The S. S. Mount Zion was formally inaugurated into the Constanza-Haifa service, at a ceremony held in Haifa in the presence of a large gathering.
The ship belongs to the Palestine Maritime Lloyd. Mr. Tubim, on behalf of the company, said that the liners of the service would fly the Palestine flag and have Jewish crews. Other speakers were G. Levin, for the Haifa Jewish Community, and Mr. Aleinikoff, on behalf of the Hadar Hacarmel Committee. Greetings were received from the Jewish Agency and the Mayor of Tel Aviv.
21 OF CREW ARE JEWS
The ship is of 5,300 tons register, and has accommodations for 110 travelers in the first and second classes. It will do the journey between Rumania and Palestine in four days. The crew consists of forty-one sailors, of whom twenty-one are Jews, and the captain is Erich Hirschfeld, who has been at sea for thirty-five years, and was formerly an officer on the S. S. Leviathan.
He holds medals for life-saving from English, American and German societies.
Hitherto the ship had flown the Italian flag, but it now shows the British maritime ensign, and will shortly hoist the specially designed Palestine flag.
The company has another boat Mount Carmel which, when put into commission, will enable it to conduct a weekly service.
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