Ceiba

The Sinking of the Ceiba:

On March 17, 1942, at 2:26 A.M. the unescorted Ceiba was hit underneath the bridge by a torpedo fired from German U-boat U-124. It sank with a heavy list to port. Six men in a raft were picked up two days later by USS Hambleton. Among the dead were the wives and children of some crew members. At the time the Ceiba was carrying bananas from Honduras.

THE SHIP'S SPECIFICS:

Built: April 1911	Sunk: March 17, 1942
Type of Vessel: Steam Merchant	Owner: Seaboard SS Co. (Standard Fruit &SS Co.), New Orleans, LA
Builder:Swan, Hunter, & Wigham Richardson Ltd.	Power:
Port of registry: Honduras	Dimensions:

LOCATION OF THE SINKING:

Here is the location of the sinking: 35° 43'N, 73° 49'W

ceiba sinking

LOST CREW & PASSENGER MEMBERS :

Total Lost: 44, Survivors: 6

Last	First	Date of Death	Position	Home	Age
Armstrong	Daniel	March 17, 1942	Crew Member		52
Beryl	Henry Herbert	March 17, 1942	Chief Steward	New Orleans, LA	41
Bosquez	Emilio	March 17, 1942	Assistant Steward		22
Cahill	Harry Lloyd	March 17, 1942	Passenger (Plantation Manager)	Americus, KS	56
Ching	Swan Wee	March 17, 1942	Chief Cook		41
Dancy	Fred	March 17, 1942	Crew Member		24
Delaet	Louis	March 17, 1942	Fireman		50
DeMori	Frank	March 17, 1942	Second Mate	Capadistria, Italy	50
Ervesvåg	Johannes	March 17, 1942	Able Seaman	Sveio, Norway	21
Evertsen	Aleksander	March 17, 1942	Able Seaman	Vega, Norway	26
Grinyer	Thomas William	March 17, 1942	Assistant Steward	New Orleans, LA	71
Hamed	Ahmed Mohamed	March 17, 1942	Fireman		48
Haugland	Trygve Waldemar	March 17, 1942	Able Seaman	Bergen, Hordaland	35
Hill	James	March 17, 1942	Crew Member		21
Hunter	Stephen	March 17, 1942	Oiler		30
Ionescu	Carol	March 17, 1942	Crew Member		28
Kirkhus	Johannes	March 17, 1942	Carpenter	Hatlestrand, Kvinnherad	32
Klaveness	William	March 17, 1942	Master	New Orleans, LA	54
Kristiansen	Birger Emil	March 17, 1942	Trimmer	Holmestrand	43
Lagerfeldt	Thorleif Ragnar	March 17, 1942	Second Assistant Engineer	Oslo	40
Mann	Francis Osborn	March 17, 1942	Chief Engineer	Belfast, Northern Ireland	52
Martinez	Jose	March 17, 1942	Crew Member		21
Mikkelsen	Robert	March 17, 1942	Oiler		27
Olaf	Ansgar Lundgren	March 17, 1942	Oiler	Solum	32
Olsen	Ole	March 17, 1942	Able Seaman	Vikedal	24
Pederson	Jonas	March 17, 1942	First Mate	Undheim, Rogaland	51
Pettersen	Knut Sørby	March 17, 1942	Able Seaman	Sem	28
Phillips	Herbert	March 17, 1942	Crew Member		42
Price	Robert	March 17, 1942	Assistant Steward		50
Prieto	Juan Amado	March 17, 1942	Oiler		26
Sanchez	Jose	March 17, 1942	Refrigerator Greaser		57

SURVIVING CREW MEMBERS :

A partial listing of the surviving crew:

Last	First	Position	DOB	Home	Age
Halliburton	Vincent Alexander	Second Cook	1907	New York, NY	35
Ludvigsen	Hans Andreas	Boatswain	Sep. 25, 1895	Beren, Hordaland, Norway	46
Melendez	José Agustín	Third Cook	1920	San Juan	22
Ortiz	Alfredo	Watchman	1918	New York, NY	24
O'Brien	Timothy Charles	Third Mate	July 21, 1899	Pilot Town, LA	42
Saavedra	Ruben	Able Seaman	Aug. 8, 1914	Santa Rosa de Copán	27