World War IIDS Woolgar
SS Woolgar was on a journey from Trincomalee on Ceylon (Sri Lanka) with the Makassar strait as a temporary destination. This ship had 4500 tons of coal and 400 tons war materials. During the journey it was redirected towards Tjilatjap on the southern coast of Java. Before Woolgar arrived to the new destination the allied defence of Jawa collapsed and no message were sent to the ship.
At the 7th of March in 1942 just 150 nautical miles from the planned destination was the ship sunk by Japanese dive bombers. Captain Marcus Iversen was alone in his life boat and rowed for 18 days before he reached Sumatra. The two other lifeboats split after some days. The one with Chinese seamen reached land with only one survivor, Wang Bao-Deh. The other boat with both European and Chinese seamen sailed northwest for 88 days until it landed in Port Blair on the Andaman Islands. One Estonian and all the Chinese seamen died in this lifeboat. This was the longest lifeboat journey ever done by a shipwrecked Norwegian crew during the Second World War. This journey must have taken superhuman stamina and willpower. But the disappointment must have been severe as the crew ended up in Japanese captivity. This crew was detained until September 1945.
About DS Woolgar
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Nationality
11659
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Built
1914
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Wrecked
07.03.1942
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Carrier
Hans Borge, Tønsberg
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Tonnage
5430 dvt
