SS Empire Admiral

Last updated

Ssbenledi SSEmpireAdmiral.jpg
SS Empire Admiral as SS Benledi
History
Name
  • Empire Admiral (1945-47)
  • Peter Dal (1947-51)
  • Benledi (1951-63)
  • Andros Tommeno (1963-66)
  • Unique Carrier (1966-69)
Owner
  • Ministry of War Transport (1945-47)
  • Dalhousie Steam and Motorship Co, London (1947-51)
  • W Thompson & Co, Edinburgh (1951-53)
  • E G Thompson Ltd (1953-63)
  • Andros Navigation Co, Nassau (1963)
  • Frank Shipping Co Ltd, Liberia (1963-66)
  • Unique Maritime Corporation, Liberia (1966-69)
Operator
  • Alfred Holt & Co (1945)
  • Glen Line (1945-47)
  • Kaye & Co (1947)
  • Dalhousie Steam and Motorship Co (1947-51)
  • Ben Line Steamers (1951-63)
  • Thereafter owner operated
Port of registry
  • Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg Barrow in Furness (1945-63)
  • Civil Ensign of the Bahamas.svg Bahamas (1963)
  • Flag of Liberia.svg Liberia (1963-69)
BuilderVickers-Armstrongs Ltd, Barrow in Furness
Yard number859
Launched26 March 1945
CompletedAugust 1945
Identification
FateScrapped in Taiwan, 1969
General characteristics
Tonnage7,842 GRT
Length451 ft (137.46 m)
Beam66 ft 7 in (20.29 m)
Depth31 ft (9.45 m)
Propulsion2 x steam turbines driving a single screw through double reduction gearing.
Speed15 knots (28 km/h)

SS Empire Admiral was a 7,842 ton steamship which was built in 1945 for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT), she was sold in 1947 becoming Peter Dal, and sold again in 1951 and renamed Benledi. In 1953 she was sold to Bahamas and renamed Andros Tommeno, being resold later that year to Liberia. In 1966 she was resold and renamed Unique Carrier, serving until 1969 when she was scrapped in Taiwan.

Contents

History

Empire Admiral was built by Vickers-Armstrongs Ltd, Barrow in Furness for the Ministry of War Transport and launched on 26 March 1945, being completed the following August. [1] She was managed by H Hogarth & Sons initially, with management passing to A Weir & Co, London in 1946. In 1947, Empire Admiral was sold to A Weir & Co and renamed Peter Dal. [2] On 21 October 1949, an onboard explosion killed one crew member and injured two others. Peter Dal was only slightly damaged. [3] In 1950, Peter Dal was sold to W Thompson & Co, Edinburgh who traded as Ben Line, and was renamed Benledi. [2] On 24 February 1950, [4] Benledi caught fire in the Mediterranean east of Malta. [5] The 44 crew took to the lifeboats and were rescued by the tanker British Liberty. Benledi was assisted into Malta with the help of HMS Childers, the salvage ship RFA Sea Salvor and the tug HMS Brigand. [4] In 1953, Benledi was sold to E G Thomson Ltd, remaining within the Ben Line fleet. [2]

In 1963, Benledi was sold to Andros Navigation Co., Nassau, Bahamas and renamed Andros Tommeno, being resold later that year to Frank Shipping Co Ltd, Liberia. In 1966, Andros Tommeno was sold to Unique Maritime Corporation, Liberia and renamed Unique Carrier, serving until 1969 [2] when she arrived for scrapping on 27 February 1969 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. [1]

Official number and code letters

Official Numbers were a forerunner to IMO Numbers.

Empire Admiral had the UK Official Number 169038 and used the Code Letters GFJQ. [6]

Related Research Articles

SS Empire Aden was a 7,308 ton steamship which was built in 1945 for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT), she was sold in 1948 becoming Etivebank, and sold in 1956 and renamed Alcyone Fortune. In 1958 she was sold to Panama and renamed Northern Venture serving until running aground off Okinawa in 1967.

Indus was a 2,834 ton cargo ship which was built in Germany in 1945 and launched as Sasbeck. She was seized uncompleted at Lübeck in 1946 and renamed Empire Ardle. In 1947 she was renamed Lewis Hamilton and then in 1950 she was renamed Indus. In 1968 she was renamed Falcon and then Sea Falcon, serving until 1971 when she was scrapped.

Empire Conrad was a 7,009 GRT cargo ship that was built in 1942 by Charles Connell & Co Ltd, Clydebank for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). She was sold to a French company in 1952 and renamed Franta and then resold later that year and renamed Nia. In 1954, she was sold to a Panamanian company and renamed Eugenia. She served until 1967, when she was scrapped.

Andromachi was a 7,056 GRT cargo ship that was built as Empire Favour in 1945 by Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Co Ltd, Dundee for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). She was sold in 1947 and renamed Epsom. Sales in 1950 saw her renamed Tharros and Errington Court. In 1956, she was sold to Liberia and renamed Penelope. A further sale in 1961 saw her renamed Andromachi. She was set afire at Suez in June 1969 during the War of Attrition and was abandoned. The wreck was scrapped in 1976.

Empire Fisher was a 268 GRT trawler that was built as Herrlichkeit in 1922 by Reiherstieg Schiffswerfte & Maschinenfabrik, Hamburg, Germany for the Nordsee Deutsche Hochsee Fischerei Bremen-Cuxhaven AG. She was captured in 1940 by HMS Glasgow, passed to the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) and renamed Empire Fisher. She was sold in 1948. Sold for scrapping in 1952, she was resold to Ireland and scrapped later that year.

RFA <i>Wave Baron</i> Wave-class oiler of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary

Wave Baron was a 8,159 GRT Wave-class oiler that was built in 1946 as Empire Flodden by Furness Shipbuilding Co Ltd, Haverton Hill-on-Tees, County Durham, United Kingdom for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). She was transferred to the Royal Fleet Auxiliary and renamed Wave Baron. She was withdrawn from service in 1969 and scrapped in 1972.

Chaksang was a 1,923 GRT Hansa A type cargo ship which was built in 1944 as Weserbrück by Deutsche Werft, Hamburg, Germany for Norddeutscher Lloyd. She was seized by the Allies in an incomplete state in 1945 and completed as Empire Fraser for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). She was sold in 1946 to the Indo-China Steam Navigation Co Ltd and renamed Chaksang. Suffering an on-board explosion and fire in September 1949, she sank at Hong Kong. She was subsequently raised and scrapped in 1950.

References

  1. 1 2 "1169038" . Miramar Ship Index . Retrieved 11 December 2008.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "EMPIRE - A". Mariners-L. Retrieved 11 December 2008.
  3. ↑ "Explosion In British Ship". The Times. No. 51522. London. 26 October 1949. col E, p. 3.
  4. 1 2 "British Ship on fire in the Mediterranean". The Times. No. 51625. London. 25 February 1950. col G, p. 6.
  5. ↑ "Ship Fire Moderating". The Times. No. 51626. London. 27 February 1950. col D, p. 3.
  6. ↑ "LLOYD'S REGISTER, NAVIRES A VAPEUR ET A MOTEURS" (PDF). Plimsoll Ship Data. Retrieved 10 January 2009.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.