Alphen Class

The last dry cargo ships to be built for Safmarine in the 1960's
These were the last of the dry cargo ships to be built in the 1960s for Safmarine.. The “S.A. Alphen” and “S.A.Huguenot” came into service in the mid 1960s, and later the “S.A.Constantia”, “S.A.Morgenster”, and the “S.A. Vergelegen” were built of the same design in Japan.

S.A. Vergelegen was later modified in Germany with a Stulken derrick capable of lifting 250 tons. This class of vessel had the most pleasing lines of all the dry cargo ships built for the corporation. They were powered by a six cylinder Sulzer 6RND90 two stroke diesel engine developing 15,000 BHP giving them a speed of 21 knots. For electrical power two eight cylinder and two six cylinder M.A.N diesel engines drove AC alternators.

Photo ©Trever Jones