Shipshots

Lives of the Liners: MONTE PASCOAL

ByBill Miller September 23, 2025September 23, 2025

A colorized photo of the SS Monte Pascoal on the Thames near Greenwich, London. From the William H. Miller collection. — A colorized photo of the *SS Monte Pascoal* on the Thames near Greenwich, London. From the William H. Miller collection.

There was considerable migration between Europe and South America in the years between the Wars. Among others, Germany’s Hamburg-South America Line realized this and built a series of primarily low-fare passenger ships purposely for this service.

There were five liners in this class and 13,870-ton Monte Pascoal was the fourth. Completed in 1931, it had quarters for some 2,400 passengers – 1,400 in tourist class and 1,000 in steerage. Used on the Hamburg-Rio de Janeiro-Buenos Aires run, it was used as an accommodation ship for the German navy during much of World War II.

It burned, however, during an Allied air attack in February 1944. Later salvaged, the 524-ft long ship was seized by the British in May 1945, but deemed unworthy of further use.

Loaded with Nazi chemical warfare materials, it was deliberately sunk by the Royal Navy on 31 December 1946.