Op ten Noort-class hospitalship
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| Op ten Noort in Japanese service, note the second stack. There are no surviving photos of Op ten Noort as hospitalship in Dutch service |
| Construction details | |
| Name | Op ten Noort |
| Dockyard | Nederlandse Scheepsbouw Mij, Amsterdam |
| Commissioned | 1927 (mercantile) February 14 1942 (RNN) |
| Owner | Koninklijke Paketvaart Maatschappij, Amsterdam |
| Status | Scuttled Maizuru Bay, August 17 1945 in position 35° 44' N - 135° 31' E |
| Specifications | |
| Displacement | 6076 gross tons |
| Crew | |
| Dimensions | 129,50 x 16,80 x 6,70 m |
| Armament | - |
| Propulsion details | |
| Boilers | |
| Machinery | Reciprocating engine |
| Performance | 6000 ihp |
| Shafts | 2 |
| Max speed | 15,5 |
| Bunkerage | |
| History |
| This ship was commandeered by the Royal Netherlands Navy on December 1 1941 for service as hospitalship. After being rebuilt in Soerabaja, the ship was commissioned on February 14 1942. Although clearly recognizable as hospitalship, she was bombed near Soerabaja on February 21, killing 1 doctor and three nurses. Her service was brief but hectic: after the disastrous Battle of the Java Sea, she was sent out by local naval authorities to look for survivors. Unfortunately, she was sighted and commandeered by the Japanese destroyer Amatsukaze on February 28 while cruising 40 miles southwest of Bawean Island. She was eventually brought to Makassar, where she arrived on March 10, with 1000 survivors, mostly from HMS Exeter on board. She remained in this port until October 16 1942 as floating hospital, mostly aiding the POW's in local prisoncamps. On this day, the Dutch flag was replaced with a Japanese, and the ship steamed to Yokohama under a Japanese captain. On this voyage, she carried a cargo which among other things consisted of a shipment of seamines, something which was strictly forbidden by the Geneva Convention. The Dutch/Indonesian crew remained aboard until December 5, when they ( the Dutch ) were interned in a camp in Mijoshi. The Japanese subsequently commissioned the ship into the Japanese navy as the hospitalship Teno Maru, from November 1 1944, Hikawa Maru No. 2, adding a second stack to prevent identification by Allied forces ( the capture of a hospitalship is also strictly forbidden by the Geneva Convention ). The ship was scuttled August 17 1945 in postition 35° 44' N - 135° 31' E, most likely to avoid problems with the Allied. A lawsuit in 1977 ended with a Japanese offer of 100 million yen as compensation, which was accepted by the Dutch government. |
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