cargo ship BERNIèRES

Compagnie Générale Transatlantique, 1947 - 1954 (en gérance)

Design features

Bernières (liberty-ship) 1947 - 1954
hull material : ...................
previous name(s) of ship : ........John Harvard
detailed type : ...................liberty-ship
type of propulsion : ..............1 propeller
building year of ship : ...........1942
name of shipyard : ................Oregon Shipbldg. Corp.
place of construction : ...........Portland
year of entering the fleet : ......1947
length (in meters) : ..............126,79
width (in meters) : ...............17,37
gross tonnage (in tons) : .........7176
deadweight (in tons) : ............11151
type of engine : ..................inverted, triple expansion 3 cylinders
engine power (in HP) : ............2500
nominal speed (in Knots) : ........11

History

11 cargo liners of the liberty-ship type were entrusted with management to Compagnie Générale Transatlantique before the conclusion of the Blum-Byrnes agreements of May 26, 1946. Following these agreements, the French government acquired 75 liberty-ships, of which 21 in their turn were entrusted with management to Transat, which amounts the total to 32. The deliveries spread out until 1947. These ships were used, according to the needs, on the lines of the North Atlantic, of the West Indies, of the North Pacific or the South Pacific . Between 1957 and 1960, thirteen of them were especially equipped for the transport with Renault cars to the United States and were chartered by the « Compagnie d’Affrêtement et de transport » (CAT), then sub company of Régie Renault. The first liberty-ship to leave the fleet of Compagnie Générale Transatlantique after the accident of the GRANDCAMP in 1947 was SAINT VALERY in May 1948 and the last the DOMFRONT and the BAYEUX in 1965. The last of the liberty-ships "ex-Transat" to disappear was the ARGENTAN, demolished in 1973. Built in 1942 under the name of JOHN HARVARD on behalf of the U.S. Shipping War Administration. Delivered to the French government in 1947. Renamed BERNIERES and entrusted with management to Compagnie Générale Transatlantique. In 1954, is transferred to « Société Navale Delmas-Vieljeux ». Retains her name. April 21, 1963, runs aground in Abidjan. Is declared total loss then towed to the Netherlands where she is demolished.