AHS Tasman

Australian Hospital Ship Tasman (AHS Tasman) was a 5172 gross tonne hospital ship converted from SS Tasman owned and operated by Koninklijke Paketvaart-Maatschappij (KPM), Batavia.

Laid down by Earle & Co., Hull in 1922 for KPM and named SS Tasman. She sailed the Java-Australia and China-South Africa routes carrying up to 96 passengers. At the outbreak of hostilities between Japan and China in 1937, SS Tasman was docked at the city of Shanghai during the bombing of Shangai, but escaped undamaged. In 1941 during World War II, she again escaped capture and damage during the fall of Singapore.

She was initially used in the merchant navy and transported Australian and American troops from Sydney to New Guinea. She was at Milne Bay, with HMAS Arunta when advised of an approaching invasion fleet and both sailed immediately for Port Moresby. In 1943, she was transferred to the control of the Australian Government and was converted to a hospital ship at the cost of the United States government. She was equipped to carry 250 patients and continued to be crewed by Dutch officers and Javanese (Indonesian) sailors, flying the Dutch Flag. She served in the South West Pacific area and was at the vanguard throughout the Pacific campaign and transported repatriated prisoners of war from the Japanese prison camps at Santo Tomas, Philippines.

After the end of World War II, she was returned to her owners KPM on 1 July 1947. Later she was transferred to Koninklijke Java-China Paketvaart Lijnen in 1948 before being transferred back to KPM in 1955. She was sold and broken up for scrap in Hong Kong in 1958.