Published June 2022
This is the story of a ship that was one of the first vessels of the Israeli Navy in its infancy. The experiences of a ship which is not remembered enough, although it took part in the corps’ missions in the years immediately following the establishment of the State of Israel.
The fate of the ship, the ” Carostella” , rocked it from one end of the world to the other, from America, through Israel to Africa. It began as a magnificent American cruise ship that was brought to Israel by a group of volunteers full of motivation and enthusiasm whose goal is to contribute and help the State of Israel that was just born. The ship served in the Navy and the Israel Police but its dismal end found it abandoned and abandoned in a port in Africa when its Israeli owner (after purchasing it from the Ministry of Defense) was sentenced to prison for betraying the State of Israel and passing information to enemy agents.
The yacht “Carostella” carried the US flag and was built during 1932 at the Stone Harbor shipyards in New Jersey. Her home port was in Washington DC.
For more on this boat and its involvement in the early days of the Israeli Navy and Merchant Marine – click here (and use right-click to translate to English using Chrome or Edge).
Editor : We also thank Barry Halpern for sending the below photographs from his late father’s collection – Commander Benjamin Halpern.
