1964 – Nov 26, tanker Stolt Dagali cut in half (19 lost) by liner Shalom off Point Pleasant, NJ–19

–19 Edwards, John. “Shalom Sinks a Freighter.” Ocean Liners magazine. 11-26-2020.
–19 NYT. “19 Lost as Tanker is Cut in Two in Collison with Liner Shalom.” 11-27-1964, p. 1.
–19 Sheard. Lost Voyages. Two Centuries of Shipwrecks in the Approaches to New York. 1998, p. 197.

Narrative Information

Edwards: Just seven months after her maiden voyage, ZIM Line’s Shalom collided with the Norwegian tanker Stolt Dagali near Point Pleasant, New Jersey, sinking the vegetable oil carrier. On 26 November 1964, outbound to the Caribbean from New York with 616 passengers on board, Shalom’s bow sliced Stolt Dagali in half, killing 19 of the tanker’s 44-member crew.

“The tanker’s bow section remained afloat, but her aft section sank within seconds. The US Coast Guard cutter Point Arden arrived at the scene over three hours late, due to the fact that the position radioed by Shalom was approximately 15 miles off target. Five Stolt crew members were plucked from the sea by Shalom within 30 minutes of the collision and were treated in the ship’s hospital for shock. Point Arden retrieved four crew members; the remainder were rescued by helicopter.

“Shalom’s bow was badly damaged, including a 40-foot-long gash over the waterline. Water leaked into the liner’s number one hold, but Shalom stayed afloat and she limped back to New York under her own power. Shalom was later repaired by Newport News and Shipbuilding in Norfolk, Virginia.

“During the formal inquiry, Shalom’s second mate testified that the liner’s radar screen had been cluttered with noise and that attempts at repairing the system were made prior to the collision. Testimony also revealed that Shalom’s lookout had been given permission for a coffee break just before the event, and was returning to the bridge when the collision occurred.

“The inquiry concluded that both ships were at fault, with most of the blame falling on Shalom for not posting a proper lookout and operating a malfunctioning radar. Divers to the Stolt Dagali wreck found her engine telegraph set to full speed, making her complicit in the accident.”

Sheard: “….The Israeli passenger liner Shalom, pride of the Zim Line fleet and only seven months old, had left New York Harbor early on the morning of November 26th bound for the West Indies [Caribbean]. On board were 616 passengers on holiday, along with 450 crew whose job it was to make their patrons’ stay a pleasant one. After clearing Ambrose lightship just past 1:00 A.M., the Shalom’s captain, Avner Freudenberg, retired to his quarters after leaving his standard instructions that he be called if the weather took a turn for the worst. Captain Freudenberg did not rest long, however, for within the hour he was summoned to the bridge as the ship ran into a dense wall of fog.

“The 583-foot-long Norwegian tanker Stolt Dagali was, rather romantically, named after the beautiful mountain Dagali in eastern Norway; translated, her full name means Pride of Dagali. The tanker had left Philadelphia the previous day bound for Newark with a cargo of solvents and vegetable oils. She had been feeling her way north through heavy fog – a fog her captain, Kristian Bendiksen, later related was so thick that they just ‘couldn’t see.’ The Norwegian tanker was manned by crew of 42 men and one woman, divided between the ship’s forward bridge and her stern quarters. It was a division that would soon decide each person’s fate….

“The Shalom, traveling at high speed through the fog had passed directly through the tanker’s hull, splitting her neatly in two. Captain Bendiksen watched in horror from the Stolt Dagali’s bridge as the severed stern of his ship disappeared into the fog; that fog saved him from the nightmare of watching the stern sink beneath the heavy swell, taking almost half the ship’s crew with it. The forward two-thirds of the tanker managed to remain afloat, its cargo of oil effectively buoying up the hull. The ship’s radio operator quickly sent an SOS signal, which was picked up first in Boston, and then relayed to New York. Six Coast Guard cutters, along with helicopters and aircraft, were immediately dispatched to the scene of the collision.

“The Shalom had sustained considerable bow damage, but was in no danger of sinking. She stood by to offer assistance, and managed to pick up several of the Stolt Dagali’s survivors from the water. As the first streaks of dawn arrived over the horizon, Coast Guard and Navy helicopters appeared on the scene. Lowering a basket by cable, the helicopters evacuated the ten men left on board the Stolt Dagali’s bridge, one at a time….Coast Guard cutters picked up the remainder of the men from the water. Twenty-four survivors were plucked from the cold embrace of the Atlantic that morning; nineteen of their shipmates were not so lucky, however, and thirteen bodies were recovered while another six men were mission.

“Throughout the day and that night, cutters and patrol craft searched the frigid waters off the new Jersey coast for the six missing men. The search proved fruitless, however, and was finally called to a holt on the morning of November 27….

