''Loch Ryan'' was a

heavy lift In transportation, heavy lift refers to the handling and installation of heavy items which are indivisible, and of weights generally accepted to be over 100 tons and of widths/heights of more than 100 meters. These oversized items are transported ...

cargo liner which was built by Furness Shipbuilding Ltd,

Haverton Hill-on-Tees Haverton Hill is an area within the borough of Stockton-on-Tees and ceremonial county of County Durham, England. Once considered a part of Billingham, Haverton Hill was once a thriving industrial community which has suffered significant depopu ...

in 1943 as ''Empire Chieftain'' 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 1946 she was sold to Royal Mail Lines and renamed ''Loch Ryan''. She served until 1960, when she was sold to Argonaut Shipping & Trading Co Ltd and was renamed ''Fair Ryan'', being scrapped later that year.

Description

The ship was built by Furness Shipbuilding Ltd,

, as yard number 354. She was launched on 20 May 1943, and completed in October 1943. The ship was long, with a beam of and a depth of . She had a GRT of 9,904 and a NRT of 7,155. The ship was propelled by two steam turbines, double reduction geared, driving a screw propeller. The turbines were made by Richardsons, Westgarth & Co Ltd, Hartlepool.

History

''Empire Chieftain'' was built for the MoWT. The United Kingdom Official Number 164863 and the Code Letters BFKL were allocated. Her port of registry was

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

. She was placed under the management of Royal Mail Lines. ''Empire Chieftain'' 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 ...

. ;CU 57 Convoy CU 57 departed New York on 5 February 1945 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 14 February. ''Empire Chieftain'' joined the convoy at sea. In 1946, ''Empire Chieftain'' was sold to Royal Mail Lines and was renamed ''Loch Ryan''. She served until 1960. On 1 January 1960, she was sold to Argonaut Shipping & Trading Co Ltd,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

and was renamed ''Fair Ryan'' for the voyage to the shipbreakers. She arrived on 2 July 1960 at

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole Nanban trade, port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hi ...

, Japan for scrapping.

References

External links

Photo of ''Empire Chieftain''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Loch Ryan 1943 ships Ships built on the River Tees Empire ships Ministry of War Transport ships Cargo liners Steamships of the United Kingdom Merchant ships of the United Kingdom