{{other ships|SS Hellig Olav}} {{Infobox ship |infobox_caption= |section1={{Infobox ship/image |image=Auswandererschiff SS Hellig Olav verlässt Kopenhagen.jpg |image_caption=''Hellig Olav'' departing Copenhagen in 1910. }} |section2={{Infobox ship/career |hide_header= |flag={{shipboxflag|Denmark}} |name={{flagicon|Denmark}} ''Hellig Olav'' |namesake=Saint Olaf |owner=Scandinavian America Line |operator= |registry={{flagicon|Denmark}} Copenhagen, Denmark |route= |ordered= |builder=Alexander Stephen and Sons |original_cost=205,770 British pounds |yard_number=399 |way_number= |laid_down= |launched=16 December 1902 |completed=March 1903 |christened= |acquired=20 March 1903 |maiden_voyage=25 March 1903 |in_service=25 March 1903 |out_of_service=1934 |identification=* Call sign: DHO * Signal Letters: NMFQ |fate=Scrapped in 1934 |notes= }}
|section3={{Infobox ship/characteristics |hide_header= |header_caption= |class= |type=Passenger ship |tonnage={{GRT|10,085}} |length={{convert|151.6|m|ftin}} |beam={{convert|17.8|m|ftin}} |height= |draught= |depth={{convert|12.4|m|ftin}} |decks=3 |sail_plan=Copenhagen - Kristiania - New York |power=Two triple-expansion steam engines |propulsion=Two screws |speed=15.5 knots |capacity=Accommodation for 1,170 passengers (130 in First class, 140 in Second class & 900 in Steerage) |crew=211 |notes=Two masts and a single funnel }} }} '''SS ''Hellig Olav''''' was a Danish transatlantic Passenger ship that was the first Danish ship to be installed with a wireless telegraph, and sailed the Scandinavian America Line's Copenhagen to New York route until her scrapping in 1934.<ref name=DDE>{{cite web |url=https://www.ggarchives.com/OceanTravel/ImmigrantShips/HelligOlav.html |title=SS Hellig Olav Archival Collection |publisher=ggarchives.com |date= |accessdate=29 April 2026}}</ref>
== Construction == ''Hellig Olav'' was built at the Alexander Stephen and Sons shipyard in Glasgow, United Kingdom. The ship was launched on 16 December 1902 before being completed in March the following year. The ship successfully conducted her sea trials on 17 March 1903 and was delivered to the Scandinavian America Line on 20 March. The ship was {{convert|151.6|m|ftin}} long, had a beam of {{convert|17.8|m|ftin}} and a depth of {{convert|12.4|m|ftin}}. She was assessed at {{GRT|10,085}} and had two triple-expansion steam engines driving two screw propellers that could achieve a speed of 15.5 knots. The ship had accommodation for 1,170 passengers including 130 in First class, 140 in Second class & 900 in Steerage. ''Hellig Olav'' was also fitted with electric light and refrigerating machinery alongside a bilge keel and a double cellular bottom. The ship was divided into 10 watertight compartments. She had two sisterships: ''Oscar II'' and ''United States''.<ref name=DSS>{{cite web |url=https://www.liners.dk/ship-dk/Hellig_Olav/Hellig-Olav-dk.html |title=Hellig Olav |publisher=liners.dk |date=2021 |accessdate=29 April 2026}}</ref><ref name=ESO>{{cite web |url=https://www.clydeships.co.uk/view.php?&ref=16013 |title=HELLIG OLAV |publisher=clydeships.co.uk |date= |accessdate=29 April 2026}}</ref>
== Career == [[File:Ship "Hellig Olav" at Reykjavik, Iceland (8487844655).jpg|thumb|left|''Hellig Ola'' at Reykjavik, Iceland in 1930.]] ''Hellig Olav'' sailed on her maiden voyage under the command of Captain Holst from Copenhagen to New York with stopovers in Kristiania and Kristiansand on 25 March 1903 with about 1,500 Scandinavian passengers and crew. The ship arrived in New York without incident on 8 April and she would continue to serve on this route throughout her career.<ref name=SSA>{{cite web |url=https://www.norwayheritage.com/p_ship.asp?sh=helol |title=S/S Hellig Olav, Scandinavian America Line |publisher=norwayheritage.com |date= |accessdate=29 April 2026}}</ref> The only incident that would befall ''Hellig Olav'' occurred on 11 November 1905 at 3 am as the ship struck underwater rocks south of Anholt in Kattegat and began to take on water. The Captain ordered the pumps activated and the ship's speed slowed to half-ahead, but they could not prevent the water from rising to {{convert|4|m|ftin}} in cargo hold No. 2 and thus the decision was made to sail to Helsingør. The ship was inspected by divers and was allowed to continue on to Copenhagen for repairs accompanied by a salvage steamer.<ref name=STC>{{cite web |url=https://www.sbib.dk/files/bibliotek/statistik/1905.pdf |title=STATISTISK OVERSIGT OVER DE I AARET 1905 |publisher=sbib.dk |date=December 1906 |accessdate=29 April 2026}}</ref> ''Hellig Olav'' was fitted with a wireless telegraph in 1907, becoming the first Danish ship to be installed with one. ''Hellig Olav'' was sailing for New York when at 11.20 am on 13 April 1912, the ship transmitted an ice warning to the United States Hydrographic Office in Washington D.C. after they spotted ice at their position in the North Atlantic at {{coord|41|43|N|49|15|W}}. The following day, the White Star Liner RMS ''Titanic'' on her maiden voyage to New York, struck an iceberg in that same area and sank, resulting in a great loss of life.<ref name=FGC>{{cite web |url=https://www.titanicinquiry.org/ships/helligolav.php |title=Hellig Olav |publisher=titanicinquiry.org |date= |accessdate=29 April 2026}}</ref>
[[File:No-nb bldsa 5d022.jpg|thumb|left|Fridtjof Nansen aboard ''Hellig Olav'' during World War I.]]
