Banana boat (ship) facts for kids

The Veragua ship, which carried bananas for the United Fruit Company, later became the USS Merak for the U.S. Navy.

A banana boat is a special type of fast ship. These ships, also called banana carriers, were built to quickly move bananas. Bananas spoil easily, so they needed to travel fast from warm places where they grew to North America and Europe. Sometimes, these ships also carried passengers along with the fruit.

A Look Back: History of Banana Boats

Doris Turnbull enjoying a trip on a banana boat in May 1926, traveling from Barbados to England. She wrote a note saying she visited the banana storage areas.

In the early 1900s, banana boats were often fancy passenger ships too. They had refrigerators to keep the bananas cool. Ships like the SS Antigua and SS Contessa carried both fruit and people between Central America and the United States.

Some companies even changed old navy ships into banana carriers. For example, in 1932, the Standard Fruit Company turned four old U.S. Navy destroyer hulls into banana ships. These ships were named Masaya, Matagalpa, Tabasco, and Teapa.

Later, some banana boats were used by the navy during wartime. They became transport ships or carried chilled supplies. The United Fruit Company's ship Quirigua became the USS Mizar. Today, modern banana boats are usually reefer ships. These ships carry cooled bananas one way and then other goods on the way back.

Big Companies and Their Fleets

An advertisement from 1916 for the United Fruit Company's ship service.

Large fruit companies needed many ships to move their bananas. Companies like Standard Fruit Company and United Fruit Company in the United States, and Elders & Fyffes Shipping in Europe, bought or built their own fleets. Some ships only carried bananas, while others also had rooms for passengers.

The United Fruit Company had a huge fleet of ships. They called it The Great White Fleet. For over 100 years, this fleet moved bananas. At one point, they had 100 refrigerated ships. This made them the world's largest private shipping fleet.

Traveling on Banana Boats

People traveling to and from the West Indies often used banana boats. For example, the English cricket team traveled on banana boats in 1959–1960. They used them to cross the Atlantic Ocean and to move between the islands.

Banana boats also helped many people from the West Indies move to Great Britain.

In Popular Culture

You might know the term "banana boat" from a famous song. Harry Belafonte's popular 1956 song "Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)" made the phrase well-known.

Gallery

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  The anti-aircraft ship HMS Palomares in 1941. It was once a banana boat called MV Palomares.

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  The SS Antigua at sea in November 1942.

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  The SS Abangarez, a United Fruit banana boat, around 1945.

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  The MV Dole Ecuador.

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  Dole's ship Tropical Mist in the port of Hamburg.

See also

In Spanish: Barco bananero para niños