''Santa Kyriaki'' 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 1945 as ''Empire Crusoe'' by Ailsa Shipbuilding Co,

Troon Troon is a town in South Ayrshire, situated on the west coast of Ayrshire in Scotland, about north of Ayr and northwest of Glasgow Prestwick Airport. Troon has a port with freight services and a yacht marina. Up until January 2016, P&O Ferrie ...

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...

, Scotland for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). She was sold in 1946 and renamed ''Greenland'' and a further sale in 1955 saw her renamed ''Heminge''. In 1956, she was sold to

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

and renamed ''Maria Luisa''. A sale in 1963 to a

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

nian company saw her renamed ''Santa Kyriaki''. She served until running aground off

IJmuiden IJ_(digraph).html" ;"title="n IJ (digraph)">n IJ (digraph) and that should remain the only places where they are used. > IJmuiden () is a port city in the Netherlands, Dutch province of North Holland. It is the main town in the municipality ...

, Netherlands in 1965 and was scrapped in 1966.

Description

The ship was built in 1945 by Ailsa Shipbuilding Co,

. She was Yard Number 448. The ship was long, with a beam of . She was assessed at . 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 ...

History

''Empire Crusoe'' was built for the MoWT, which later became the

Ministry of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government age ...

. In 1946, she was sold to Currie Line Ltd,

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by '' Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

Midlothian Midlothian (; gd, Meadhan Lodainn) is a historic county, registration county, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh, ...

and was renamed ''Greenland''. In 1955, she was sold to Constants Ltd,

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 ...

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

and renamed ''Heminge''. She was sold the next year to Socoa Shipping Co Ltd,

Monrovia Monrovia () is the capital city of the West African country of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic coast and as of the 2008 census had 1,010,970 residents, home to 29% of Liberia’s total population. As the ...

, and renamed ''Maria Luisa''. She was operated under the management of Ramon de la Sota, France, remaining under the Liberian flag. In 1963, ''Maria Luisa'' was sold to Nereide Compagnia Maritime SA,

and renamed ''Santa Kyriaki''. On 24 November 1965, ''Santa Kyriaki'' was in ballast off the coast of the Netherlands when she was caught in a Force 10-11 storm. The Dutch

tug A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, suc ...

''Titan'' offered assistance to ''Santa Kyriaki'', which was refused. At 15:00 CET (14:00 GMT), ''Santa Kyriaki'' came ashore south of

. Her 17 crew were taken off by a '' Koninklijke Marine'' helicopter. After the storm had subsided, ''Santa Kyriaki'' became a temporary tourist attraction. On 30 December, the contract for the salvage of the ship was awarded to NV Bureau Wijsmuller under

Lloyds Open Form The Lloyd's Open Form, formally "Lloyd's Standard Form of Salvage Agreement", and commonly referred to as the LOF, is a standard form contract for a proposed marine salvage operation. Originating in the late 19th century, the form is published b ...

conditions. Over of sand was excavated to form a basin which enabled ''Santa Kyriaki'' to be turned through 60°. She was refloated on 8 March 1966 with assistance from the tugs ''Titan'' and ''Simson'', aided by the use of her own engine. ''Titan'' towed her into IJmuiden, where she was declared to be a constructive total loss. She was later towed to Amsterdam. ''Santa Kyriaki'' arrived under tow on 17 July 1966 at

Avilés Avilés (; ) is a town in Asturias, Spain. Avilés is, along with Oviedo and Gijón, one of the main cities in the Principality of Asturias. The town occupies the flattest land in the municipality, partially in a land that belonged to the sea, ...

, Spain for scrapping.

References

External links

Photo of ''Greenland''British Pathé newsreel of the stranded ship
{{DEFAULTSORT:Santa Kyriaki 1945 ships Ships built in Scotland Empire ships Ministry of War Transport ships Steamships of the United Kingdom Merchant ships of the United Kingdom Steamships of Liberia Merchant ships of Liberia Maritime incidents in 1965