M/S Tai Yin
Updated Aug. 10-2012

To Tai Yin on the "Ships starting with T" page.

Received from (and taken by) Kent Malo, Quebec in the fall of 1957. He was on the Canadian destroyer HMCS Micmac at the time.

Photo by Herbert Baasch, author of "Handelsschiffe im Kriegseinsatz".
The picture was taken in 1961 off Cuxhaven (Germany).
Received from the owner of Baasch's photo collection.

Received from, and painted by, Jan Goedhart, Holland

The Australian War Memorial has another picture of this ship, from Oct.-1941. I also came across this page re. A. L. Bergdahl, who had survived the attack on Scotia - later served on Tai Yin from Dec.-1943 to Jan.-1944 (all links are external). My page about Scotia has the names of other ships he served on.
See also this external page (click in the photo to enlarge).

See also:
A Guestbook message - re Tai Yin's bell (it appears that this is, in fact, not Tai Yin's bell).

Her voyages are listed on these original images from the Norwegian National Archives:
Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4

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

Voyage Record From Apr.-1940 to June-1945:

Follow the convoy links provided for more information on each.

Errors may exist, and some voyages may be missing.

	Departure	From	To	Arrival	Convoy	Remarks
1940	Apr. 3	Melbourne	Fremantle	–	Independent	Page 1 gives arrival Apr. 8
	Apr. 20	Fremantle	Aden	May 5	Independent	–
	May 7	Aden	Suez	May 20	Independent	A. Hague says: Voyage data unknown
	May 28	Port Said	Malta	May 31	Independent	Later arrived Marseilles June 3 (Page 1).
	May 30(?)	Marseilles	Gibraltar	June 9	Independent	Voyage data unknown
	June 10	Gibraltar	Falmouth	June 21	KF 5	A. Hague says: Probably via Brest. Convoy available at KF 5 (external link)
	June 21*	Falmouth	Weymouth Bay	June 24	Independent	*Page 1 gives departure June 23
	June 26	Weymouth Bay	Southend	June 27	Independent	Again, see also Page 1
	Aug. 5	Southend	Methil	Aug. 7	FN 243	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	Aug. 9	Methil	–	–	OA 196	For Trinidad. Dispersed Aug. 15. Convoy available at OA 196 (external link)
	Aug. 15	Dispersed from OA 196	Trinidad	Aug. 24	Independent	–
	Aug. 28	Trinidad	Curacao	Aug. 30	Independent	–
	Aug. 31	Curacao	Cristobal	Sept. 2	Independent	–
	Sept. 4	Balboa	Brisbane	Sept. 26	Independent	–
	Sept. 28	Brisbane	Sydney, N.S.W.	–	Independent	Page 1 gives arrival Oct. 1
	Oct. 13	Sydney, N.S.W.	Balboa	Nov. 6	Independent	–
	Nov. 8	Cristobal	Bermuda	Nov. 14	Independent	–
	Nov. 16	Bermuda	Bermuda	Nov. 16	Independent	Put back
	Nov. 19	Bermuda	–	–	BHX 90	See link to HX 90
	Nov. 24	Bermuda portion joined main convoy	Halifax	Dec. 1	HX 90	Returned to Halifax. See also narrative below
1941	Jan. 5	Halifax	Liverpool	Jan. 15	Independent	–
	Febr. 17	Liverpool	Baltimore	March 4	Independent	–
	March 13	Baltimore	Philadelphia	March 14	Independent	–
	March 19	Philadelphia	New York City	March 20	Independent	–
	March 27	New York City	Capetown	Apr. 20	Independent	–
	Apr. 27	Capetown	Port Elizabeth	Apr. 29	Independent	–
	Apr. 29	Port Elizabeth	Durban	May 1	Independent	–
	May 7	Durban	Lourenço Marques	May 8	Independent	–
	May 10	Lourenço Marques	Mombasa	May 15	Independent	–
	May 21	Mombasa	Beira	May 25	Independent	–
	May 31	Beira	Fremantle	June 14	Independent	–
	June 14	Fremantle	Newcastle, N.S.W.	June 21	Independent	–
	July 7	Newcastle, N.S.W.	Sydney, N.S.W.	July 7	Independent	–
	July 13	Sydney, N.S.W.	Melbourne	July 15	Independent	–
	July 21	Melbourne	Aden	Aug. 18	Independent	–
	Aug. 23	Aden	Suez	Aug. 27	Independent	Missing movements, Page 2
	Sept. 16	Suez	Calcutta	Sept. 30	Independent	–
	Oct. 10	Calcutta	Madras	Oct. 14	Independent	Notional sailing date
	Oct. 14	Madras	Colombo	Oct. 16	Independent	–
	Oct. 17	Colombo	Fremantle	Oct. 27	Independent	–
	Oct. 27	Fremantle	Melbourne	Nov. 2	Independent	–
	Nov. 6	Melbourne	Sydney, N.S.W.	Nov. 8	Independent	–
