The vessel was built at the Van der Giessen de Noord shipyard in Krimpen aan den IJssel, Netherlands, for the shipping company Scheepvaart En Steenkolen Mij.

Docked at the Town Pier, local authorities boarded the ship for an inspection when her captain was unable to produce any of the requisite registration papers.

The Hilma Hooker and her crew were subsequently detained while the local authorities on Bonaire searched for the vessel's owners, who were never found.

The ship languished under detention as evidence for many months and through general neglect of her hull she began to take on considerable amounts of water.

The owner was still not coming forward to claim the ship and maintain it so the many leaks added up until on the morning of September 12, 1984 the Hilma Hooker began taking in water through her lower portholes.