ZIM INTEGRATED SHIPPING SERVICES

ZIM - THE PASSENGER LINERS ERA

Outline:
The beginning - "Kedmah", the "Pans"
Early passenger ships: Kedmah, Negbah, Galilah and Artza
"Israel" and "Zion"
"Jerusalem II", "Theodor Herzl" "Moledet"
"Shalom"

Passengers on board Kedmah, 1950.

Zim's first passenger ship, the t/s/s Kedmah , operated since 1947 and carried passengers and immigrants to pre-state Israel, mostly from Genova and Marseilles. After the establishment of the State of Israel ZIM's primary concern was to meet the demands of the unforeseen pressure for immigration. In the days immediately following the Declaration of Independence of Israel, the vessels which carried "illegal immigrants", caught by the British during their Mandate in Palestine, were reactivated by the same men who were previously in charge of that illegal, or clandestine immigration. (see "Atzmaut" and "Komemiut" - The Story of the "Pans".) They continued their job of transporting - now legal - immigrants, under the style of a newly formed Company called "Ships & Vessels". But it was correctly foreseen by the first Minister of Transport, David Remez, that the prevailing circumstances at that time necessitated the concentration of all efforts on building up one big National Shipping Line, and with his active assistance "Ships & Vessels" and ZIM merged officially on 15.8.1948. The vessels of both companies were then operated by the Shoham Maritime Services Ltd. company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Zim, especially set up for this purpose.

s/s "Negbah" (meaning "Southward") with a GRT of 5544 reached Haifa in 1948 during the height of the battle for the Negev (the southern part of Israel), hence the choice for naming her "Negbah". The s/s "Negbah" was registered under the Israeli flag on 26.10.l948. She was launched as the s/s "Ecuador" and changed her owners several times. Built in l915 by the Royal de Schelde yards in Flushing for the Pacific Mail Line which went bankrupt the following year, she was taken over by the Grace Line and her name was changed to "Santa Olivia". In her subsequent history she served as a supply ship for the Libby Canneries in Alaska under the name of "David W. Branch", and at the end of World War II she was in the U.S. Government's reserve fleet as the s/s "Luxor". When she was bought by ZIM she was ripe for the breaker's yard. When the s/s "Negbah" was still the s/s "Ecuador" she had a service speed of 14 knots, but when ZIM acquired her, she was capable of a little over 11.5 knots only. She could carry up to 1350 passengers and about 1000 tons of cargo. The s/s "Negbah" ran the same service as the s/s "Kedmah" but in spite of her condition, and being 14 years older than the "Kedmah", she proved far more reliable. Her passenger quarters were refurbished twice during her service with ZIM.

The other "old lady" joining ZIM's newly built up a Passenger Fleet, was a then 35 year old Hudson River excursion ship, renamed by ZIM the s/s "Galilah" and registered in Israel on 30.ll.l948. Built at Wilmington, Delaware, in 1913 as the s/s "Manhattan" with a GRT of 3899 she served as an excursion vessel of an American Railroad Company. She was converted in World War I to a U.S. Navy troop carrier owned by the Hudson River Day Line of New York. The vessel was then named "De Witt Clinton", and she was employed after the war for excursions to Hudson River resorts up-state New York. She was laid up during the years of the economic depression, and World War II found her trooping again under the name of "Col. Frederic C. Johnson". She was bought by ZIM as the "Derecktor" still in the state of a troop carrier and her dormitories were converted from troop quarters to passenger accommodations with about 500 berths, but during the peak of the immigration season, between December l948 and April l949 she actually carried about 1300 passengers from various Mediterranean ports on each voyage.

These swift acquisitions were essential in order to cope with the increasing demand for accommodations for immigrants on the one hand, and with an eye on the future, when ZIM would have to attract passengers on its own merits on the other hand.

With the increasing tourism to Israel, ZIM bought in l949 the 3214 GRT passenger steamer "Artza". She was built in Vegesack, Germany, in 1930, as the s/s "Panther". Her first owners were the German Laeisz Lines. Some years later she was converted into the U-boat tender "Lech" and when ZIM bought her, she was plying the Mediterranean as the Italian "Mare Ligure". Her Italian owners had actually operated her for some time prior to the purchase by ZIM as a mixed passenger/Cargo vessel between Italian ports and Haifa. She had a speed of 11 knots and accommodation for 394 passengers, but during her 14 years of service with she transported about 550 immigrants and passengers on each voyage and held the record of having carried altogether 100,000 persons. She entered the Israeli register on 14.12.l949.

These first ships carried the larger part of the great wave of immigration to Israel during the first years of independence. In 1949 alone Zim ships carried over 100,000 immigrants to Israel.

