Routenbeck

Official Number
69717

The Routenbeck was an iron barque built by the Whitehaven Shipbuilding Company at Whitehaven in April 1875. She was originally owned by J.Davidson & Son (later to own the Wythop), and was registered at Whitehaven.

The Routenbeck made her maiden voyage from Liverpool to Sydney under the command of Capt.Thomas Carr (see Crew List). She seems to have had a relatively uneventful career, visiting Australia, New Zealand and the West coast of Canada and the USA.She made four voyages to New Zealand under charter to Shaw, Savill & Co. the first in 1879 (Capt.Stitt) London to Port Chalmers, then in 1881 (Capt.Stitt) London to Lyttleton, then 1887 (Capt.Edwards, Glasgow to Port Chalmers), then in 1892 (Capt.Russell), Liverpool to Wellington and Port Chalmers.

The Routenbeck traded for J.Davidson & Son for 20 years, before being sold to Liverpool shipowner G.M.Bushby in 1897. The barque was quickly sold on to J.Wimmers & Co., owners at Hamburg, and was renamed Bellas.

The Bellas, Capt.Conrad Bollen, was seized at Rimouski, on the St.Lawrence, on the 5th August 1914, and taken to Quebec. She had been owned by J.Wimmers & Co. until July, and had then supposedly been sold whilst on passage from Oporto to Rimouski to a Portuguese citizen. A court case concluded that the Bellas was a German vessel and she was interned. The barque was bought by John Stewart & Co. and was operated by them during the war, then was sold to Canadian owners. In 1921 the vessel was bought by Danish owners who renamed her Suzanne. The barque was broken-up in 1924 at Savannah.

Name
Year Built
Gross Tons
Length (feet)
Breadth (feet)
Depth (feet)
Masts
Figurehead
Stern
Lloyd's Classn.
Routenbeck
1875
943
208.5
32.4
19.6
3 
 
 
100 years A1, Special Survey 

Sources :

  1. "Shipbuilding in Whitehaven - A Checklist" by Harry Fancy, Whitehaven Museum (1984).
  2. One photo available at Picture Australia.
  3. Lloyd's Register of Shipping 1874-5 (Supplement): Routenbeck, iron barque, 943 grt, 930 nrt, official no.69717, signal letters NTQS, built at Whitehaven, April 1875, owned by J.Davidson, registered at Whitehaven, master Capt.T.Carr.
  4. Lloyd's Register of Shipping 1887-8: Routenbeck, as 1874, except master Capt.J.Stitt.
  5. Lloyd's Register of Shipping 1895-6: Routenbeck, iron barque, 943 grt, official no.69717, owned by J.Davidson & Son, registered at Whitehaven, master Capt.B.Russell.
  6. Summary of New Zealand voyages from "White Wings."
  7. Lloyd's Register of Shipping 1896-7: Routenbeck, as 1895, except master Capt.W.B.Rogers.
  8. Lloyd's Register of Shipping 1897-8: Routenbeck, owned by G.M.Bushby, but "now named Bellas, see Supplement."
  9. Lloyd's Register of Shipping 1897-8 (Supplement): Bellas, ex-Routenbeck, signal letters RKVB, owned by J.Wimmers & Co., registered at Hamburg, Germany, master Capt.B.Ruttgers.