NYK Line’s HIKAWA MARU was used in World War 2 as a hospital ship, which resulted in it becoming one of the few large, Japanese merchant ships to survive the war.
Now owned by NYK Maritime Museum, Yokohama, Japan
11,922 grt; 331 passengers
Built 1930 by Yokohama Dock Co Ltd, Yokohama, Japan. Yard no: 177.
Propulsion: twin-screw with 2 x eight-cylinder, four-stroke, double-acting, opposed piston Burmeister & Wain diesel engines. These developed a total of 11,000 bhp and provided a service speed of 18.2 knots.
The ship was withdrawn from NYK’s trans-Pacific service in 1960