SS Vito
From Our Contribution
 28 Jul 1941. SS Vito, A Norwegian cargo vessel taken over by the British following the German invasion of Norway in April 1940. AWM photo 304104 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | SS Vito |
| Owner | Olaf Ditlev-Simonsen |
| Builder | Gothenburg |
| Completed | 1937 |
| In service | 1937 |
| Out of service | 1978 |
| Fate | Broken up for scrap |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | cargo vessel |
| Tonnage | 5,181 tons |
| Propulsion | Oil fired |
| Speed | 13.5 knots |
Contents
Remarks
SS Vito was a Norwegian owned ship that had operated during WW2 outside the influence of the Germans who invaded Norway on 9 May 1940. At the time, Vito had loaded a cargo of lumber in Chemainus (west coast of Canada), departing for Cape Town on 25 Apr 1940. Soon after, on 16 Aug 1940 she arrived in Fremantle ex Colombo with a mixed cargo. Australian WW 2 Merchant Ship Movement Records maintained by the Australian Navy [1] indicate that Vito was carrying cargoes between Australian ports and the islands north of Australia including Singapore, with occasional trips as far field as Aden and to the west coast of the United States of America. In late 1945 she was carrying bulk wheat from Geraldton to Melbourne.
Owned from January 1964 by Skips A/S Tilthorn, Narvik, she was renamed Stella Nova. In April 1966 as Althea she was owned by Pasalaric Investment Corp, Panama and then from 1967 ownership changed to Minerva A.p.a. of Palermo, Italy. From 1968 as Maja she was owned by Nav. Grancebaco S.A., of Panama, and then from March 1974 she was owned under the name of Isolanda by Reina Sofia Cia. de Nav. S.A. of Panama. Her final name change came when as Coralba owned from January 1977 by Orgophin S.A., Panama who sold her on 19 Sep 1978 to Brodospas of Split for breaking up.