Ship details: Fred Haney, who was a VOA engineer aboard the ship: “This is one of the nicest pictures of the USCGC Courier (Vagabond Able) after it was painted white in Rhodes, Greece. It was formerly standard ‘haze gray.’ The Courier was an international broadcasting ship for Voice of America multi-language programs, manned by Coast … Read more
Ship details: A 763 ton passenger ferry Fredericia had been built in 1930 by the Frederikshavns V & F A/S in Frederikshavn (Denmark) having an ice strengthened hull (SPEED: 14 knots, LENGTH: 188 feet, BEAM: 18 feet). The vessel served as a ferry-boat on the Baltic until 1963. On 13th February 1964 the Fredericia left … Read more
Ship details: A 403 ton gross Icelandic trawler, Emma IM15, was built by de Dollard shipyard, Landsmeer, Holland, in 1956. In February 1957 the Emma made her first voyage, skippered by Johannes Blok. During April 1964 the Emma was chartered by an oil company for drilling exercises in the North Sea. In 1967 the Emma … Read more
Ship details: In 1968, Abie Nathan purchased a 170 foot, 570 ton Dutch freighter Cito built in Delfzijl, Groningen (Netherlands) in April 1940 at the Gebr. van Diepen, Waterhuizen shipyard. The ship was originally named Rolf, renamed Westpolder in 1950, and Cito in 1960. Abie renamed the ship Peace and registered it in Panama. In … Read more
Ship details: In 1955 the Magdalena, ex Centricity was built at Walsend on the Tyne for F T Everard and Sons of London to carry grain. The 655 gross ton ship was 225.5 feet long and 28.33 feet wide. In 1977 the ship was sold to Internavo Company Ltd and registered in Cyprus, and was … Read more
Ship details: The SS Margarethe, a small cargo boat of 98 feet length, was built in 1921 by Deutsche Werke A.G. of Kiel, West Germany as a 129 ton, 23 foot wide three mast schooner for Ernst Simon A.G. The boat was one of three identical boats made by the ship yard, one was used … Read more
Ship details: The Silvretta was built in 1948 by De Groot and Vliet at Slikkerveer Holland, she was 630 tons and 186 feet long. The Silvretta was purchased for £25,000 and a further £65,000 was spent on converting her to a radio ship by MeBo Telecommunications Ltd in Zurich (Switzerland). The ship was renamed Mebo … Read more
Vandaag neem ik je mee terug naar het jaar 1973. In het begin van de jaren zeventig van de vorige eeuw probeerde ook een Amerikaanse dominee een zeezender in de lucht te krijgen. Van 1965 tot en met 1973 runde dominee Carl McIntire in het plaatsje Media in de Amerikaanse staat Pennsylvania twee radiostations: WXUR … Read more
Bij elkaar telt de geschiedenis van de zeezenders ruim honderd mislukte projecten. Ik wil er dit keer een paar noemen waarover werd geschreven in de jaren zestig van de vorige eeuw. Bij een van deze projecten zou het gaan om ‘Leeds University’, hoewel ook de naam ‘Radio Rag’ werd genoemd. De initiatiefnemers zouden, vanaf het … Read more
In de hoogtijdagen van de zeezenders in internationale wateren voor de West Europese kusten werd veelvuldig gebruik gemaakt van meisjesnamen voor de radiostations. Denk maar eens aan Radio Veronica, Radio Caroline en Radio Monique. Maar ook voor de schepen zelf werd een meisjesnaam wel eens gekozen. Denk bijvoorbeeld aan Magda Maria, Magdalena en Jeanine. In … Read more