Agia Anastasia – Abba Berdizhev
"Abba Berdizhev" loaded its 400 immigrants in the Bakar port in Yugoslavia, and joined the large Haapala ship of "Anna, Luchita – Knesset Israel."
The "Abba Berdizhev" Haapala ship (named after the Israeli paratrooper delegate of the "Zionist Youth Movement," who fell in Slovakia in 1944, after dropping behind the Nazi enemy lines) prepared for departure to Israel in the Romanian ports of Braila and Constanta by Moshe Averbuch, Yosef Hamburger (Harel), Reuven Hirsch (Yatir), Ephraim Shiloh, Leibel Avrumsky and Shaike Dan.
The ship was previously used as a gunboat, and was split in half when it hit a mine. The ship commander was Eliezer Varsh (Armoni.) The 'Gidoni' (wireless operator) was Chaim Pretkin (Porat.) The name code of the ship was "The Holy."
"Abba Berdizhev" loaded its 400 immigrants in the Bakar port in Yugoslavia, and joined the large Haapala ship of "Anna, Luchita – Knesset Israel." According to plan, the ship was supposed to transfer the immigrants to the "Knneset Israel" ship, pick up the foreign crew of both ships and return to Europe; this way, at least one ship and both crews would not fall into British hands and would be able to participate in other voyages.
Both ships sailed on November 5th 1946. They communicated via a telephone device, and sailed close to each other.
On November 9th, both ships were caught in a bad storm in the Adriatic Sea. "Abba Berdizhev" entered a mine field between two islands; its engine stopped and the wind began to drag it towards one of the islands. "Knesset Israel" came closer to try to connect to it by using ropes, but meanwhile, the "Abba Berdizhev" crew managed to restart the engine. However, when "Knesset Israel" moved away, the engine stopped once again. The attempts to tie the ships together failed. During those maneuvers, "Abba Berdizhev" was swept towards one of the rocky islands, crashed and sunk with all its equipment. The immigrants were safely rescued from the ship, thanks to the resourcefulness of the crew members and the escorts, and make it to an island on the Dalmatic shore. A small fishing boat and a police boat were sent for them from a nearby fishing harbor, and the immigrants were transferred from the island to "Knesset Israel," to continue their journey to Israel.
The ship was previously used as a gunboat, and was split in half when it hit a mine. The ship commander was Eliezer Varsh (Armoni.) The 'Gidoni' (wireless operator) was Chaim Pretkin (Porat.) The name code of the ship was "The Holy."
"Abba Berdizhev" loaded its 400 immigrants in the Bakar port in Yugoslavia, and joined the large Haapala ship of "Anna, Luchita – Knesset Israel." According to plan, the ship was supposed to transfer the immigrants to the "Knneset Israel" ship, pick up the foreign crew of both ships and return to Europe; this way, at least one ship and both crews would not fall into British hands and would be able to participate in other voyages.
Both ships sailed on November 5th 1946. They communicated via a telephone device, and sailed close to each other.
On November 9th, both ships were caught in a bad storm in the Adriatic Sea. "Abba Berdizhev" entered a mine field between two islands; its engine stopped and the wind began to drag it towards one of the islands. "Knesset Israel" came closer to try to connect to it by using ropes, but meanwhile, the "Abba Berdizhev" crew managed to restart the engine. However, when "Knesset Israel" moved away, the engine stopped once again. The attempts to tie the ships together failed. During those maneuvers, "Abba Berdizhev" was swept towards one of the rocky islands, crashed and sunk with all its equipment. The immigrants were safely rescued from the ship, thanks to the resourcefulness of the crew members and the escorts, and make it to an island on the Dalmatic shore. A small fishing boat and a police boat were sent for them from a nearby fishing harbor, and the immigrants were transferred from the island to "Knesset Israel," to continue their journey to Israel.