	Paramaribo	Trinidad	July 31	Independent	–
	Aug. 2	Trinidad	Gitmo	Aug. 7	TAG 76	Convoy available at TAG convoys (external link)
	Aug. 7	Gitmo	Key West	Aug. 11	GK 750	Convoy available at GK convoys (external link)
	Aug. 11	Key West	Mobile	Aug. 13	KH 415	Key West to Mobile. Convoy available at KH convoys (external link)
	Aug. 16	Mobile	New Orleans	Aug. 16	Independent	–
	Aug. 27	New Orleans	Cristobal	Sept. 3	Independent	–
	Sept. 11	Cristobal	New Orleans	Sept. 17	Independent	–
	Sept. 29	S W Passage	Key West	Oct. 2	HK 137	S W Passage to Key West. Convoy available at HK convoys (external link)
	Oct. 4	Key West	Havana	Oct. 4	Independent	–
	Oct. 7	Havana	Caibarien	–	Independent	–
	Oct. 10	Caibarien	New Orleans	Oct. 14	Independent	–
	Oct. 19	New Orleans	Cristobal	Oct. 27	Independent	–
	Oct. 29	Cristobal	Cienfuegos	Nov. 2	Independent	–
	Nov. 5	Cienfuegos	Galveston	Nov. 11	Independent	–
	Nov. 18	Galveston	Key West	Nov. 22	Independent	–
	Nov. 27	Key West	Gitmo*	Nov. 29	KG 672	Convoy available at KG convoys (external link) Arrived Santiago, Nov. 30, left Dec. 2 (Page 4*).
	Dec. 11	Gitmo	Key West	Dec. 14	GK 775	Convoy available at GK convoys (external link)
	Dec. 14	Key West	Galveston Bar	Dec. 18	KH 465	Convoy available at KH convoys (external link)
1944	Jan. 5	Galveston Bar	Key West	Jan. 9	HK 177	Convoy available at HK convoys (external link)
	Jan. 10	Key West	Gitmo	Jan. 13	KG 681	Convoy available at KG convoys (external link)
	Jan. 20	Gitmo	Key West	Jan. 23	GK 783	Convoy available at GK convoys (external link)
	Jan. 23	Key West	Galveston Bar	Febr. 1	KH 481	Convoy available at KH convoys (external link)
	Febr. 4	Galveston Bar	Key West	Febr. 8	HK 189	Convoy available at HK convoys (external link)
	Febr. 8	Key West	Gitmo	Febr. 11	KG 687	Convoy available at KG convoys (external link)
	Febr. 19	Gitmo	Key West	Febr. 22	GK 789	Convoy available at GK convoys (external link)
	Febr. 23	Key West	Galveston	Febr. 27	Independent	Stop at Key West not mentioned, Page 4
	March 15	Galveston	Havana	March 21	Independent	–
	March 24	Havana	Cardenas	March 24	Independent	–
	March 27	Cardenas	Galveston	March 31	Independent	–
	Apr. 9	Galveston	Havana	Apr. 14	Independent	–
	Apr. 17	Havana	Cardenas	Apr. 17	Independent	–
	Apr. 19	Cardenas	Galveston	Apr. 23	Independent	–
	May 2	Galveston	Baltimore	May 12	Independent	–
	May 16	Baltimore	Hampton Roads	May 17	Independent	–
	May 21	Lynn Haven Roads	Caibarien	May 27	NK 615	Convoy available at NK convoys (external link)
	May 29	Caibarien	Galveston	June 3	Independent	–
	June 8	Galveston	Havana	June 13	Independent	–
	June 17	Havana	Cardenas	June 18	Independent	–
	June 20	Cardenas	Galveston	June 24	Independent	–
	July 1	Galveston	Gitmo	–	Independent	See also Page 5
	July 17	Gitmo	Baltimore	July 25	GN 145	Convoy available at GN convoys (external link)
	Aug. 18	Baltimore	New York City	Aug. 19	Independent	–
	Aug. 24	New York City	Gitmo	Aug. 31	NG 455	Convoy available at NG convoys (external link)
	Sept. 5	Gitmo	New York City	Sept. 12	GN 155	Convoy available at GN convoys (external link)
