The Irish Rose

The second Estonian flag ship to be chartered by Irish Shipping Limited was the Mall and she was delivered to the company on 12th January, 1942. As in the case of the Otto, the Mall was also built for the United States Shipping Board in 1918. She was built at the American Shipbuilding Company Shipyard at Lorain, Ohio, and was named Lake Harney. She had a deadweight of 2,875 tons.

Before coming into service for the company, the vessel had to undergo extensive repairs which were carried out by Ringsend Dockyard (Dublin) Ltd.. Renamed the Irish Rose (Pictured below), the ship sailed on her first voyage for the company on 16th May, 1942, under the command of Capt. R. J. O'Neill of Wexford and eighteen of her thirty-two crew members were also from Co. Wexford. On her outward passage to St. John, New Brunswick, the vessel called at Barry, South Wales where she had a propeller fitted before moving to Cardiff for degaussing, or wiping, as protection against magnetic mines. These mines were one of the many hazards faced by seafarers during the war. She sailed from Cardiff on 26th May and arrived at St. John on 13th June.

Having loaded a cargo of wheat, she had further minor repairs carried out prior to sailing on 20th June and the Irish Rose completed her first transatlantic voyage for the company when she arrived at Waterford on 5th July, 1942. On completing discharge at Waterford, further repairs were carried out on the ship before she sailed for Barry to take on bunkers for her next Atlantic crossing and again she underwent minor repairs and sailed for St. John on 21st July.

On this passage the Irish Rose rescued seven crewmembers of the American schooner, Wawaloma, including her Master and Chief Officer. The rescued men were looked after on board for four days until a United States corvette was sighted and then the survivors were transferred to the American vessel. During her wartime service with the company, Capt. W. G. Hickman also served as Master of the vessel.

The Irish Rose was re-delivered to her former owners, the Tallinn Shipping Co., on 17th May, 1946, and was renamed Flamenco and registered in Panama. Twenty-two Estonian nationals, with Capt. Jansen as Master, and one woman crew member, all of whom had been living in Sweden, arrived in Cobh to take over the vessel.

The ship was sold to Italian owners in 1952 and renamed Nizeti and her name was changed again in 1957 to Ata although she remained in the same Sicilian ownership. Eventually the forty-year old ship was wrecked off the coast of Zanzibar on 21st February, 1958.