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ROSALIA

Submitted by Kees Helder on Tue, 06/16/2015 - 19:18
About

Completed 1938 as "ROSALIA" for C.S.M. 27-7-1943 hit by two torpedoes from U-615 about 10 miles south of Bullan Bay Curacao. On voyage Lagunillas-Curacao.

IMO number
5614997
Call sign
PJCM
Construction number
278
Tonnage
4.048 ton
Beam
17m
Length overall
105m
Year of construction
1938
Year of renaming/broken up
1943
Service for Shell
1938 to 1943
Cargo
Crude and white oil products
Class
Lake Maracaibo Tankers
Flag state
Netherlands Antilles
Home port
Willemstad
Manager
Curacaosche Scheepvaart Maatschappij / C.S.M.
Shipyard
Furness Shipbuilding Company Haverton Hill
Status
Sailing / Sailed for Shell Tankers Rotterdam / La Corona / C.S.M. / N.I.T.
Related tankers
RAFAELA
RAMONA
REBECA
RENATA
RITA
RODAS
ROSA
ROSAURA
RUFINA
Photo(s)

Comments

Submitted by Jaap Beaujon on Mon, 01/27/2020 - 23:36

Anecdotes

Date Visitor Anecdote
01/27/2020 - 23:36 Jaap Beaujon

My name is Jaap Beaujon,son of Cornelis "Cees" or "Boei" Beaujon, 3rd mate on the Rosalia when it was torpedoed off the coast of Curacao in the evening. They were slowly crusing in order to enter the harbor in the early morning with their cargo of crude oil from Maracaibo, Venezuela.Beaujon had the first evening watch and was in charge on the bridge with one helmsman when suddenly the first torpedo hit aft into the engine room.A moment later they could see the second torpedo heading straight toward them at mid schip.He jumped of the bridge on the opposite side.The torpedo hit and while the ship went down Beaujon swam underneath the burning oil and only surfaced by wiping the burning oil aside to get some air.Once out of the burning oil he floated all night feeding the sharks with his uniform buttons.There were two boats around but he could not get their attention. They left but by early morning they returned.By then Beaujon had drifted away and could not get their attention. He finally remembered that he had his officer's whistle in his pocket and used it to get their attention but at first at no avail. When they turned away to go back he once more blew his whistle at all his might and someone on board heard something. They started looking again. After turning the engines off and after numerous more whistle blows from Beaujon they finally found him and he was rescued. The last one of the 13 survivors........ His parents and family saw the burning ship from their second floor balcony of their home on the ocean front of Pietermaai. It was not until hours later they heard that it was the Rosalia but were relieved to hear and see their son alive together with his 5 month pregnant wife of their first son. I followed on September 21, 9146 as a Victory baby.
A number of years later when he was piloting a German ship into the harbor of Willemstad, he had become a harbor pilot, he noticed that the captain seemed to know his way around outside the harbor with the strong currents. After docking they went down to the captain's hut for a cup of coffee. While talking the captain asked him where he had worked during the war and Beaujon told him about his sailing on the lake tankers and being torpedoed. He asked the name of the ship, "the Rosalia" Beaujon aanswered. There was a silence......... Then the captain said .... "Juli 27, 1943 at10.40p.m....one aft and one mid schip's",...........There was a long silence........"I was the first officer on that submarine,U615, I fired the torpedoes". " How many survived?"..."13 , I was the last one rescued"............... The conversation did not last too long after that . They shook hands and my father left.
Thank you for allowing me to share this story on this date, 5 May, 2014, Liberation day in the Netherlands,in his honor and memory.He lived until the early nineties.
Jaap Beaujon from Aruba
PS. The U-boat fled toward Barbados and was spotted there some days later by US warplanes stationed there. They bombarded to force it to surface. The crew was allowed to swim and float away from the boat after which it was bombarded to sink with the captain(wounded?) on board. The crew was shipped to the US as prisoners of war and remained there until after the war.