	Sept. 23	New York City	Gitmo	Sept. 29	NG 461	Convoy available at NG convoys (external link) Compare w/Page 5 (but date error)
	Oct. 14	Gitmo	Baltimore	Oct. 24	GN 163	Convoy available at GN convoys (external link)
	Oct. 26	Baltimore	New York City	Oct. 27	Independent	–
	Nov. 2	New York City	Gitmo	Nov. 9	NG 469	Convoy available at NG convoys (external link)
	Nov. 14	Gitmo	New York City	Nov. 22	GN 169	Convoy available at GN convoys (external link)
	Dec. 2	New York City	Sagua	Dec. 8	Independent	–
	Dec. 9	Sagua	New York City	Dec. 24	Independent	A. Hague says: Voyage data unknown Page 5 gives via Boston, Dec. 17.
	Dec. 26	New York City	Caibarien	Jan. 2-1945	Independent	–
1945	Jan. 6	Caibarien	Key West	Jan. 7	Independent	–
	Jan. 8	Key West	New York City*	Jan. 13	KN 361	Convoy available at KN convoys (external link)
	Jan. 13	Detached from KN 361	Boston	Jan. 15	Independent	–
	Convoy KN 361 did arrive New York on Jan. 13, but Rita* did not go to New York; as A. Hague himself says, she was detached from the convoy that day in order to sail to Boston.
	Jan. 21	Boston	New York City	Jan. 22	Independent	–
	Febr. 21	New York City	New York City	Febr. 28(?)	Independent	A. Hague says: Voyage data unknown (Page 5 gives Hampton Roads).
	Febr. 25	New York City	Boston	Febr. 27	Independent	–
	March 1	Boston	New York City	March 2	Independent	–
	March 3	New York City	Boston	March 7	Independent	Via Hampton Roads (Page 5).
	March 10	Boston	Hampton Roads	March 13	Independent	–
	March 14	Hampton Roads	Boston	March 17	Independent	–
	March 20	Boston	Hampton Roads	–	Independent	Page 5 gives arrival March 22
	March 23	Hampton Roads	Boston	March 25	Independent	–
	March 27	Boston	Norfolk, VA	–	Independent	–
	Apr. 6(?)	Norfolk, VA	Providence, RI	Apr. 8	Independent	Again, see Page 5
	Apr. 11	Providence, RI	Mobile	Apr. 19	Independent	–
	Apr. 21	New Orleans	Key West	–	Independent	–
	Apr. 25	Key West	Baltimore	May 1	KN 382	Convoy available at KN convoys (external link)
	May 5	Baltimore	Philadelphia	May 6	Independent	–
	May 8	Philadelphia	Hampton Roads	May 8	Independent	–
	May 12	Lynn Haven Roads	Havana	May 21	Independent	–
	May 25	Havana	Galveston	May 29	Independent	Subsequent voyages: Page 6

Notes:

As will be seen when going to Page 1 of the archive documents, Rita made several voyages to Greenland in the course of 1940.

It'll be noticed that there are some long gaps in her voyages throughout the war - for instance, she had a few long stays in New York, but also in other ports.

From Page 6 we learn that she got to go home to Norway in Dec.-1945.

POST WAR:

According to this external page, she was owned from 1946 by Honduras Shipping Co., Tegucigalpa, Honduras (still as Rita), and from 1947 by Honduras Shipping Co., Puerto Cortes, Honduras. From 1952, Lloyd Panamericano S.A., Puerto Cortes, Honduras. Renamed Brasilmar for Navegacao Continental Ltda., Santos, Brazil in 1954. Ran aground on June 14-1964 near Garopaba, 12 n.m. north of Imbituba when on a voyage to Porto Alegre with fertilizer - total loss.