M/V Noel Roberts, built in Harbour Island 1943, owned by MP Noel Roberts of Nassau

by Eric Wiberg

MAILBOAT NAME: M/V Noel Roberts
PAST NAMES: none
DIMENSIONS: 115′ long, 23.3′ wide, 11.3′ depth of hold, 141 net tons, 180 gross tons, 180 horsepower engine/s, Official # 174300
CONSTRUCTION: wood
YEAR BUILT: 1943
BUILDER: not known
OWNER: Noel Roberts Limited, Nassau, N.P., Bahamas
EARLY CAREER: likely serviced Dunmore Town, Harbour Island, North Eleuthera, from Nassau
BAHAMAS CAREER: likely serviced Dunmore Town, Harbour Island, North Eleuthera

CAPTAINS: not known
FATE: served at least 18 years, as is listed in the 1957 edition of the “Mercantile Navy List and Maritime Directory,” of that year (Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, London, 1957). Also there is a law case showing that the M/V Noel Roberts was still carrying freight in 1961:
 
“…a crate of plate glass, was shipped on April 20, 1961, aboard the Motor Vessel “Noel Roberts” under a bill of lading which contained no statement as to the value of the cargo or the mode of shipment aboard the vessel.”

According to the Kingston, Jamaica “Gleaner,” May 15, 1948, she carried lumber at least as far as Jamaica.

Source, http://newspaperarchive.com/kingston-gleaner/1948-05-15/page-17

 

Noel Roberts, MP, LLB, was a prominent businessman and MP for Harbour Island. His son Noel Roberts also represented Harbour Island between 1972 and 1977, then from 1987 to 1997. His grand daughter was named Noelle – I had the privilege of being in her home room at St. Andrew’s School.

 
 

 

“The former Member of Parliament Mr. Noel Roberts has died.  Mr. Roberts represented the St. John’s (Eleuthera) Constituency for the FNM.  Mr. Roberts who was the son of the late Sir George Roberts, was 64. He was first elected to the House of Assembly in 1972 as the MP for St. John’s, when the FNM ran for the first time.  He served until 1977.  He was again elected in 1987 for St. Johns where he served until 1997.” [Dated June, 2002, meaning that in 1943 when the M/V Noel Roberts was built, he would have been about 4 years old, so the vessel would have been named after his father].
 
 
Sources: “Mercantile Navy List and Maritime Directory,” Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, London, 1957, http://www.shipindex.org/ships/noel_roberts, Nassau Glass Company vs. Noel Roberts, Ltd., 29 F.Supp. 116 (1965), http://174.123.24.242/leagle/xmlResult.aspx?xmldoc=1965365249FSupp116_1344.xml&docbase=CSLWAR1-1950-1985