Official Number: 102764
Builder: Wm Gray & Co Ltd., West Hartlepool
Pennant No:
Launched: 17 April 1893
Into Service: 2 September 1914
Out of service: 11 October 1916
Fate: 1916 Torpedoed and sunk
Items of historic interest involving this ship: –
Background Data: One of an additional group of ships requisitioned by the Admiralty during WW1 to augment the ships of the RFA
Career Data:
17 April 1893 launched by Wm Gray & Co Ltd, West Hartlepool as Yard Nr: 450 named ELAX for M. Samuel & Co, London
May 1893 completed
28 September 1893 sailed Kobe, Japan
21 November 1893 sailed Colombo for London
15 December 1893 passed Gibraltar while on passage from Singapore to London
7 March 1894 at Rangoon Fireman David Norman discharged dead from a liver abscess
11 May 1894 at Singapore 4th Engineer Officer E G Lewis discharged dead from enteric fever
17 September 1894 at Hong Kong Engineer James Bradford Trew discharged dead from enteric fever
12 April 1895 sailed Colombo, Ceylon
1898 owners became Shell Transport & Trading Co Ltd (M Samuel & Co., Managers) London – name unchanged
17 July 1902 at the Dardenelles Serang R Rodriguez discharged dead from heart disease
25 August 1904 at sea at 21.49N 114.28E Bosun Wong Chow discharged dead – washed overboard during a typhoon
6 March 1906 arrived at Port Adelaide, Australia from Singapore and grounded on the eastern bank of the Port Adelaide River. The vessel suffered no damage and was refloated
7 March 1906 at Port Adelaide, Australia while her cargo was being discharged into a lighter, which was laying alongside, an explosion in a case of benzine occured in the lighter causing slight injury to a man in the barge
5 May 1906 berthed at Tanjong Pagar
17 September 1906 berthed at Tanjong Pagar
1907 owners restyled as Anglo Saxon Petroleum Co Ltd, London name unchanged
18 October 1907 at Philadelphia Fireman Thomas Cahill discharged dead from peritonitis
23 November 1907 at Kusteadje, Roumania 1st Fireman Mungah Sow discharged dead from heart disease
18 August 1908 berthed at Singapore from Balik Papan to discharge
20 April 1909 berthed at Singapore from Balik Papan with 1,600 tons of Borneo kerosine for Pulo Bukon and 3,560 tons for Bombay
8 October 1909 at Singapore
13 October 1909 at sea at 19.01N 111.16E Seaman Chow Hoe discharged dead – fell from aloft
18 September 1910 berthed at Balik Papan from Hong Kong
5 October 1910 berthed at Singapore after striking submerged rocks off Pulo Samboe causing serious hull damage. Her cargo was discharged to permit repairs to be made
24 January 1911 sailed Balik Papan for Sydney, NSW
18 December 1912 arrived at Balik Papan from Sydney, NSW
28 December 1913 arrived at New Orleans from Barrow
8 January 1914 sailed Newport News for Trieste. Put into St. Michael’s, Azores having suffered damage from very bad weather
9 February 1914 when on passage from New Orleans for Trieste in collision with British steamer Elfrida. Location not shown in telegram from Algiers. No damage to the ss Elax. Ss Elfrida suffered 12 plates being bent – both able to proceed
15 July 1914 passed Pantelleria
27 July 1914 at sea 3rd Engineer Officer V K Brice discharged dead from heat stroke
28 July 1914 arrived at Aden when on passage from Rotterdam to the East Indies
2 September 1914 requisitioned for Admiralty service as an oiler – name unchanged at a monthly fee of £2,571 until 2 March 1915
13 September 1914 between Madura Island and Singapore checked by HMS HAMSHIRE and allowed to proceed
2 April 1915 sailed Rangoon for Bombay
6 May 1915 at Singapore Captain John E Reynolds, the ships Master, discharged dead from malaria
20 August 1915 arrived at Balek Pappan
31 August 1916 re-deployed as an oiler for Admiralty service – name unchanged – at a monthly fee of 10/3d per d.w.t until ….
10 October 1916 was torpedoed and sunk by German submarine UB-43 70 miles WSW of Cape Matapan while on passage from Rangoon to Malta with a cargo of fuel oil. There were no casualties