''Brita'' was a

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 ...

that was built in 1908 by Sunderland Shipbuilding Ltd,

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

as ''Odland'' for

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

owners. A sale in 1922 saw her renamed ''Odland 1''. In 1928, she was sold to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

and renamed ''Brita''. She was seized by

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

in 1940 at

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

, Norway and impressed into service under the name ''Desiderus Siedler''. In May 1945, she was seized by the Allies at

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, passed to 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 ...

(MoWT) and renamed ''Empire Connell''. In 1947, she was sold into merchant service and renamed ''Ballyholme Bay''. In 1951, she was sold to

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

and renamed ''Laure Pattison''. She served until 1952, when she was scrapped.

Description

The ship was built in 1908 by Sunderland Shipbuilding Co Ltd, Sunderland. The ship was long, with a beam of . She had a depth of . The ship had a GRT of 1,252 and a NRT of 704. The ship was propelled by a

triple expansion steam engine A compound steam engine unit is a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages. A typical arrangement for a compound engine is that the steam is first expanded in a high-pressure ''(HP)'' cylinder, then having given up he ...

, which had cylinders of , and diameter by . The engine was built by North East Marine Engine Co Ltd, Sunderland.

History

''Odland'' was built for Dampskibsakties Odland. She was placed under the management of H Fredriksen, Christiania. In June 1909, ''Odland'' was driven ashore in Murray Bay, Quebec,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. On 16 March 1920, ''Odland'' rescued the crew of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...

in the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

, off

St Catherine's Point St Catherine's Point is the southernmost point on the Isle of Wight. It is close to the village of Niton and the point where the Back of the Wight changes to the Undercliff of Ventnor. On nearby St Catherine's Down is St Catherine's Oratory, loc ...

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

. The

Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for International Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...

awarded her captain a piece of

plate Plate may refer to: Cooking * Plate (dishware), a broad, mainly flat vessel commonly used to serve food * Plates, tableware, dishes or dishware used for setting a table, serving food and dining * Plate, the content of such a plate (for example: ...

for rescuing the crew of ''Rosa Harriette'', who had been adrift for 16 hours. In 1922, ''Odland'' was sold to Borre Dampskibsselskap AS and renamed ''Odland 1''. In 1924, she was sold to Dampskibs AS Martha and renamed ''Brita''. In 1928, she was sold to Rederi AB Väsby, Sweden. Her port of registry was changed to Lergerbet. 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 ...

KGNJ and Swedish

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 ...

7447 were allocated. ''Brita'' was operated under the management of Filip Ohlsson. In 1934, her code letters were changed to SDMI. On 9 April 1940, ''Brita'' was in port at

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

while on a voyage from Sweden to France with a cargo of

woodpulp Pulp is a lignocellulosic fibrous material prepared by chemically or mechanically separating cellulose fibers from wood, fiber crops, waste paper, or rags. Mixed with water and other chemical or plant-based additives, pulp is the major raw mate ...

when she was seized by German forces. She was transferred to a German port the following month and in December 1940 the

Prize Court A prize court is a court (or even a single individual, such as an ambassador or consul) authorized to consider whether prizes have been lawfully captured, typically whether a ship has been lawfully captured or seized in time of war or under the te ...

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

declared that her cargo was contraband. Ownership of ''Brita'' was assumed by the German Government. ''Brita'' was renamed ''Desiderus Siedler'' and placed under the management of F G Rheingold, Danzig. In May 1945, ''Desiderus Siedler'' was seized by the Allies at

. She was passed to the MoWT and renamed ''Empire Connell''. Her port of registry was changed to

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 she was placed under the management of Charles M Willie & Co (Shipping) Ltd. The Code Letters GNMN and United Kingdom

were allocated. In 1947, ''Empire Connell'' was sold to H P Lenaghan & Sons Ltd,

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

and was renamed ''Ballyholme Bay''. (Ballyholme Bay is off

Bangor, County Down Bangor ( ; ) is a city and seaside resort in County Down, Northern Ireland, on the southern side of Belfast Lough. It is within the Belfast metropolitan area and is 13 miles (22 km) east of Belfast city centre, to which it is linked ...

, Northern Ireland, and US troops trained there for the

Normandy landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

World War II 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 ...

.) In 1951, she was sold to Pattison Orient Line,

and was renamed ''Laure Pattison'', serving until 1952 when she was scrapped.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brita 1908 ships Ships built on the River Wear Steamships of Norway World War I merchant ships of Norway Steamships of Sweden Captured ships World War II merchant ships of Sweden Steamships of Germany World War II merchant ships of Germany Ministry of War Transport ships Empire ships Steamships of the United Kingdom Merchant ships of the United Kingdom Steamships of Hong Kong Merchant ships of Hong Kong