Advice was received in Auckland, on the 8th January 1903, that the barque, bound from Nuku'alofa to Europe with a cargo of 800 tons of copra, was abandoned off the Kermadec Islands. The crew left in boats and landed on Raoul Island, but finding no inhabitants, they left again for Tonga, where they arrived after a voyage of 12 days. The men suffered no hardships, the boats being well provisioned. The master stated that the Malmen encountered squally weather and a heavy head sea, which caused her to leak. On the 13th December 1902, the ship's hold was flooded to a depth of 10 feet. On that day it was also discovered that a portion of the cargo had caught fire. The flames spread rapidly, and soon enveloped the whole ship, and it was decided to abandon the vessel.

The Malmen, 647 ton gross and 595 tons net register, built at Grimstead, Norway in 1892 by J F Fryde. Dimensions were, length 156.3ft, beam 33.2ft, depth 17.2ft. She was owned by J E Jahnsen and was registered at Lillesand, Norway. Captain Nilson was in command.