91Èȱ¬

Imagine it. A merchant ship blown in half by a mine and then simply welded together again so that she could continue to play a role in the effort to keep Britain supplied during the dark days of World War Two. That is exactly what happened to the oil tanker Tafelberg.

Built by at Newcastle, the Tafelberg was originally a whale factory ship.

Owned by the Kerguellen Sealing and Whaling Company, there was such a shortage of ships that she was converted into an oil tanker soon after war broke out in 1939.

The Tafelberg made several voyages before she struck a mine in the Bristol Channel on 28 January 1941. The ship was relatively close to shore when the mine exploded and was able to signal for assistance.

Several pilot boats and five Cardiff - the Bristolian, Cargarth, Merimac, Standard Rose and Blazer - came to the rescue.

The Tafelberg was taken in tow and, rather than allow her to sink in what was then a very busy waterway, she was beached on the coast at Porthkerry to the west of Barry Island.

Unfortunately, the mine had caused serious structural damage and the Tafelberg broke in half during the operation. For several months the two sections of the stranded ship lay on the shingle, her active life seeming to be over. She was declared a total loss.

For some time her only companions were the wheeling seagulls overhead and the few sightseers who could be bothered to make the journey out to Porthkerry from Barry or Cardiff.

But fate still had a hand to play in the life of the Tafelberg.

Ships were urgently needed in those days and it was decided that the Tafelberg could still be saved. The "wreck" was acquired by the Ministry of War Transport and, after ensuring that they were watertight, the two halves were towed, first, to Whitmore Bay at Barry and then to the docks in Cardiff.

Over the next few months dockworkers and builders laboured to simply join the two halves of the stricken ship back together. It was an amazing job but it was not the first time such an operation had taken place during the war.

The Imperial Transport had been torpedoed in 1940 and, although the front section had sunk, the rear half survived. It was taken into port, a new bow section was built and the ship sailed on, surviving another torpedoing. It was scrapped in 1958.

The Tafelberg was not so lucky, however. Renamed the Empire Heritage, she was torpedoed and sunk on 8 September 1944 by the U 482. The ship was off Malin Head when she was hit and a large number of crew and passengers went down with her.

The extra space on the old whaling ship meant that she was carrying over 50 passengers and most were lost in the disaster. Forty-seven members of her crew and eight gunners also drowned.

The story of the Tafelberg is one of fortitude and imagination. It is sad to think that the ship, welded together with such skill and care, did not survive to see the victory celebrations.

Nevertheless, her story does remain an important part of the nautical history of south Wales.

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