Hong Kong bound vehicles diverted to ?

[Mark W. Tonner]

Originally posted by sapper740
I've always had a suspicion that the Captain of the DON JOSE either had orders or took it upon himself to delay the arrival of those vehicles until the outbreak of hostilities so that they may be converted to American use.
Consider this: The AWATEA and the PRINCE ROBERT arrived in Hong Kong after a passage of 20 days, which is no speed record of which to boast. The DON JOSE after 34 days of sailing had still not arrived in Hong Kong, making it the proverbial, "slow boat to China!" Yet it only took the DON JOSE 5 days to make it to Manila from it's course to Hong Kong, assuming the ship turned south on Dec. 7th. I'd like to see the ship's log. Anyway, here's another conspiracy theory for Oliver Stone fans to ponder!

Hi Derek;

Regarding the slowness of the DON JOSE:

- it left Vancouver on 4 November
- original scheduled route was Shanghi - Hong Kong - Manila, which would have put it into Hong Kong on 6 December
- the ship's Captain was given instructions by the U.S.N. to proceed via Honolulu - Manila first
- on route from Honolulu to Manila, she was instructed not to proceed directly, but via Torres Strait and the Molucca Passage, which is well south of the direct route
- after passing the Hawaiian Islands, she was ordered to 'darken ship' and to 'maintain radio silence' west of 160 degrees West

Cheers