An Israel captain and Israel crew of 33 seamen took command of the new 3,145-ton freighter Kedmah today after Israel formally took over the vessel as a reparations payment. The vessel, one of a number completed in the last year or two by German shipyards to Israeli specifications, becomes part of the fleet of Zim-Shoham.
The vessel, which will sail for Haifa with a cargo of reparations goods later this week under the command of Capt. Aryeh Silberman, has refrigerated cargo holds and will be used to transport Israel’s citrus products, in season, to North Sea or Soviet Black Sea ports. Out of season, the vessel will be able to transport lumber or tree trunks from West Africa, which currently supplies a good deal of Israel’s lumber needs. She will also be used for general commercial cargo between Trieste and Haifa.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
