MS ''Bantam '', , was built by N.V. Machinefabriek & Scheepswerf van P. Smit Jr. of

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in 1939 for

Koninklijke Rotterdamsche Lloyd The Royal Rotterdam Lloyd (Koninklijke Rotterdamsche Lloyd or KRL) was a Dutch shipping company that was established in Rotterdam between 1883 and 1970. Until 1947 the name was Rotterdamsche Lloyd (RL). In 1970 the KRL merged with sev ...

. It was the second ship of the name, the other being of of

Koninklijke Paketvaart-Maatschappij Koninklijke Paketvaart-Maatschappij (Dutch for Royal Packet Navigation Company), better known as KPM, was a Dutch shipping company (1888–1966) in the Netherlands East Indies, now Indonesia. It was the dominant inter-island shipping line in Ind ...

and sunk 28 March 1943, from this builder operating in the same region and during overlapping times. MS ''Bantam '' operated under charter by both the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. It was used in trans-Atlantic convoys from and to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

on a regular basis from April 1944 to April 1945. The ship was returned to the original owners in 1946. After wartime service the ship was returned to Koninklijke Rotterdamsche Lloyd in 1946 and resumed cargo and passenger service in the Indies as the colony became

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

until sold in 1964. Under the Pacific Pearl Navigation Co. Ltd., Hong Kong the name was changed to ''Pacific Pearl''. In 1969 the ship changed ownership to Marmando Compañia Naviera S.A., Panama with another change to ''Millstar'' (possibly ''Mill Star'') until sold for scrapping in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

in 1971.

References

References cited

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External links

''Bantam''
Koninklijke Rotterdamsche Lloyd Museum, ''Bantam'' photo gallery

Koninklijke Rotterdamsche Lloyd Museum, in Dutch, showing routes and history

"Professor Wood in Manilla" from MV ''Bantam'' July 24, 1946 mentioning devastation of Manilla, Batavia, Soerabaya and Macassar as ''Bantam'' is delayed by "shortage of loading facilities" {{DEFAULTSORT:Bantam, MS 1938 ships Ships built in Rotterdam Merchant ships of the Netherlands World War II merchant ships of the Netherlands