''Beljeanne'' was a

heavy lift ship A heavy-lift ship is a vessel designed to move very large loads that cannot be handled by normal ships. They are of two types: *''Semi-submersible'' ships that take on water ballast to allow the load—usually another vessel—to be floated o ...

that was built in 1946 for the British

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 ag ...

. She was completed in 1947 as ''Beljeanne'' for the

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 ...

company Belships. In 1964 she was sold 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 Co ...

nian company and renamed ''Southern Cross'', being renamed ''Southern Hope'' in 1966 before a sale to a

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

bank in 1968 and renaming to ''Virginia Second''. She served until 1969, when she was scrapped.

Description

The ship was built in 1946 by Vickers-Armstrongs Ltd,

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land ...

, England. She was yard number 95. The ship was long, with a beam of . She had a depth of . She was assessed at , , 10,330 DWT. The ship was propelled by two steam turbines. The turbines were made by

Metropolitan-Vickers Metropolitan-Vickers, Metrovick, or Metrovicks, was a British heavy electrical engineering company of the early-to-mid 20th century formerly known as British Westinghouse. Highly diversified, it was particularly well known for its industrial el ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

. They were rated at 6,800

nhp Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are the ...

. They could propel her at .

History

''Empire Ethelbert'' was built for the

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 ...

. She was launched on 14 August 1946. Her port of registry was to be Barrow in Furness, Lancashie and the Code Letters GKMP were allocated. (Enter GKMP or Empire Ethelbert in relevant search box) ''Empire Ethelbert'' was completed in January 1947 as ''Beljeanne'' for Belships Co Ltd,

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...

, Norway. The Code Letters LMCX were allocated. She was placed under the management of Christen Smith & Co, Oslo. In March 1964, ''Beljeanne'' was sold to Bacong Shipping Co SA,

Panama City Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is locat ...

, Panama and renamed ''Southern Cross''. She was operated under the management of Filipino company Southern Industrial Projects Inc. She was renamed ''Southern Hope'' in 1966. The ship was

mortgage A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law jurisdicions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners to raise funds for any ...

d to the Peoples Bank & Trust Co,

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

, Philippines. In 1968, the ship was sold to the bank in lieu of debts, and she was renamed ''Virginia Second''. She was operated under the management of M M Shipping Lines Inc, Manila. She served until 1969, arriving on 15 January at Aioi, Japan for scrapping.

References

External links

Photo of ''Beljeanne''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beljeanne, SS 1946 ships Ships built on the River Tyne Empire ships Steamships of the United Kingdom Merchant ships of the United Kingdom Steamships of Norway Merchant ships of Norway Steamships of Panama Merchant ships of Panama Steamships of the Philippines Merchant ships of the Philippines