15,638 grt; 22,800 dwt
Operator: K/S Billabong (Bjørn Østervold & Per F Waaler & Co), Bergen, Norway
Built in 1961 by Bergens Mekaniske Verksted A/S, Solheimsviken, Bergen, Norway. Yard no. 432
Main engine: eight-cylinder, two-stroke Götaverken type 760/1500VGS-8U developing 10,000 bhp at 112 rpm. Speed: 16 knots
Built as conventional bulk carrier RUNA for Rederi A/S Ruth (Hagbart Waage), Oslo, Norway
1965-sold/renamed STAR BILLABONG (as photo) and fitted with Munck Loader gantry crane
1966-coverted by Smith’s Dock Ltd, Middlesbrough, UK to “open hatch” type
1970-transferred without change of name to "Stern" Schiffahrtsges mbH & Co KG, Bremen, West Germany. (Managers: Star Shipping, Bergen) Flag: Liberia.
1976-Sold to Evidream Maritime Co SA. (D Kosmas, C Karafotias & E Karelias), Piraeus, Greece, renamed STAR K.
1978-collided 19/07 in dense fog with Singapore-flagged) TAIWAN PHOENIX (IMO 5264546) in position 47.34N-154.39W (South of Kodiak, Alaska, USA) whilst on a voyage from Japan to Vancouver, BC, Canada in ballast. Towed to Portland, Oregon, USA. Condemned.
1980-foundered 25/03 about 300 nm west of Wake Island (19.22N-157.52E) after developing leaks while being towed from Portland to Kaohsiung, Taiwan for scrapping.
This must have been one of the earliest open-hatch general cargo ships. She was photographed 11/10/1968 arriving at Tilbury Dock with packaged timber from west-coast Canada/USA.
Nowadays the classification societies define these multi-purpose, open-hatch types – with their box-shaped holds and full-width hatches that make them suitable for carrying packaged timber and containers as well as bulk cargoes - as general cargo ships, rather than bulk carriers. This is due to their double-skinned hulls. Bulk carriers are defined as featuring single hulls and topside tanks.