SS Inanda (1925)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Empire Explorer'' 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 as the
cargo liner A cargo liner, also known as a passenger-cargo ship or passenger-cargoman, is a type of merchant ship which carries general cargo and often passengers. They became common just after the middle of the 19th century, and eventually gave way to conta ...
''Inanda'' in 1925 by Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson Ltd, Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland, United Kingdom for a British shipping line. She was hired by the Royal Navy in 1940 for use as an ocean boarding vessel but was sunk in an air raid London in September 1940. She was salvaged, rebuilt as a cargo ship, passed to the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) and renamed ''Empire Explorer''. She served until 9 July 1942, when she was torpedoed and sunk by in the West Indies.


Description

The ship was built in 1925 by Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson Ltd, Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland. The ship was long, with a beam of . She had a depth of , and a draught of . She was assessed at , , 6,900 DWT. The ship was propelled by a 606
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 ...
quadruple expansion steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...
, which had cylinders of , , and diameter by stroke. The engine was built by the Wallsend Slipway Co Ltd, Newcastle upon Tyne. It drove a single screw propeller, and could propel the ship at .


History

''Inanda'' was launched on 24 February 1925, and was completed in May. She was built for the Charente Steamship Co Ltd and placed under the management of T & J Harrison Ltd. Her port of registry was Liverpool. She was allocated the United Kingdom
Official Number Official numbers are ship identifier numbers assigned to merchant ships by their flag state, country of registration. Each country developed its own official numbering system, some on a national and some on a port-by-port basis, and the formats hav ...
137410 and
Code Letters Code letters or ship's call sign (or callsign) Mtide Taurus - IMO 7626853"> SHIPSPOTTING.COM >> Mtide Taurus - IMO 7626853/ref> were a method of identifying ships before the introduction of modern navigation aids and today also. Later, with the i ...
KSNF. On 3 February 1932, ''Inanda'' was on a voyage from London to the West Indies when she suffered a broken propeller. She put into
Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...
,
Glamorgan , HQ = Cardiff , Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974) , Origin= , Code = GLA , CodeName = Chapman code , Replace = * West Glamorgan * Mid Glamorgan * South Glamorgan , Motto ...
for repairs. Following the changes to Code Letters in 1934, ''Inanda'' was allocated GLMB. In August 1936, ''Inanda'' brought
George "Dod" Orsborne George Black Orsborne (4 July 1902 – 23 December 1957), also known as Dod Orsborne, was a Grimsby trawler captain and seafarer, who acquired notoriety in 1936 when he took the trawler ''Girl Pat'' on an unauthorised voyage across the Atlantic ...
and his brother James back to the United Kingdom from Georgetown, British Guiana, where they had taken the Grimsby trawler without authority. ''Inanda'' was a member of Convoy OA 7, which departed from Southend, Essex on 19 September 1939 and dispersed at sea on 22 September. She was bound for
Antigua Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Bar ...
, where she arrived on 3 October. She departed that day and sailed to Saint Kitts, arriving later that day. On 4 October, ''Inanda'' sailed for
Grenada Grenada ( ; Grenadian Creole French: ) is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Pe ...
, arriving on 6 October and departing that day for Trinidad, where she arrived the next day. On 9 October, she sailed for
Demarara Demerara ( nl, Demerary, ) is a historical region in the Guianas, on the north coast of South America, now part of the country of Guyana. It was a colony of the Dutch West India Company between 1745 and 1792 and a colony of the Dutch state fro ...
,
British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies, which resides on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first European to encounter Guiana was S ...
, arriving the next day and departing on 14 October for Trinidad, where she arrived on 15 October. Departing on 20 October, Saint Vincent and Grenada were visited before ''Inanda'' arrived at
Saint Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerindian ...
, from where she sailed on 25 October for Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. She arrived on 2 November, sailing on 8 November as a member of Convoy HXF 8, which arrived at
Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...
, Kent, United Kingdom on 21 November. ''Inanda'' was carrying general cargo, rum and
sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...
. She then sailed to Southend to join Convoy FN 46, which departed on 1 December and arrived at
Methil Methil (Scottish Gaelic: Meadhchill) is an eastern coastal town in Scotland. It was first recorded as "Methkil" in 1207, and belonged to the Bishop of St Andrews. Two Bronze Age cemeteries have been discovered which date the settlement as ov ...
,
Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...
the next day. She left the convoy at Middlesbrough, Yorkshire on 2 December. ''Inanda'' sailed from Middlesbrough on 11 December to join Convoy FS 53, which had sailed from Methil that day and arrived at Southend on 12 December. She then joined Convoy OA 53, which sailed on 14 December and dispersed at sea on 16 December. She was carrying a cargo of
sulphite Sulfites or sulphites are compounds that contain the sulfite ion (or the sulfate(IV) ion, from its correct systematic name), . The sulfite ion is the conjugate base of bisulfite. Although its acid (sulfurous acid) is elusive, its salts are wide ...