After the outbreak of World War I, ''Hellig Olav'' continued her passenger service to New York as Denmark remained a neutral nation during the entire conflict, but the ship was required to paint on neutrality markings as to deter any attacks from German U-boats. Despite this, the ship was laid up in New York from 29 January to 26 April 1917 and once again from 4 June to 8 October 1918. During the conflict ''Hellig Olav'' transported former Norwegian polar explorer Fridtjof Nansen alongside a Norwegian delegation to negotiate the shipment of food and other supplies to Norway as the war had led to acute food shortages in the country. ''Hellig Olav''{{'}}s normal service operations returned following the end of the war on 11 November 1918 and several changes were made to her schedule in 1920 which saw the ship halt at additional ports such as Boston and Halifax. ''Hellig Olav'' underwent a refit to her accommodations in January 1922 which eliminated Second class and therefore only catered to Cabin class and Third Class passengers until a tourist class was added in June 1927. On 21 November 1930, the fellow Scandinavian America Line's passenger ship ''Frederik VIII'' struck an underwater rock just 25 minutes after departing Copenhagen, which sprang a leak and required the vessel to return to port after which ''Frederik VIII''{{'}}s passengers and mail were transferred to ''Hellig Olav''.<ref name=AOL>{{cite web |url=https://www.sbib.dk/files/bibliotek/statistik/1930.pdf |title=DANSK SØULYKKE-STATISTIK 1930 |publisher=sbib.dk |date=August 1931 |accessdate=29 April 2026}}</ref>
== Final Years == [[File:Model of SS Hellig Olav 01.jpg|thumb|left|Model of ''Hellig Olav'' onboard the ferry Pearl Seaways.]] At the beginning of 1931, ''Hellig Olav''{{'}}s sistership ''Oscar II'' was laid up as the Scandinavian America Line saw a decline in passenger numbers, and as the situation only declined further, it was decided to retire ''Hellig Olav'' as well as there just weren't enough passengers to fill up ''Hellig Olav'', her sistership ''United States'' and the line's largest liner ''Frederik VIII''. ''Hellig Olav'' departed New York on her final transatlantic voyage on 23 September 1931 and arrived in Copenhagen on 7 October, after which she was laid up until she was sold to the Hughes Bolckow Shipbreaking Co. Ltd. on 5 March 1934. ''Hellig Olav'' left Copenhagen under her own power for the scrapyard at Blyth, United Kingdom on 9 March 1934, where she arrived on 14 March. Her scrapping commenced on 10 October 1934.<ref name=TFE>{{cite web |url=https://www.faergelejet.dk/faerge.php?id=2728 |title=Hellig Olav |publisher=faergelejet.dk |date=17 June 2013 |accessdate=29 April 2026}}</ref>
==Gallery== <gallery class="center" > File:Hellig Olav LCCN2014698502.jpg|''Hellig Olav'' in 1910. File:Genom Canada 02.jpg|''Hellig Olav'' in 1905. File:Genom Canada 04.jpg|Third Class cabin on ''Hellig Olav'' in 1905. File:Genom Canada 05.jpg|Third Class Dining room on ''Hellig Olav'' in 1905. File:Genom Canada 07.jpg|Third Class promenade on ''Hellig Olav'' in 1905. File:Ukendt kvinde på dækket af skibet Hellig Olav (ship, 1903).jpg|Boat deck of ''Hellig Olav''. </gallery>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{1905 shipwrecks}}
Category:1903 ships Category:Passenger ships Category:Passenger ships of Denmark Category:Steamships of Denmark Category:Ocean liners Category:Ships built in Glasgow Category:Ships built in Scotland Category:Ships built in the United Kingdom Category:Maritime incidents in 1905 Category:World War I ships Category:World War I ships of Denmark Category:DFDS