''Empire Caicos'' 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 ...

which was built in 1945 for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). She was sold in 1946 and renamed ''Sugar Transporter''. In 1957 she was sold and renamed ''Pattawilya''. In 1962, she was sold and renamed ''Clovelly'', serving until she was damaged in a storm in 1967 and then scrapped later that year.

Description

''Empire Caicos'' was built by William Gray & Co. Ltd., West Hartlepool for the MoWT. She was launched on 28 February 1945 and completed in March. The ship was long, with a beam of and a depth of }. She had a GRT of 3,533 and a NRT of 2,250. She was propelled by a triple expansion steam engine which had cylinders of , and diameter by stroke. The engine was built by the Central Marine Engineering Works, West Hartlepool. The engine could propel her at .

History

''Empire Caicos'' was allocated 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 ...

180082. She 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 ...

GFDY. She was owned by the MoWT and operated under the management of H Hogarth & Sons Ltd. In 1946, management was transferred to the Rodney Steamship Co Ltd. In 1950, ''Empire Caicos'' was sold to Silvertown Services Ltd and renamed ''Sugar Transporter''. She was placed under the management of R S Dalgleish Ltd, Newcastle upon Tyne. In 1953, management was transferred to Kentships Ltd. In the aftermath of

Hurricane Charlie The name Charley or Charlie has been used for eight tropical cyclones and one subtropical cyclone in the Atlantic Ocean, and for one tropical cyclone in the Australian region of the South Pacific Ocean. In the Atlantic: * Hurricane Charlie (1950 ...

, ''Sugar Transporter'' departed

Rochester, Kent Rochester ( ) is a town in the unitary authority of Medway, in Kent, England. It is at the lowest bridging point of the River Medway, about from London. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Chatham, Rainham, Strood and Gillin ...

for Jamaica with a cargo of of cement and over 100 parcels of clothes. In 1957, ''Sugar Transporter'' was sold to J Paterson & Co (Pty) Ltd, Melbourne, Australia and renamed ''Pattawilya''. She was used to carry cargos of coal, gypsum and limestone, as well as general cargo to the coastal ports of Australia. In 1961 she was sold to

McIlwraith, McEacharn & Co McIlwraith, McEacharn & Co was an Australian shipping company. History McIlwraith, McEacharn & Co (MMC) was founded in 1875 in London by Scottish sea captains, Andrew McIlwraith and Malcolm McEacharn. In 1876 it began operating ships to take Bri ...

. In 1962, ''Pattawilya'' was sold to Cronulla Shipping Co Ltd, Hong Kong and renamed ''Clovelly''. In 1963, she was sold to the San Jeronimo Steamship Co Ltd, Panama. On 6 January 1967, ''Clovelly'' was damaged in a storm and was towed in to Sasebo,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. She was then sold for scrap, arriving at Uchiumi on 13 May 1967.

References

External links

Blog thread with photo of ''Sugar Transporter''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Empire Caicos 1945 ships Ships built on the River Tees Empire ships Ministry of War Transport ships Merchant ships of the United Kingdom Steamships of the United Kingdom Merchant ships of Australia Merchant ships of Hong Kong Steamships of Hong Kong Merchant ships of Panama Steamships of Panama Iron and steel steamships of Australia