as well as a number of passengers and her captain was the convoy's Vice Commodore. ''Inanda'' was bound for Demerara, which was reached on 9 January 1940 via Barbados and Trinidad. She departed on 13 January for
Montserrat Montserrat ( ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the Leeward Islands, the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies. Montserrat is about long and wide, with r ...
, from where she sailed on 15 January for Trinidad. She departed on 16 January for
Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Galvesto ...
, United States, arriving on 22 January and sailing on 3 February for Halifax, where she arrived on 13 February. ''Inanda'' was a member of Convoy HX 20, which departed on 16 February and arrived at Liverpool on 4 March. She was carrying general cargo. ''Inanda'' departed from Liverpool on 29 March as a member of Convoy OB 119, which dispersed at sea on 1 April. She was performing the rôle of a convoy rescue ship and sailed to London after the convoy had dispersed. She then sailed to Southend, from where she departed on 8 April as a member of Convoy OA 125G, which formed Convoy OG 25 on 10 April. ''Inanda'' was carrying general cargo bound for
Antigua Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Bar ...
, arriving on 24 April and sailing that day for Saint Kitts, where she arrived on 24 April. She sailed the next day for Saint Lucia, from where she departed on 26 April for Grenada, arriving on 29 April. She spent the next few weeks sailing around the West Indies, arriving at Bermuda on 20 May. Carrying general cargo, ''Inanda'' was a member of Convoy BHX 64, which departed on 7 August and joined with convoy HX 64 on 12 August. Convoy HX 64 departed from Halifax on 8 August and arrived at Liverpool on 23 August. Inanda was bound for London, which was reached by leaving the convoy and sailing to the Methil Roads, where she arrived on 24 August. She then joined Convoy FS 262, which departed on 25 August and arrived at Southend on 27 August. ''Inanda'' was then hired by the Royal Navy for use as an ocean boarding vessel. On 7 September, she was berthed at London Docks when she was sunk in an air raid. She was salvaged and rebuilt as 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 ...
. ''Inanda'' was renamed ''Empire Explorer'', she was passed to the MoWT and placed under the management of T & J Harrison Ltd. Her port of registry was changed to London although she retained the Code Letters GLMB. ''Empire Explorer'' was a member of Convoy FN 632, which departed from Southend on 15 February 1942 and arrived at Methil two days later. She left the convoy at the
Tyne Tyne may refer to: __NOTOC__ Geography * River Tyne, England *Port of Tyne, the commercial docks in and around the River Tyne in Tyne and Wear, England *River Tyne, Scotland * River Tyne, a tributary of the South Esk River, Tasmania, Australia Peop ...
on 16 February, to load general cargo. She sailed four days later to join Convoy FN 636, which had departed from Southend on 19 February and arrived at Methil on 21 February. She then joined Convoy EN 50, which departed the next day and arrived at
Oban Oban ( ; ' in Scottish Gaelic meaning ''The Little Bay'') is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William. During the tourist season, th ...
,
Argyllshire Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...
on 23 February. She left the convoy at Loch Ewe and sailed to Saint Kitts, arriving on 17 March. ''Empire Explorer'' spent the next five weeks sailing around the West Indies, arriving at the Cape Verde Islands on 20 April and sailing two days later for Halifax, where she arrived on 30 April. She joined Convoy HX 188, which departed on 3 May and arrived at Liverpool on 15 May. She was carrying general cargo, sugar and 38 bags of mail. She left the convoy at the Clyde, arriving on 15 May. ''Empire Explorer'' sailed on 1 June to join Convoy OS 30, which departed from Liverpool that day and arrived at Freetown, Sierra Leone on 19 June. She was in ballast and armed with a 4-inch or 4.7-inch gun, eight machine guns and a number of kites. She was stated to be bound for George, South Africa. She arrived at Demerara on 21 June, sailing nine days later for Trinidad, where she arrived on 1 July. ''Empire Explorer'' sailed from Trinidad on 8 July, carrying 200 bags of mail, of pitch and of sugar and bound for Barbados. At 02:47 German time on 9 July, ''Empire Explorer'' was torpedoed, shelled and sunk at by , which was in the command of
Günther Heydemann Günther Heydemann (11 January 1914 – 2 January 1986) was a German U-boat commander in the Kriegsmarine of Nazi Germany in World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Prior to taking command of , Heydemann made t ...
. Of her 70 crew and 8 DEMS gunners, three crew were killed. The survivors were rescued by HMS ''MTB 337'' and landed at Tobago. Those killed serving on ''Inanda'' and ''Empire Explorer'' are commemorated on the
Tower Hill Memorial The Tower Hill Memorial is a pair of Commonwealth War Graves Commission memorials in Trinity Square Gardens, on Tower Hill in London, England. The memorials, one for the First World War and one for the Second, commemorate civilian, merchant seaf ...
, London. ''Inanda'' has been depicted on postage stamps issued by Barbados and Saint Kitts and Nevis.


See also

* Empire ship


References


External links


Photo of ''Inanda'' as a cargo liner
{{DEFAULTSORT:Empire Explorer 1925 ships Ships built on the River Tyne Cargo liners Steamships of the United Kingdom Merchant ships of the United Kingdom Empire ships Ministry of War Transport ships Maritime incidents in September 1940 Maritime incidents in July 1942 Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II World War II shipwrecks in the Caribbean Sea Ships built by Swan Hunter