''Indus'' was a 2,834 ton

cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. Cargo ships are usu ...

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.

History

''Indus'' was built by Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft,

Flensburg Flensburg (; Danish, Low Saxon: ''Flensborg''; North Frisian: ''Flansborj''; South Jutlandic: ''Flensborre'') is an independent town (''kreisfreie Stadt'') in the north of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg is the centre of the ...

, Germany and launched as ''Sasbeck'' on 27 March 1945. In May 1945, ''Sasbeck'' was one of 502 ships seized by the Allies after Germany was overrun at the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. ''Sasbeck'' was one of the eleven uncompleted ships that was allocated to 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 ...

. She was found at Lübeck in an uncompleted state and passed to the

Ministry of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government age ...

. She was renamed ''Empire Ardle'' and completed in November 1946. In 1947, she 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 ''Lewis Hamilton'', serving until 1950 when she was sold to C H Abrahamsen, Stockholm and renamed ''Indus''. After eighteen years service with Abrahamsen's, ''Indus'' was sold in 1968 to the Seabird Navigation Corporation,

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 ...

, being resold to the Lilly Navigation Corporation,

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

in 1969 and renamed ''Sea Falcon''. In 1970, ''Sea Falcon'' was sold back to Seabird, and served with them until 1971 when she was scrapped in

Avilés Avilés (; ) is a town in Asturias, Spain. Avilés is, along with Oviedo and Gijón, one of the main cities in the Principality of Asturias. The town occupies the flattest land in the municipality, partially in a land that belonged to the sea, ...

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 arrived for scrapping on 15 July 1971.

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 Ardle'' and ''Lewis Hamilton'' 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 ...

181527. ''Indus'' had the Swedish

9218.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Indus (1945) 1945 ships Ships built in Flensburg Steamships of the United Kingdom Merchant ships of the United Kingdom Empire ships Steamships of Sweden Merchant ships of Sweden Steamships of Panama Merchant ships of Panama Steamships of Liberia Merchant ships of Liberia