''Empire Aldgate'' was a 3,485-ton,

heavy-lift ship A heavy-lift ship is a vessel designed to move very large loads that cannot be handled by normal ships. They are of two types: *''Semi-submersible'' ships that take on water ballast to allow the load—usually another vessel—to be floated o ...

which was built in 1945. She was renamed ''Thackeray'' in 1948, ''Sugar Refiner'' in 1951, ''San Patricio'' in 1958, and ''San Miguel'' in 1965. She was abandoned by her owners in 1965 and scrapped in 1967.

History

''Empire Aldgate'' was built by W Gray Ltd,

West Hartlepool West Hartlepool was a predecessor of Hartlepool, County Durham, England. It developed in the Victorian era and took the name from its western position in the parish of what is now known as the Headland. The former town was originally formed in ...

as yard number 1180. She was launched on 10 May 1945 and completed in July. ''Empire Aldgate'' was built for the

Ministry of War Transport The Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) was a department of the British Government formed early in the Second World War to control transportation policy and resources. It was formed by merging the Ministry of Shipping and the Ministry of Transport ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and operated under the management of Glen & Co Ltd. In 1948, ''Empire Alderney'' was sold to the Rodney Steamship Co,

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and renamed ''Thackeray''. She served with them for until 1951 when she was sold to Silvertown Services Ltd, London and renamed ''Sugar Refiner''. She was operated under the management of R S Dalgleish & Co,

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

, until January 1953 when management passed to Kentships Ltd. In 1958, she was sold to Valck & Monkton, Valparaiso,

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

, and renamed ''San Patricio''. They sold her to the Worldwide Maritime Co,

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

, in 1962. In 1965, ''San Patricio'' was sold to the Altair Maritime Corporation, Liberia, who renamed her ''San Miguel''. On 12 September 1965, ''San Miguel'' put into

Las Palmas Las Palmas (, ; ), officially Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is a Spain, Spanish city and capital of Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands, on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital (jointly with Santa Cruz de Tenerife), the most populous city in th ...

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

, due to problems with her boilers. She was ''en route'' from

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, to

Tarragona Tarragona (, ; Phoenician: ''Tarqon''; la, Tarraco) is a port city located in northeast Spain on the Costa Daurada by the Mediterranean Sea. Founded before the fifth century BC, it is the capital of the Province of Tarragona, and part of Tar ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. She was towed to Tarragona in October 1965 and then abandoned by her owners. In August 1967, ''San Miguel'' was towed to Cartagena, Spain, where she was scrapped in September of that year.

Official number and code letters

Official Numbers were a forerunner to

IMO Numbers IMO or Imo may refer to: Biology and medicine * Irish Medical Organisation, the main organization for doctors in the Republic of Ireland * Intelligent Medical Objects, a privately held company specializing in medical vocabularies * Isomaltooligosa ...

. ''Empire Aldgate'' had the UK

Official Number Official numbers are ship identifier numbers assigned to merchant ships by their flag state, country of registration. Each country developed its own official numbering system, some on a national and some on a port-by-port basis, and the formats hav ...

180083 from 1945–58 and used the

Code Letters Code letters or ship's call sign (or callsign) Mtide Taurus - IMO 7626853"> SHIPSPOTTING.COM >> Mtide Taurus - IMO 7626853/ref> were a method of identifying ships before the introduction of modern navigation aids and today also. Later, with the i ...

MPBM.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Empire Aldgate 1945 ships Empire ships Steamships of the United Kingdom Ministry of War Transport ships Merchant ships of the United Kingdom Steamships of Chile Merchant ships of Chile Steamships of Liberia Merchant ships of Liberia