Hi Meredith,
I looked up the ships at "UK Records: Crew lists at Record Offices" (
http://www.crewlist.org.uk/data/sourcesRO.php) and here are the search results:
Crew Lists in British Institutions:
SS Glenfruin 119134: None
SS Verbena 102726: None
SS Corby 115220: 1914-1924 only
Maritime History Archive:
SS Glenfruin 119134: None
SS Verbena 102726: None
SS Corby 115220: 1908-1913 only
Misc, gathered around the web:
This is a book from 1906 that discusses shipping from Cardiff:
http://goo.gl/Y1XEHThis is a book from 1904 that discusses general exports from Rio:
http://goo.gl/dgD4kCalcutta's main exports were minerals (iron ore and coal) - they were the world's top supplier - as well as TONS of tea and coffee.
Sadly, the SS Glenfruin, carrying iron ore, was sunk by a German U-Boat on 29 Jan 1918 off the coast of Ireland, and the crew of 32 had no survivors. The link will take you to a site with details and a wreck map:
http://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?37301I did find various mentions in online newspapers, but they were mostly Speaking Reports: When a ship makes contact with another ship and reports its location, it was reported to the shipping office and occasionally printed in the local papers (i.e., "Br str [British Steamer] Glenfruin at [longitude, latitude]. Reported strong wind from the NE may delay arrival.") but I couldn't find any mentions from 1904-1905.
I stumbled across this article, called "An Ocean Liner's Crew - Working on a Steamship in 1906" that you may enjoy:
http://www.gjenvick.com/SteamshipArticles/SteamshipCrew/1906...I'm sure you've already checked the crew lists available on Ancestry and have seen the available records on Karl Emil Hjelte - I did see one of them.
I hope that SOME of this is new information! Let me know if I can provide any further assistance - good luck!
Nancy