MV ''Murell'' was a coaster that was built in 1940 as ''Fiddown'' by Goole Shipbuilding & Repairing Co Ltd, Goole, Yorkshire, United Kingdom for S Morris Ltd. In 1940, she was run down and sunk by in the Mersey Estuary. She was salvaged in 1942, repaired and passed to the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT), renamed ''Empire Estuary''. She was sold into merchant service in 1946 and renamed ''Goldfawn''. A further sale in 1952 saw her renamed ''Creekdawn''. A sale to an Irish company in 1954 saw her renamed ''Murell''. She served until 1972, when she was scrapped.

Description

The ship was built in 1940 by Goole Shipbuilding & Repairing Co Ltd, Goole, Yorkshire. She was yard number 350. The ship was long, with a beam of . She had a depth of , and a draught of . She was assessed at , ,, The ship was propelled by a 115

nhp Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are the ...

two-stroke Single Cycle, Single Action diesel engine, which had six cylinders of diameter by stroke driving a single screw

propeller A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...

. The engine was built by Crossley Brother Ltd, Manchester, Lancashire.

History

World War II

''Fiddown'' was built for S Morris Ltd, Goole. She was launched on 9 May 1940 and completed in July. She was built for S Morris Ltd, Dublin, Ireland. Due to wartime export restrictions, she was placed under the

British Flag The national flag of the United Kingdom is the Union Jack, also known as the Union Flag. The design of the Union Jack dates back to the Act of Union 1801 which united the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland (previously in per ...

, with Goole as her port of registry. The United Kingdom

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 ...

164907 and

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 ...

MJJY were allocated., Little is known of her service, although she was a member of Convoy FN 222, which departed from Southend, Essex on 14 July 1940 and arrived at

Methil Methil (Scottish Gaelic: Meadhchill) is an eastern coastal town in Scotland. It was first recorded as "Methkil" in 1207, and belonged to the Bishop of St Andrews. Two Bronze Age cemeteries have been discovered which date the settlement as ov ...

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

two days later. On 29 November 1941, ''Fiddown'' collided with in the Mersey Estuary and sunk. She was raised and beached at Tranmere,

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

on 7 July 1942. On 10 July, she was refloated and taken to a shipyard for repairs. ''Fiddown'' was requisitioned by the MoWT. She was renamed ''Empire Estuary'' and re-entered service in 1943. She was placed under the management of Craggs & Jenkin Ltd, remaining registered at Goole and retaining the Code Letters MJJY. On 2 June 1944, ''Empire Estuary'' joined Convoy EBC 1, which departed from

Barry Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 19 ...

Glamorgan , HQ = Cardiff , Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974) , Origin= , Code = GLA , CodeName = Chapman code , Replace = * West Glamorgan * Mid Glamorgan * South Glamorgan , Motto ...

and sailed to the St Helens Roads, off the Isle of Wight. She then sailed to the Solent to join Convoy EBC 3W, which departed on 8 June and arrived at the

Seine Bay The Baie de Seine (Bay of the Seine River) is a bay in northern France. Geography It is a wide, rectangular inlet of the English Channel, approximately 100 kilometres (east-west) by 45 kilometres, bounded in the west by the Cotentin Peninsula, in ...

, France the next day. She was to spend the next three months sailing between the Seine Bay and Southend, with a couple of visits to Southampton, Hampshire in August. In September, ''Empire Estuary'' was operating in convoys between

Newhaven, East Sussex Newhaven is a port town in East Sussex in England, lying at the mouth of the River Ouse. The town developed during the Middle Ages as the nearby port of Seaford began drying up, forcing a new port to be established. A sheltered harbour was b ...

and Dieppe, France.

Post-war

In 1946, ''Empire Estuary'' was sold to E J & W Goldsmith Ltd, London and renamed ''Goldfawn''. In 1952, ''Goldfawn'' was sold to Springwell Shipping Co Ltd, London and renamed ''Creekdawn''. In 1952, ''Creekdawn'' was sold to James Tyrrell, Arklow, and renamed ''Murell'' (derived from his wife's name, Kathleen Muriel Tyrrell (née Hicks)). In 1966, Arklow Shipping Ltd was formed in Arklow. ''Murell'' was one of the original seven ships owned by the company. She served until February 1972, when she was scrapped in Dublin.

Description

History

World War II

Post-war

References

Further reading