Official Number:                       135887

Laid down:

Builder:                                    Irvine’s Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co Ltd., West Hartlepool

Pennant Nr:                             Y3. 769 / Y 2.73 / F 218 /Y 8.120

Launched:                               10 March 1913

Into Service:                            17 June1915

Out of service:                         28 August 1919

Fate:                                      30 January 1928 blown ashore & wrecked

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:

5 June 1913 launched by Irvine’s Shipbuilding & Dry dock Co Ltd., West Hartlepool as Yard Nr: 514 named Ocean Transport for Empire Transport Co Ltd., (Houlder Bros & Co Ltd., Managers), West Hartlepool

5 June 1913 the Hartlepool Northern Daily Mail newspaper reported …

July 1913 completed

30 August 1913 arrived at Port Said from Cardiff

1 October 1913 arrived at Shanghai, China

23 November 1913 passed Sydney Head, NSW

22 December 1913 at Newcastle, NSW

27 December 1913 sailed Newcastle, NSW

7 April 1914 sailed Durban

6 May 1914 arrived at Las Palmas and later sailed the same day for Stettin

10 June 1914 passed Beachy Head sailing west

9 July 1914 arrived Port Said from Cardiff

20 July 1914 arrived at Sataga Bay

17 June 1915 requisitioned for Admiralty service as a collier – name unchanged until 18 August 1915

9 July 1915 at Port Mudros alongside HMS ALBION supplying bunker coal

HMS ALBION

19 August 1915 re-deployed as a Transport carrying sugar until 3 December 1915

11 December 1915 re-deployed as an Armamnents Carrier to Northern Russia for Russian Government a/c until 9 January 1916

10 January 1916 re-deployed as a Collier until 3 April 1916

15 February 1916 and 16 February 1916 at Mudros alongside HMS ENDYMION supplying 620 tons of bunker coal and on 16 February 1916 also alongside HMS GRAFTON supplying 229 tons of bunker coal

HMS ENDYMION

4 April 1916 re-deployed as a Transport to carry sugar from Cuba until 16 June 1916

17 June 1916 re-deployed as a Collier until 26 July 1916

27 July 1916 re-deployed as a Transport to carry sugar from Java until 16 December 1916

17 December 1916 re-deployed as an Expeditionary Force Transport to carry Canadian stores until 26 April 1917

27 April 1917 re-deployed as a Collier until 6 June 1917

7 June 1917 re-deployed as a Transport to carry wheat from Canada until 31 July 1917

1 August 1917 re-deployed on Italian Government Service as a Collier until 15 January 1918

16 January 1918 re-deployed as a Transport to carry sugar from Cuba until 11 April 1918

12 April 1918 re-deployed as a Collier until 11 June 1918

12 June 1918 re-deployed as a Transport to carry wheat from Karachi until 23 August 1918

24 August 1918 re-deployed as a Transport to carry wheat from the United States and finally sugar from Cuba

17 April 1919 re-deployed as a Stores Carrier – name unchanged

28 August 1919 returned to her owners – name unchanged

29 January 1920 reported that she had a fire in her bunkers when on passage from Baltimore to Manchester

23 January 1921 sailed from New Orleans for Hull

24 September 1927 the Sydney Morning Herald (an Australian newspaper) reported –

30 January 1928 was blown ashore in a hurricane and was wrecked on Ocean Island (Nauru)

Ocean Transport after being blown ashore