	Nov. 29	Sydney, N.S.W.	Melbourne	Dec. 1	Independent	–
	Dec. 10	Melbourne	Colombo	Dec. 26	Independent	–
1942	Jan. 8	Colombo	Aden	Jan. 15	Independent	–
	Jan. 16	Aden	Suez	Jan. 21	Independent	Missing movements, Page 2
	Febr. 12	Suez	Aden	Febr. 16	Independent	–
	Febr. 18	Aden	Cochin	Febr. 24	Independent	–
	Febr. 26(?)	Cochin	Fremantle	March 12	C 4X	A. Hague says: 228 troops, probably independent from Febr. 28. Convoy available at C 4X (external link)
	March 13	Fremantle	Adelaide	March 18	Independent	–
	March 21	Adelaide	Wallaroo	–	Independent	Page 2 gives arrival March 23
	March 25	Wallaroo	Melbourne	March 29	Independent	–
	Apr. 22	Melbourne	Aden	May 16	Independent	–
	May 16	Aden	Suez	May 20	Independent	Later Port Said, May 23 (Page 2)
	May 26	Port Said	Beirut	May 27	Independent	–
	June 7	Beirut	Port Said	June 8	Independent	See also Page 2
	June 16	Kosseir	Aden	June 21	Independent	–
	June 23	Aden	Melbourne	July 16	Independent	–
	July 20	Melbourne	Geelong	July 20	Independent	–
	July 26	Geelong	Melbourne	July 26	Independent	–
	Aug. 6	Melbourne	Sydney, N.S.W.	Aug. 8	Independent	–
1943	March 1	Sydney, N.S.W.	Newcastle, N.S.W.	March 2	Independent	–
	Apr. 3	Newcastle, N.S.W.	Melbourne	Apr. 6	CO 85	Convoy available at CO 85 (external link)
	Apr. 12	Melbourne	Colombo	Apr. 29	Independent	–
	May 6	Colombo	Calcutta	May 12	JC 11	Convoy available at JC 11 (external link)
	May 21	Calcutta	Madras	May 26	Independent	See also Page 3
	May 27	Madras	Colombo	May 29	Independent	–
	June 2	Colombo	Durban	June 15	Independent	–
	July 4	Durban	–	–	DN 50A	Dispersed July 7. Convoy available at DN 50A (external link)
	July 7	Dispersed from DN 50A	Beira	July 8	Independent	–
	July 18	Beira	Dar-es-Salaam	July 22	Independent	–
	July 28	Dar-es-Salaam	Mombasa	July 29	Independent	–
	July 30	Mombasa	Melbourne	Aug. 19	Independent	–
	Aug. 24	Melbourne	Sydney, N.S.W.	Aug. 27	Independent	–
	Sept. 3	Sydney, N.S.W.	Newcastle, N.S.W.	Sept. 4	Independent	–
	Sept. 14	Newcastle, N.S.W.	Sydney, N.S.W.	Sept. 14	Independent	–
	Oct. 8	Sydney, N.S.W.	Melbourne	Oct. 11	Independent	–
	Oct. 18	Melbourne	Colombo	Nov. 4	Independent	–
	Nov. 15	Colombo	Calcutta	Nov. 20	Independent	–
	Dec. 20	Calcutta	Colombo	Dec. 25	Independent	–
	Dec. 27	Colombo	Melbourne	Jan. 11-1944	Independent	–
1944	Jan. 16	Melbourne	Sydney, N.S.W.	Jan. 17	Independent	–
	Febr. 20	Sydney, N.S.W.	Melbourne	March 23*	Independent	*Should be Febr. 23
	March 2	Melbourne	Aden	March 25	Independent	–
	March 27	Aden	Suez	March 31	Independent	Missing movements, Page 3
	Apr. 18	Kosseir	Aden	–	Independent	Page 3 gives arrival Apr. 22
	Apr. 23	Aden	Fremantle	May 11	Independent	–
	June 8	Fremantle	Colombo	June 20	Independent	–
	July 14	Colombo	Fremantle	July 26	Independent	–
	July 26	Fremantle	Melbourne	Aug. 2	Independent	–
	Sept. 5	Melbourne	Fremantle	Sept. 11	Independent	–
	Sept. 15	Fremantle	Colombo	Sept. 27	Independent	–
	Oct. 11*	Colombo	Calcutta	Oct. 28	Independent	*Page 4 gives departure Oct. 23
	Nov. 15	Calcutta	Colombo	Nov. 19	Independent	–
	Nov. 21	Colombo	Sydney, N.S.W.	Dec. 8	Independent	–
1945	Jan. 1*	Sydney, N.S.W.	Port Kembla	Jan. 4	Independent	*Jan. 4? (see Page 4)
	Jan. 16	Port Kembla	Sydney, N.S.W.	Jan. 16	Independent	–
	Jan. 29	Sydney, N.S.W.	Melbourne	Jan. 31	Independent	–
	Febr. 6	Melbourne	Colombo	Febr. 24	Independent	–
	March 8	Colombo	Vizag	March 13	Independent	–
	March 18	Vizag	Calcutta	March 26	Independent	–
	Apr. 19	Calcutta	Colombo	Apr. 25	Independent	–
	Apr. 26	Colombo	Aden	May 4	Independent	–
	May 5	Aden	Suez	May 10	Independent	On to Port said, May 11 (Page 4).
	May 12	Port Said	Gibraltar	May 20	Independent	–
	May 20	Gibraltar	Thames	May 28	MKS 102G	Convoy will be added. See ships in MKS convoys
	May 31	Southend	Humber	June 1	FN 1722	A. Hague says: Onward indep to Dundee, arr June 2. Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	June 19	Dundee	Methil Roads	June 19	Independent	–
	June 20	Methil Roads	Oslo	–	Independent	See also Page 4