When the T/s/s "Kedmah" was sold in l952 ZIM decided to establish itself as a passenger carrier in the North Atlantic between Haifa and New York. For this purpose ZIM bought the 40 year old s/s "Argentina". The 11013 GRT steamer, with accommodations for 750 passengers, was built in l913 by Cammel Laird & Co. of Birkenhead as the s/s "Bergensfjord". She was one of the few passenger lines maintaining regular sailings between New York and Norway back during World War I, and for 20 years thereafter. In 1940 she left Bergen two days before the Germans invaded Norway, arriving safely in New York. In December 1940 she came into the service of the British Ministry of War Transport, beginning a troop carrying career for five years. After the war, the vessel was taken over by the Home Lines, renamed "Argentina" and operated mainly between Italy and South America. When ZIM bought her, she was renamed "Jerusalem" and inaugurated the Trans-Atlantic passenger service between Israel and the United States, leaving Haifa on 29.4.l953 for New York. The s/s "Jerusalem" crossed the ocean six times a year, which left her time to fill in five trips a year on the Company's Haifa - Naples - Marseilles run. With the acquisition of a new passenger vessel, the old "Jerusalem" (I) was renamed "Aliya" in 1955, after having left New York on 31.8.55 for her last Trans-Atlantic sailing. She remained in ZIM's services until l959 when she was sold after having carried over 118,000 passengers and immigrants. She was a staunch vessel and could not conceal her age, but was exceptionally dependable, never missing a sailing or being delayed by mechanical difficulties, plying at 15-16 knots. In spite of her high consumption of fuel and boiler water, she was profitable on most of her voyages, and had a long and uneventful career. A happy ship!

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Two combined passenger- cargo liners, the sister- ships "Israel" and "Zion" respectively, were built in 1953 under the Reparation Payments Agreement. They were of 9831 GRT each and had a service speed of 17 knots, although the s/s "Israel" on her trial trip reached a record of 21 knots. Both liners could accommodate 313 passengers each, in addition to their cargo capacity of about 4000 weight tons. Both vessels were fully equipped with all necessary passenger facilities such as bars, smoking rooms, sport decks, swimming pools, children's playrooms, hairdressing salons and a gift shop. The four passenger decks were served by an elevator, quite a unique feature in vessels of their size. the s/s "Israel" and s/s "Zion" came into operation in l956 and l957 respectively. The two new combined passenger- cargo vessels were able to carry, during their eight yearly scheduled voyages, about 10,000 passengers per annum.

The total number of passengers carried on ZIM vessels during 1956 was nearly 40,000 which was about 70% of all passengers travelling to or from Israel by sea. The number of immigrants carried by ZIM in the same year totalled 36,000.

In the same framework of the Reparation Payments Agreement with Germany, Zim took delivery in 1957 of the sister passenger liners s/s "Theodor Herzl" and s/s "Jerusalem" (II). The passenger vessel "Theodor Herzl" was named in honour of the visionary of the Jewish State.

During the winter season of 1958/59 ZIM entered For the first time the international cruise market from the United States to the Caribbean Islands with three cruises per season.

s/s "Moledet" joined the passenger fleet In 1961. "Moledet" was added as a third liner to the Mediterranean Passenger Line. This single-class vessel, built in France was particularly designed for popular tourism, but had all the amenities of the other luxurious passenger liners built previously in Germany. There was one large dining room, 2 lounges, a movie theatre, a synagogue and a special dining room for children. A beauty parlour and a swimming pool contributed to the pleasantness of the voyage. In spite of frequent engine troubles, the vessel enjoyed a great deal of popularity amongst her passengers. The s/s "Moledet" plied the route Haifa-Marseilles-Haifa with an additional stopover in Genoa or Naples, for about 9 years. She was sold in 1970, after having made 225 voyages, to Greek owners, the Epyrotiki Line, and was renamed "Jupiter".

s/s "Shalom"

1964 was the year of the s/s "Shalom". On the third of March of that year the Israeli flag was hoisted on her stern, and for the coming three and a half years she was the flag ship of the Israeli Merchant Navy. The s/s "Shalom", of 25,320 GRT, was built in the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard in St. Nazaire.
She had 10 decks, partly open and partly closed, and accommodations for 1050 passengers. This figure was reduced to about 650 during the cruise season. Her crew were 450 officers and ratings, which were temporarily increased to over 500. She plied with a speed of 21 knots and was outfitted with the most
modern comfort and equipment; a real luxury liner. The cabins on the promenade deck and the sun deck were even equipped with television sets, a feature of extreme comfort at that time.
The s/s "Shalom" went into service on the 17th April 1964, but suffered losses and encountered other difficulties, and was sold in 1967, thus marking the beginning of the liquidation of Zim's Passenger Lines.

click to view the "Shalom" stamps and medals.

The last of the Company's passenger vessels, the s/s "Theodor Herzl", completed her final voyage for ZIM on November, 27th 1969 and was sold to the American International Service Travel Board, Monrovia. Like her sister ship, the s/s "Jerusalem" (II), she, too, was employed by her new owners in the Caribbean as a floating luxury hotel under her new name "Carnivale". In 1971, the vessel again changed hands and was taken over by the New Horizons Shipping Ltd., Monrovia.

With the disposition of ZIM's last passenger vessel, and the subsequent liquidation of the Company's passenger branch, ended a heroic and romantic chapter of the Company's history. ZIM had laid its foundation in 1947 with one passenger ship and had emerged during the years into a renowned shipping company. ZIM was now compelled to terminate the passenger liners service due to the ever growing downward trend in demand for seaborne traffic mainly due to faster and cheaper air transport. But Zim's passenger ships are still fondly remembered by many.

* text based on ZIM ISRAEL NAVIGATION COMPANY LTD. - the fifty-years success story of a shipping company, 1945-1995, by Chaim Bar-Tikva ©