The travelers on 1st class should be able to travel in style. Even the silverware was specially made, with the ship’s name printed on it, so there should be no doubt. When the newspaper “Stavangeren” covered the arrival of SS Sanct Svithun from Danzig, the reporter could hardly control his excitement. The ship was praised in all areas; An elderly sailor was quoted as saying; that the ship was almost too pretty! The ship was magnificent. Third place felt like second place. The ship was ultra-modern both in its use of technology and in its design. The first place cabins had beds that could be turned into sofas during the day, and sinks with hot and cold water. The journalist thought Sant Svithun was the first ship in Norway to have this.
The SS Sanct Svithun was Stavanger Dampskibsselskab’s very first ship built specifically for coastal express traffic. The shipping company had only operated in the coastal express since 1919. The ship was named after the patron saint of the city of Stavanger, Sanct Svithun. She was delivered in July 1927 by Danziger Werft in Poland, and was a truly beautiful ship.
The ship went straight into the coastal express just a few days after having come to Stavanger.
When the war came to Norway in 1940, SS Sanct Svithun was in the workshop. The coastal express ships were of considerable interest to the German occupiers, and important to the Norwegian authorities due to the large cargo- and passenger capacity. This made the voyages extra dangerous. When Norway was first invaded, several ships were taken by the occupiers. The sailings ceased immediately, but resumed later in the year. The crews lost in practice, similar to sailors in foreign trade, the right to leave deck.
On the 30th of September 1943, SS Sanct Svithun was on southbound. She had let off 50 German soldiers in Ålesund. The ships could not refuse to take on board members of the occupying power.
The crews on board were under pressure from several sides at the same time. They became targets for both Allied and German attacks.
On the 30th September, SS Sanct Svithun was hit by such an attack. Six British bombers targeted the the ship in the belief that the fifty Germans were still on board.
After several of the incendiary bombs had hit the ship, the captain ordered the crew to put the ship in towards land. Due to the fires on deck it was impossible to put out most of the lifeboats. Maybe this would save those on board?
The ship went on ground at Kobbeholmen. Many saved themselves ashore on the islet by means of a rope that the crew had attached to the ship and to a knoll on land. Local forces from Ervik set out immediately to save as many as possible from the destroyed ship. The work was made difficult by the sea conditions around the islet.
Over 70 people were rescued from the burning wreckage. Around fifty people lost their lives.
The sinking of SS Sanct Svithun is among those that the German occupying power chose to use in their war propaganda. Among other things, stamps were made to provide income for the bereaved.
In 1970, a chapel was built in memory of the deceased in Ervik. The ship’s bell of the SS Sanct Svithun hangs in the tower.
Sources:
Bakka, Dag Jr. Lifeline and adventure travel The story of the Hurtigruten. Bodoni. 2017
https://test.krigsseilerregisteret.no/skip/25053?page=0
D/S Sanct Svithun, air raid 30 September 1943, sea clearance. Source: RA/S-4625/E/Ef/L0002, pp. 172-186
Stavangeren, 5 July 1927, p. 1-2