Some War Voyages:

For information on voyages made in between those mentioned here, please see the documents received from the National Archives of Norway and A. Hague's Voyage Record above.

As will be seen when going to Page 1 of the archive documents, Tai Yin was in Fremantle when war broke out in Norway on Apr. 9-1940. She had arrived there from Melbourne the day before and it looks like her original destination was Oslo, Norway, but she was diverted to London.

A French visitor to my website has told me that Tai Yin sailed from Casablanca on June 11-1940 in Convoy 5 KF under French escort, and was at Brest on June 15. Later that month she was at Le Verdon, France (Gironde Inlet). The captains of the allied ships at La Verdon were called on board the British cruiser Arethusa on June 18 to be told that the city was being evacuated and were instructed to sail to Falmouth as soon as possible. Tai Yin and Thermopylæ departed without passengers as they were unable to get water. These stops at Brest and Le Verdon are not mentioned on Page 1 (nor is Casablanca), which simply states she had left Gibraltar on June 10 and arrived Falmouth on the 21st. She is, however, listed in Convoy 5 KF at the external website that I've linked to in the Voyage Record above (as is Thermopylæ and Braga). From Falmouth, Tai Yin proceeded to Weymouth Bay and London (remaining there for quite a long time).

In Aug.-1940, she's listed in Convoy OA 196, which left Methil on Aug. 9 and dispersed on the 15th. Akabahra, Fidelio, Gulhaug, Isbjørn, Slemmestad and Sommerstad are also listed; again, see the external link provided in the table above. Tai Yin was bound for Trinidad in ballast, station 41, arriving that destination on Aug. 24, later continuing to Curacao and Cristobal, then on to Australia.

