''Belgian Captain'' was a cargo ship which was built in 1942 as ''Empire Centaur'' 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 ...

(MoWT). In 1943 she was passed to the

Belgian Government The Federal Government of Belgium ( nl, Federale regering, french: Gouvernement fédéral, german: Föderalregierung) exercises executive power in the Kingdom of Belgium. It consists of ministers and secretary of state ("junior", or deputy-mini ...

and renamed ''Belgian Captain''. Postwar, she was sold into merchant service and renamed ''Capitaine Lambe''. In 1960 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 Delta i ...

and renamed ''Ardee'', being renamed ''Alpha Trader'' in 1964. She served until 1967 when she was scrapped.

Description

The ship was built by William Gray & Co. 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 ...

. She was launched on 30 July 1942 and completed in October. The ship was long, with a beam of and a depth of . She had a GRT of 7,041 and a NRT of 5,024. 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 stroke. The engine was built by the Central Marine Engine Works, West Hartlepool.

History

Second World War

''Empire Centaur'' was placed under the management of Crosby, Son & Co Ltd. Her port of registry was West Hartlepool. The United Kingdom Official Number 168946 and Code Letters BCFB were allocated. On 12 December 1942, ''Empire Centaur'' was damaged in an attack by Italian assault craft at Algiers. The attack was carried out by the

Decima Flottiglia MAS The ''Decima Flottiglia MAS'' (''Decima Flottiglia Motoscafi Armati Siluranti'', also known as ''La Decima'' or Xª MAS) (Italian for "10th Assault Vehicle Flotilla") was an Italian flotilla, with commando frogman unit, of the ''Regia Marina'' ...

of the

Regia Marina The ''Regia Marina'' (; ) was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy (''Regno d'Italia'') from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the birth of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana''), the ''Regia Marina'' changed its name to ''Marina Militare'' ("M ...

, using

manned torpedo Human torpedoes or manned torpedoes are a type of diver propulsion vehicle on which the diver rides, generally in a seated position behind a fairing. They were used as secret naval weapons in World War II. The basic concept is still in use. ...

es despatched from the submarine . ''Empire Centaur'' returned to the United Kingdom in Convoy MKS 7, which departed from Algiers on 5 February 1943 and arrived at

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

on 17 March. She was bound for

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

. ''Empire Centaur'' was allocated to the Belgian Government in 1943 and renamed ''Belgian Captain''. The Code Letters ONVS were allocated, and she was placed under the management of Agence Maritime Internationale SA. Her port of registry was Antwerp. ''Belgian Captain'' was a member of a number of convoys during 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 opposi ...

. ;ON 177 Convoy ON 177 departed

on 4 April 1943 bound for New York. ''Belgian Captain'' was carrying a cargo of

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...

bound for Halifax,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

. ;HX 241 Convoy HX 241 departed New York on 25 May 1943 and arrived at

on 10 June. ''Belgian Captain'' was carrying a cargo of steel and lumber bound for London. She sailed from Halifax on 27 May and joined the convoy at sea on 29 May. ;ON 192 Convoy ON 192 departed Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire on 8 July 1943 bound for New York. ''Belgian Captain'' was bound for Halifax, Nova Scotia. ;HX 254 Convoy HX 254 departed New York on 27 August 1943 and arrived at Liverpool on 12 September. ''Belgian Captain'' was carrying a cargo of steel and

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

bound for Sunderland. There were complaints from other ships in the convoy that ''Belgian Captain'' did not repeat flag signals, despite orders to all ships to do so. ;ON206 Convoy ON 206 departed Liverpool on 11 October 1943 bound for New York. ;ON 291 Convoy ON 291 departed

Southend-on-Sea Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

on 17 March 1945 bound for New York.

Postwar

In 1946, ''Belgian Captain'' was sold to

Compagnie Maritime Belge The Compagnie Maritime Belge (CMB) is one of the oldest Antwerp ship-owners. It is controlled by the Saverys family who also own major stakes in the Exmar and Euronav groups. History CMB was founded in 1895 under the name Compagnie Belge Mariti ...

SA and was renamed ''Capitaine Lambe''. Her Code Letters were changed to ONCC. In 1960, ''Capitaine Lambe'' was sold to Mullion & Co Ltd,

and was renamed ''Ardee''. In 1964, she was sold to Sigma Shipping Co Ltd, Hong Kong and was renamed ''Alpha Trader''. She was operated under the management of Trinity Development Co Ltd, Hong Kong. ''Alpha Trader'' served until 1967. She arrived at

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

, China for scrapping in November 1967.

References

External links

Photo of ''Capitaine Lambe''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Belgian Captain 1942 ships Ships built on the River Tees Empire ships Ministry of War Transport ships Steamships of the United Kingdom Maritime incidents in December 1942 World War II merchant ships of Belgium Steamships of Belgium Merchant ships of Hong Kong Steamships of Hong Kong