Friar Rock
Panamanian Steam merchant
Friar Rock under her former name Arsa. Photo courtesy of State Library of New South Wales
| Name | Friar Rock | ||
| Type: | Steam merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 5,427 tons | ||
| Completed | 1921 - Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino, Trieste | ||
| Owner | Waterman Steamship Co, Mobile AL | ||
| Homeport | Panama | ||
| Date of attack | 13 Jan 1942 | Nationality:  Panamanian | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-130 (Ernst Kals) | ||
| Position | 45° 30'N, 50° 40'W - Grid BB 5898 | ||
| Complement | 37 (31 dead and 6 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | SC-64 (straggler) | ||
| Route | New York - Sydney (9 Jan) - Loch Ewe - Archangel | ||
| Cargo | General cargo and government stores | ||
| History | Completed in May 1921 as Italian Arsa for Società Anonima di Navigazione Italia, Genoa. On 10 Jun 1940 the Arsa was interned at New York. On 6 Jun 1941 seized by the US government under an Executive order, renamed Friar Rock by the US War Shipping Administration and registered in Panama. On 11 Oct 1941 assigned to Waterman SS Co at New York under a GAA agreement. | ||
| Notes on event | At 09.48 hours on 13 Jan 1942 the unescorted and unarmed Friar Rock (Master Eric G. Stolt) was hit under the foremost hatches by one torpedo from U-130 and stopped about 110 miles southwest of Cape Race, Newfoundland. The ship had left Sydney in convoy SC-64 on 9 January and was apparently returning to the port after straggling from convoy. At 10.32 hours, a first coup de grâce was fired from a stern tube but it missed because the ship suddenly moved again. A second coup de grâce fired 10 minutes later hit between bridge and funnel and caused the ship to sink quickly by the bow in 45°51N/50°52W. Only seven survivors were rescued by HMS Montgomery (G 95) (LtCdr W.L. Puxley, RN) on 17 January. One of them, the second mate, died ashore. | ||
| On board | We have details of 31 people who were on board. | ||
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