D/S Veni

To Veni on the "Ships starting with V" page.


Received from Deane Wynne, who sailed on her during the war.

Related items on this website:
Warsailor Stories - A delightful story describing what life was like on Veni, written by Deane Wynne who sailed on this ship in 1942-'43 (he has been looking for an old shipmate, Hans Hjalmar Hansen). He also left a message in my Guestbook and sent me the above picture of Veni.

Some War Voyages – 1940-1945:

(More will be added).

Veni is listed in Convoy HN 9A from Norway to the U.K. in Jan.-1940 (she had started out in Convoy HN 8, but experienced engine trouble and had to return to Norway).

A few months later she shows up in Convoy OB 126, departing Liverpool on Apr. 9-1940 (the day of the German invasion of Norway). Her voyage information is given as Glasgow-Halifax, and she had station 42 of the convoy, which is available at the external link provided below.

At the end of the following month (May-1940), Veni was scheduled for Convoy HX 45, but did not sail. She does not show again in an eastbound North Atlantic convoy on this site until the slow Sydney (C.B.)-U.K. Convoy SC 6 in Sept.-1940, cargo of pit props for West Hartlepool.

The following spring we find her in the slow Halifax-U.K. Convoy SC 25, which left Halifax on March 10-1941, cargo of lumber for Grangemouth. Later that year she's listed in the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 10, leaving Liverpool on Aug. 27-1941. She joined the westbound Convoy ON 45* in Dec.-1941, but returned to port, joining ON 49* later that month.

In Febr./March-1942 she's listed among the ships in Convoy SC 70 from Halifax, cargo of phosphates for Ipswich, returning to Halifax in Apr. that year with the westbound Convoy ON 84*, and the following month she sailed in Convoy SC 84. In June she joined the westbound Convoy ON 104*, cargo of coal for Halifax, and was scheduled to go back to the U.K. with the slow Sydney (C.B.)-U.K. Convoy SC 93 in July, but instead joined the next convoy, SC 94, which lost so many ships, but all the Norwegian ships escaped unharmed. Towards the end of Sept. she's listed n the westbound Convoy ON 134*, again bound for Halifax with coal. In Dec.-1942 we find her in station 31 of the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 152, but is said to have lost touch and returned to port. (The Norwegian Grey County, Sommerstad and Bonneville sailed in this convoy). For a long time I've suspected that she may have joined ON 154 later on, because there's mention of her having sighted Norse King, which was lost from this convoy (see my page about that ship, as well as the external links at the bottom of that page). But then again, I couldn't quite get this theory to fit with what Deane Wynne says in his story. He states that they docked in New York on New Year's Eve 1942/'43, after a fairly uneventful crossing. This is the date Convoy ON 153 (as well as ON 152) arrived New York, but Veni is not mentioned at all in the documents I have for Convoy ON 153. ON 154, on the other hand, did not arrive New York until Jan. 12-1943, and both these convoys were attacked and lost several ships, so the description "fairly uneventful" does not quite fit (the Norwegian Bello was among those sunk in ON 153). However, Convoy ON 154* is now available to me, and Veni is indeed included among the ships sailing in it.

In May-1943 Veni can be found in the westbound Convoy ONS 7, then the following month she sailed from Halifax with Convoy SC 135. In Aug.-1943 she sailed in the westbound Convoy ONS 15*, returning to the U.K. the following month with Convoy SC 142. In the middle of Dec.-1943 she joined the westbound Convoy ONS 25*, bound for Halifax.

At the beginning of 1944, she's listed as sailing in Convoy SC 152, which left Halifax on Jan. 29-1944 and arrived Liverpool on Febr. 15. She returned across the ocean later that month with the westbound Convoy ONS 30*, and in Apr.-1944 she joined Convoy SC 157. In Sept. that year she's listed as bound for Sydney, C.B. with the westbound Convoy ON 251*, then headed back to the U.K. the following month with Convoy SC 158, cargo of lumber for Manchester. This convoy originated in Halifax on Oct. 4, but Veni joined with the Sydney, C.B. portion a few days later. She's also listed as bound for Halifax in the westbound Convoy ONS 36* in Nov.-1944, and in the middle of Dec.-1944 she joined Convoy SC 163, bound for Leith Dock, cargo of flour.

In Jan./Febr.-1945 we find her in the westbound Convoy ONS 41*, and was detached for the Azores on Febr. 13. She shows up again in the next ONS convoy, namely ONS 42*, and is said to have joined from Horta on Febr. 24.

* All the ON and ONS convoys mentioned here are available and will be added to individual pages in my Convoys section in due course, along with further details on each. In the meantime, please go to these convoys in the section listing ships in all ON convoys, and this page listing ships in all ONS convoys.

POST WAR:

"Våre gamle skip" says Veni, with a cargo of coal was lost in heavy fog on Jan. 8-1948 off Leith, Scotland. However, this appears to be incorrect; the location was off the coast of Islay and the date was the early hours of Jan. 11. En route from Leith to Sfax, North Africa in ballast she encountered a 50 mph gale which pushed her east of her intended course. Deane Wynne has sent me some information from "Argyll Wrecks" by Peter Moir which says the Air Ministry meteorological ship Weather Recorder (Captain Ford) picked up a Mayday signal from Veni stating they had run aground off Colonsay and were sinking fast. She was in fact on the Balach Rocks, a reef located 2 miles off Ardnave Point, badly holed and bumping heavily on the seabed, gradually slipping off the reef and sinking as she was filled with water. Captain of Veni at the time was Captain Pedersen with a crew of 27. They managed to launch the lifeboats, but 2 of her crew fell overboard as the ship lurched in the swell, 1 of whom, the boatswain was injured when he crashed against the side of the lifeboat. By then Weather Recorder had reached their position and when they were all safely in the boats they fired flares to let Captain Ford know they were off the ship, whereupon the latter steamed to within two lengths of Veni and rescued the men. Later that day the salvage tug Salveda came to the scene, but upon inspection of the wreck she was found to be beyond saving and she was abandoned. The wreck of Veni is reported to lie in 18-20 meters of water north of the outermost reef of the Balach Rocks.

Related external links:
OB convoys - OB 126 is included.

Smedvig ASA

Back to Veni on the "Ships starting with V" page.

Norway had lost a ship by this name to WW I, delivered 1901 as Dagmar, John P. Pedersen & Søn, Tvedestrand, 654 gt. From 1910 she belonged to A/S Ocean, then Veni for Brødrene Olsen Stavanger in 1913. Changed owners in March-1915, A/S Mjeldes Dampskibsselskap (Nils Mjelde), Haugesund, sold to C. H. Engelhart, Christiania in Apr.-1917. Sunk by explosives on May 10-1917 (UC-17), 15 n. miles off Portland Bill when on a voyage Newport Mon.-St. Malo with 777 tons coal. Crew saved by British patrolboat and taken to Weymouth.

The text on this page was compiled with the help of: "Våre gamle skip" by Leif M. Bjørkelund and E. H. Kongshavn, and misc. as named in above text - (ref. My sources).