“Lawsuits between the vessel’s owners later showed that both ships were at fault in the collision. The Shalom’s radar set was not working properly at the time, displaying a cluttered and indistinct picture, yet the officer on watch failed to turn on the second radar set. In addition, the Shalom had no lookout posted at the time, for he had left the bridge a few minutes earlier to get a cup of coffee. The Stolt Dagali’s radar clearly displayed the Shalom 11 minutes prior to the collision, but her captain failed to take action. Man’s electronic wonders had to be used properly to be effective.” (Sheard. Lost Voyages. Two Centuries of Shipwrecks in the Approaches to New York. 1998, pp. 197-199.)

Newspapers

Nov 26, 1964, NYT: “The Israeli passenger liner Shalom and a 583‐foot Norwegian tanker collided early today in heavy fog and rain off the New Jersey coast. The Coast Guard said that the Shalom, which left at 11 o’clock last night on a Caribbean cruise with 600 passengers aboard, was taking water in the bow but was in no immediate danger. At 3:45 A. M. the Israeli vessel said she required only ‘standby assistance.’

“The stem of the tanker, the Stolt Dagali, broke away from the rest of the vessel and 33 persons were reported in the water.

“The ships collided about 17 miles northeast of Barnegat Light. The first distress calls were received toy the Coast Guard’s search and rescue unit here at 2:23 A.M.

“Two merchant ships were reported at the scene at 3:30 A.M. and five Coast Guard ships were speeding there, as were aircraft from the Naval Air Station at Lakehurst, N. J. The Shalom’s radio operator said she was attempting to return to port.

“There were no immediate reports of casualties on either ship.

“The 327‐foot Coast Guard cutter Spencer raced out of her anchorage at St. George, S. I., at 4 A.M. to help escort the Shalom back to harbor.

“The white‐hulled, 25,320‐ton Shalom left Pier 32, at the Hudson River and Canal Street, only three and a half hours before the collision. She was starting a 10‐day holiday cruise, her first to the West Indies. Her skipper is Abner Freudenburg, an Israeli, and she carried a crew of about 460 officers and men.

“The sailing plan of the 12,723 ton tanker could not be immediately ascertained. She was said to carry a crew of about 35 men.

“The Coast Guard said that the SOS apparently came from the tanker and reported that she was ‘sinking rapidly.’ Later messages painted a progressively more hopeful picture, however.

“The first Coast Guard ship was expected to reach the two vessels at 4:40 A. M.; she was the cutter Port Arrow.

“About three‐quarters of an inch of rain fell between midnight and 2 A.M., the Weather Bureau reported, but at the time of the collision the sea was calm, with only slight breezes to help disperse the thick fog.

“The historic Barnegat light stands at the northern end of a coastal sand spit on the New Jersey coast, about 30 miles north of Atlantic City.

“The Shalom is the new flagship of the Zim Lines. She made her first trans‐Atlantic crossing last April, sailing from Haifa and arriving in New York on April 30. She is 629 feet long, has 1,090 berths and cost $20‐million. She was built at Saint Nazaire, France. Her name in Hebrew means peace. She is the most luxurious vessel of the rapidly growing Israeli merchant marine. The only mast on the new ship is a modernistic radar and flag‐hoist structure, situated well forward, just behind the bridge.

“The Shalom had been scheduled to make a series of nine Caribbean cruises, the first of which began yesterday. The cruises were scheduled to range from 91/2 to 15 days. The itineraries called for visits to 13 Caribbean ports.

“The Shalom is powered by steam turbine machinery rated at 25,000 horsepower that gives the two‐propeller ship a top speed of 24 knots. Her normal cruising speed is 19.5 knots….

“The Stolt Dagali, which was built in 1955, sails under a Norwegian flag. She is owned by A/S Ocean and is managed by John P. Pederson & Son of Oslo. She is radar equipped….” (New York Times. “The Shalom and a Tanker Collide Off New Jersey.” 11-26-1964, p. 1.)

Nov 27, 1964, NYT: “At least 13 members of the crew of a Norwegian tanker were killed early yesterday when the Israeli liner Shalom, outbound for a Caribbean cruise, collided with the tanker in heavy fog off the New Jer¬sey coast. Six other crew mem¬bers were missing; 24 were rescued.

“The collision occurred shortly after 2 A.M. as the Shalom, owned by the Zim Lines, plowed into the Stolt Dagali. The tanker broke in two. The stern section sank almost immediate¬ly, the bow wallowing in the rough seas.

“As distress signals filled the air, seven Coast Guard helicop¬ters from the Floyd Bennett station in Brooklyn flew to the scene, about 25 miles southeast of Asbury Park. Seven Coast Guard cutters and patrol boats also raced to the area. Lowering rescue baskets and ‘horse-collar’ rings, the helicop¬ters lifted 19 crew members from a nearly swamped lifeboat. The Shalom launched a boat that picked up five more sea¬men.

“Then, despite a 40‐foot gash in her bow, the 629‐foot liner proceeded back to New York. ¬She arrived at Pier 32, at Canal Street, at 3:10 P.M. yesterday.

“The paths of the two ships crossed at Lat. 39 degrees, 59 minutes N., Long. 73 degrees 40 minutes W., according to the Coast Guard’s fix.