With a cargo of steel, wool, wheat and general for Clyde and Hull, she joined the Bermuda portion of Convoy HX 90 in Nov.-1940, but lost touch with the convoy and put into Halifax on Dec. 1 - this convoy lost several ships; follow the link for details. See also the Commodore's reports and various other reports (where Tai Yin is mentioned). She was scheduled for Convoy HX 99 from Halifax on Dec. 26, but did not sail (the Commodore's narrative is also available). As will be seen when going back to Page 1, she did make a voyage to the U.K. from Halifax in Jan.-1941; according to A. Hague, this voyage was made independently. She left Halifax on Jan. 6 and arrived Liverpool on the 15th, remaining there for a month, before proceeding to Baltimore.

According to J. R. Hegland's "Nortraships flåte", Tai Yin was in Liverpool during the intense air attacks there at the beginning of May-1941, but escaped with minor damages (as did Temeraire, according to Hegland), however, I can't get this to fit with the information found on Page 1, which shows that Tai Yin was in a different part of the world at that time, namely Durban. Temeraire was also in another part of the world. It's possible Hegland has gotten the ship's name mixed up with Tai Shan(?). (Norwegian ships in Liverpool during the 5 days attacks were D/S Sollund, M/S Bra-Kar, M/S Mosdale and D/S Stromboli - follow the links for more details).

Skipping now to Febr.-1942, when A. Hague has included her, together with Tarifa, in Convoy C 4X, departing Cochin on Febr. 28. She had 228 troops on board, and there's a note saying "prob indep from 28.2". Tai Yin arrived Fremantle on March 12. From Page 2, we learn that she had arrived Cochin from Aden on Febr. 24 (it'll also be noticed that she later spent about 3 weeks in Melbourne).

Page 3 of the archive documents also reveals a big gap in her voyages, from Aug. 8-1942, when she arrived Sydney from Melbourne, to March 1-1943, when she left Sydney for Newcastle N.S.W., where she arrived the next day, also spending a month there. We now find her in Convoy CO 85, departing Newcastle N.S.W. on Apr. 2, arriving Melbourne Apr. 6. From Melbourne, she proceeded to Colombo on Apr. 12, arriving Apr. 29, leaving again on May 6, joining Convoy JC 11, which arrived Calcutta on May 12. She later made voyages to Madras, Colombo and Durban, and in July, she's listed in Convoy DN 50A, departing Durban on July 4, dispersed July 7, Tai Yin arriving Beira the next day. (All these convoys are available via the external links provided within the Voyage Record).

That fall, she spent a few weeks in Sydney, with another long stay in Calcutta at the end of that year - again see Page 3, which also shows some of her 1944 voyages and as can be seen, she spent another month in Sydney at the beginning of the year and again in Fremantle that spring, before proceeding to Colombo, where she also stayed for over 3 weeks. Another month was spent in Melbourne in the fall of 1944, with several more long stays in port later on, as will be see when going to Page 4.

In May-1945 she's listed, along with Bestik and Ragnhild, in Convoy MKS 102, which left Gibraltar on May 20 and arrived Liverpool on the 28th. This convoy will be added to an individual page in my Convoys section, in the meantime, the ships sailing in it are named in the section listing ships in all MKS convoys.

Page 4 also shows that she got to go home to Norway already in June-1945; arrival Oslo looks like June 23(?).

More information on the other Norwegian ships mentioned on this page can be found via the alphabet index below, or go to the Master Ship Index.

POST WAR:

Re-engined in 1951 - 2 x 7 cyl. 2 scsa oil engines totalling 8000 ihp by Howaldtswerke A.G., Kiel, driving twin screws. Service speed, 15 knots. 8 passengers. Sold in 1961 to Hanwa Co., Osaka, Japan for scrapping. Delivered at Osaka on Aug. 11-1961 and demolition commenced at Sakurajima on Aug. 25.

Back to Tai Yin on the "Ships starting with T" page.

(Tai Yin is Chinese for "the moon").

The text on this page was compiled with the help of: "Nortraships flåte", J. R. Hegland, Wilh. Wilhelmsen fleet list and misc. (ref. My sources).