161. Yehiam — Esmeralda
type: schr
Departed Gaeta, Italy 10 Mar 1948, arrived 29 Mar 1948
ex-Esmeralda, built 1944, 343 gross tons
771 passengers
Departed with only 238 passengers, took on 550 from Nakhshon (No. 164) when that ship’s engines broke down. Ship captured with no resistance by the destroyer Verulam. Immigrants taken to Cyprus on the Empire Rival.
Name: A kibbutz in Galilee taken by the Haganah, after a convoy sent to reinforce the kibbutz was ambushed and 47 soldiers were killed.
Photograph source: http://palyam.org
Yehiam