“The $20 million luxury liner, with 616 passengers and a crew of 450, was heading south from New York for the West Indies; the 583‐foot tanker, with a crew of 43, was heading north from Philadelphia to Newark. She carried solvents and fats.

“At 2:22 A.M. the Boston Coast Guard station reported receiving a distress signal from an unidentified ship. At 2:44 A.M. the station heard: “S O S. This is Stolt Dagali. Collided with unknown ship. Sinking—repeat—sinking.”

“The first ship on the scene was the Grace Line’s Santa Paula, herself returning from a Caribbean cruise. Her captain, Theodore Thomson, said the first position given by the Shalom was incorrect. Accord¬ing to the Coast Guard this position was reported as Lat. 40 degrees, 14 minutes N., Long. 73 degrees, 44 minutes W. ‘That position was incor¬rect,’ Captain Thomson said, ‘and we had to circle around a wide area until we saw the Shalom standing still with her lights lit. Her bow was badly damaged. Then we saw the re¬mains of the tanker, the bow section with some sort of a light lit, and we could see 10 men aboard it.’

“The longitude position was not far off, the Coast Guard said, but the latitude was in error. The Shalom was actually 15 miles south of the position she had radioed, the Coast Guard reported. Fifteen minutes after the Shalom radioed her position, the Stolt Dagali sent out the correct position, according to the Coast Guard’s log.

“A spokesman for Zim Lines said last night the discrep¬ancy could not be explained at the present. ‘Eventually, all the fine points will come out,’ he said. ‘The captain has been on his feet for 36 hours, and I understand he’s now sleeping.’

“Another open question was why radar had not prevented [the collision].

“Many of the Shalom’s passen¬gers slept through the night un¬aware of the crash. Others gathered in public rooms; or¬chestras were called back into service and played until 6 A.M. Meanwhile, members of the tanker’s crew waited on the bow and in a water‐filled life¬boat for rescue.

“Magnesium flares dropped by rescue aircraft revealed’ the 25,338‐ton Shalom with a long gash in her bow, and what was left of the 19,150‐ton tanker. The seas were choppy and there was a heavy swell. Fog swirled. Standing by was the Santa Paula, assisting in the rescue work by acting as a windbreak for the tanker’s bow.

“One of the first ‘airmen on the scene was Lieut. George Gilpin, a Navy helicopter pilot from Lakehurst, N. J. He saw a lifeboat, awash, with nine per¬sons aboard. ‘They were in all states of dress,’ he said. ‘Some just in their skivvies. They were elated when they saw us.’

“Lieutenant Gilpin rescued four crewmen with a horse-col¬lar ring, a large, padded life ring attached to a cable. Then a Coast Guard cutter put a net over its side and scooped up the remaining five. One of them was dead….

“A Norwegian seaman said he had been asleep when the crash occurred and had awakened in the cold waters of the Atlantic. Rescuers had to force his fingers from the basket that lifted him into a helicopter….

“The captain of the Norwegian vessel, Kristian Bendiksen, was rescued, the last man to leave the broken bow of the tanker.

“Coast Guard cutters circled the area all day, searching for the six missing members of the tanker’s crew. One, the 95‐foot cutter Cape Strait, continued the search last night….

The Shalom was berthed only 16 hours after she had left. On her stern and bow was the name Shalom in English and Hebrew, and also on the stern, Haifa, her home port. Through giant scratch marks on the bow above the stove‐in section the name Shalom still showed in black against the now‐discolored white hull….

“Asked if his radar was oper¬ating at the time of the colli¬sion, Captain Freudenberg [of the Shalom] said curtly, ‘Naturally.’ He said he had been on the bridge when the crash occurred.

“At about the same time Cap¬tain Bendiksen, the tanker’s master was telling reporters in Brooklyn that he, too, had been on the bridge when the crash came. He said the stern of his tanker had disappeared swiftly in the fog. He refused to dis¬cuss the radar issue.

“Because the collision oc¬curred in international waters, it was outside the jurisdiction of the United States Coast Guard, that service said….” (New York Times. “19 Lost as Tanker is Cut in Two in Collison with Liner Shalom.” 11-27-1964, p. 1.)

Sources

Edwards, John. “Shalom Sinks a Freighter.” . Ocean Liners magazine 11-26-2020. Accessed 6-29-2022 at: https://oceanlinersmagazine.com/2020/11/26/shalom-sinks-freighter/

New York Times. “19 Lost as Tanker is Cut in Two in Collison with Liner Shalom.” 11-27-1964, p. 1. Accessed 6-29-2022 at: https://www.nytimes.com/1964/11/27/19-lost-as-tanker-is-cut-in-two-in-collision-with-liner-shalom.html

New York Times. “The Shalom and a Tanker Collide Off New Jersey.” 11-26-1964, p. 1. Accessed 6-29-2022 at: https://www.nytimes.com/1964/11/26/archives/the-shalom-and-a-tanker-collide-off-new-jersey.html

Sheard, Bradley. Lost Voyages. Two Centuries of Shipwrecks in the Approaches to New York. New York: Aqua Quest Publications, Inc. 1998.