Dunedin Star had a pair of 9-cylinder, two-stroke, single-acting Sulzer Bros marine diesel engines developing a total of 2,516 NHP and driving twin screws.

[2] After the United Kingdom entered the Second World War in September 1939 Dunedin Star initially continued her cargo liner service between Britain and Australia.

She called at Las Palmas, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, East London, Durban, Lourenço Marques, Sydney and Rockhampton, and reached Brisbane on 26 November.

She spent Christmas of 1939 sailing west across the Indian Ocean and New Year's Day of 1940 in Cape Town, then called at Las Palmas.

She began her return voyage six days later, and called at Albany, Western Australia; Fremantle; Cape Town and Las Palmas, reaching London on 3 May.

She called at Lisbon, São Vicente, Cape Verde, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Cairns, and reached Townsville in northeastern Queensland on 18 July.

Therefore, when Dunedin Star began her voyage home from Townsville on 21 July, she called at Rockhampton and Sydney but then turned east across the Pacific Ocean to Panama.

The ship called at Curaçao in the Netherlands Antilles before crossing the North Atlantic, reaching Avonmouth on the Bristol Channel on 10 September.

She made the Red Sea leg of her voyage from Suez to Aden with Convoy SW 4B,[5] then detached and crossed the Indian Ocean unescorted.

On 27 September 1941, the Mediterranean Italian Regia Aeronautica aircraft attacked the convoy but were repulsed by naval escorts and air cover.

In a heavy sea she grounded 550 yards (500 m) offshore, about 50 miles (80 km) south of the Cunene River mouth which formed the border with Portuguese Angola.

The boat completed two trips, putting ashore a total of 63 people including eight women, three babies and a number of elderly men.

[10] A South African Railways and Harbours tug, the 328 GRT Sir Charles Elliot, left Walvis Bay and headed north to reach the wreck.

The 197 GRT minesweeper HMSAS Nerine, a converted civilian vessel, left Walvis Bay at 14h00 on 30 November, laden with emergency supplies packed into Carley floats to take ashore to the survivors on the beach.

Meanwhile, from Windhoek a land rescue convoy, led by Captain JWB Smith of the South African Police, set out to reach those survivors who were ashore.

Temeraire again lowered her motorboat, which in four trips rescued the remaining 32 men from Dunedin Star and transferred them all to Sir Charles Elliot.

In the heavy sea the tug then struggled to get alongside Manchester Division to transfer all of the rescued men except Captain Lee and his chief and second engineers, who were taken aboard Nerine.

[10] On 3 December, Sir Charles Elliot left to return to Walvis Bay, but about 06h00 the next morning she grounded just north of Rocky Point.

Most of her crew managed to swim ashore through the strong current, but First Officer Angus McIntyre and deckhand Mathias Korabseb did not survive.

[10] At 14h00 on 3 December, a South African Air Force Lockheed Ventura coastal patrol aircraft was sent from Cape Town to drop supplies on the beach for the survivors.

The next day it was discovered that the Ventura's undercarriage had sunk through the crusted surface of the salt, damaging the aircraft and leaving it stuck in the sand.

However, after only 43 minutes' flying time the aircraft developed engine trouble and crashed into the sea about 200 yards offshore near Rocky Point.

[10][12] All of Dunedin Star's passengers, crew and DEMS gunners survived, thanks to the courage and resource of many rescuers by sea, air, and land.

Dunedin Star's chief electrician went on to serve on the landing ship Empire Javelin, and was killed when she sank in the English Channel on 28 December 1944.

[citation needed] After the War, Blue Star Line bought a cargo ship that was being built by Alexander Stephen and Sons at Linthouse on the River Clyde.