SS ''Dia'' was a cargo ship which was built as ''Empire Beaconsfield'' in 1943. She was owned by 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) and managed by Bank Line Ltd and Constants (South Wales) LTd. Postwar she was sold to her managers and renamed ''Hawkinge''. She later saw service with different owners as ''Angusbrae'', ''Hispania'' and ''Dia''. She developed a leak and sank off Savona,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

on 14 October 1964.

Career

''Empire Beaconsfield'' was built by William Gray & Sons 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 ...

, Co Durham. She was yard number 1159, ''Empire Beaconsfield'' was launched on 2 October 1943 and completed in December that year. ''Empire Beaconsfield'' was built for the MoWT and placed under the management of Andrew Weir & Co Ltd, trading as the Bank Line. Her port of registry was West Hartlepool. In 1943, management was transferred from Bank Line to Constants (South Wales) 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 ...

. In 1946, she was sold to her managers and renamed ''Hawkinge''. In 1951, she was sold to the Dundee, Perth & London Shipping Co and renamed ''Angusbrae''. In 1956, she was sold to Willem H Müller & Co NV,

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...

and renamed ''Hispania''. In 1960, she was sold to the West End Corporation,

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 ...

and renamed ''Dia''.

Sinking

On 14 October 1964, ''Dia'' developed a leak and sank south of Savona, Italy at .

Official Numbers and Code Letters

Official Numbers were a forerunner to IMO Numbers. ''Empire Beaconsfield'' had the UK Official Number 180066 and used the Code Letters GFMX.

Propulsion

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 and stroke. It was built by the Central Marine Engineering Works Ltd, West Hartlepool and developed .

References

External links

Photos of SS ''Hispania''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dia 1943 ships Ships built on the River Tees Empire ships Ministry of War Transport ships Steamships of the United Kingdom Merchant ships of the United Kingdom Steamships of the Netherlands Merchant ships of the Netherlands Steamships of Panama Merchant ships of Panama Shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea Maritime incidents in 1964