- SS Laura (1908)
-
Career Name: Laura (1908-35)
Sylt (1935-45)
Empire Continent (1945-47)
Master Nicholas (1947-52)
Soussana II (1952-55)
Georgios Matsas (1955)
Sur (1955-65)Owner: A/S Dampskibs Selskap Vesterhavet (1908-17)
unknown (1917-35)
Wendenhof Reederei (1935-40)
Kriegsmarine 1940-45)
Ministry of War Transport (1945)
Ministry of Transport (1945-47)
A G Tsavliris Ltd (1947-52)
N T Papadatos (1952-55)
Loucas G Matsas (1955)
Dabaco & Co (1955-65)Operator: J Lauritzen (1908-17)
unknown (1917-35)
Wendenhof Reederei (1935-40)
Kriegsmarine 1940-45)
G R Cuthbert Brown & Co Ltd (1945-47)
A G Tsavliris Ltd (1947-52)
N T Papadatos (1952-55)
Loucas G Matsas (1955)
Dabaco & Co (1955-65)Port of registry: 
Esbjerg (1908-17)
Germany(1917-19)
Germany (1919-33)
Germany (1933-35)
Wismar (1935-40)
Kriegsmarine (1940-45)
London (1945-52)
Greece (1952-55)
Panama City (1955-65)Builder: Kjøbenhavns Flydedok & Skibsværft Launched: 1908 Identification: Code Letters NRDG (1908-17)
Code Letters GJBN (1945-52)
United Kingdom Official Number 180805 (1945-52)Fate: Scrapped General characteristics Class and type: Coaster Tonnage: 842 GRT
478 NRT
1,135 DWTLength: 211 ft 2 in (64.36 m) (1908-45)
210 ft 0 in (64.01 m) (1945-65)Beam: 30 ft 7 in (9.32 m) Draught: 13 ft 1 in (3.99 m) (1908-45)
14 ft 0 in (4.27 m) (1945-65)Depth: 16 ft 2 in (4.93 m) (1908-45)
13 ft 4 in (4.06 m) (1945-65)Installed power: Triple expansion steam engine Propulsion: Screw propellor Laura was a 842 GRT coaster that was built in 1908 by Kjøbenhavns Flydedok & Skibsværft, Copenhagen, Denmark for Danish owners. She was captured in 1917 by UC-79 and passed to German owners as a prize of war.
A sale in 1935 saw her renamed Sylt. She was seized by the Allies in May 1945, passed to the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) and was renamed Empire Continent., then Master Nicholas following a sale in 1947. In 1952, she was sold to Greece and renamed Soussana II. A further sale in 1955 saw her renamed Georgios Matsas.
On 18 April 1955, she struck rocks off Muros, Spain and sank. Although Georgios Matsas was refloated two months later, she was declared a constructive total loss. Despite this, she was sold to Panama, repaired and renamed Sur, serving until 1965 when she was scrapped.
Description
The ship was built in 1908 by Kjøbenhavns Flydedok & Skibsværft, Copenhagen.[1]
As built, the ship was 211 feet 2 inches (64.36 m) long, with a beam of 30 feet 7 inches (9.32 m). She had a depth of 13 feet 1 inch (3.99 m) and a draught of 16 feet 2 inches (4.93 m). As built the ship had a GRT of 787. She was 736 NRT, 1,135 DWT.[2]
The ship was propelled by a triple expansion steam engine, which had cylinders of 14 inches (36 cm), 23 inches (58 cm) and 37 inches (94 cm) diameter by 24 inches (61 cm) stroke. The engine was built by Kjøbenhavns Flydedok & Skibsværft.[2]
History
Laura was built for A/S Dampskibs Selskab Vesterhavet. She was operated under the management of J Lauritzen, Esbjerg. The Code Letters NRDG were allocated.[2] On 28 April 1917 she was on a voyage from Göteborg, Sweden to Hull, United Kingdom, when she was captured by the German U-boat UC-79 in the Skagerrak at 58°02′N 08°19′E / 58.033°N 8.317°E and taken as a prize of war.[3]
In 1935, Laura was sold to Wendenhof Reederei GmbH, Wismar and was renamed Sylt. In 1940, the ship was requisitioned by the Kriegsmarine. In May 1945, Sylt was seized by the Allies at Trondheim, Norway. She was passed to the MoWT and renamed Empire Continent.[1] Her port of registry was changed to London. The Code Letters GQBN and United Kingdom Official Number 180805 were allocated. She was placed under the management of G F Cuthbert Brown & Co Ltd. Empire Continent was recorded as 210 feet 0 inches (64.01 m) long, with a beam of 30 feet 7 inches (9.32 m), a depth of 13 feet 4 inches (4.06 m) and a draught of approximately 14 feet 0 inches (4.27 m).[4]
In 1947, Empire Continent was sold to A G Tsavliris Ltd, London and was renamed Master Nicolas. In 1952, she was sold to N T Papadatos, Greece and was renamed Soussana II. In 1955,[1] she was sold to Loucas G Matsas, Piraeus,[5] and renamed Georgios Matsas. On 18 April 1955, she struck rocks off Muros, Spain and subsequently sank. The ship was refloated on 17 June but was declared to be a constructive total loss. Georgios Matsas was sold and repaired. She was then sold to Dabaco & Co, Panama and renamed Sur, serving until she was scrapped in Santander, Spain in August 1965.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d Mitchell, W.H.; Sawyer, L.A. (1995). The Empire Ships. London, New York, Hamburg, Hong Kong: Lloyd's of London Press Ltd. p. not cited. ISBN 1-85044-275-4.
- ^ a b c "Officiel Fortegnelse over Danske Krigs- og Handelsskibe, Januar 1911" (in Danish). Søfartens Bibliotek. http://www.sbib.dk/documents/Skibslister/1911.pdf. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
- ^ "Laura". Uboat.net. http://uboat.net/wwi/ships_hit/7187.html. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
- ^ "LLOYD'S REGISTER, NAVIRES A VAPEUR ET A MOTEURS". Plimsoll Ship Data. http://www.plimsollshipdata.org/pdffile.php?name=45a1196.pdf. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
- ^ "Company history". Loucas G Matsas. http://www.matsas.gr/serframe.htm. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
Categories:- 1908 ships
- Ships built in Denmark
- Steamships of Denmark
- World War I merchant ships of Denmark
- Maritime incidents in 1917
- World War I merchant ships of Germany
- Steamships of Germany
- Merchant ships of Germany
- World War II merchant ships of Germany
- Ships of the Kriegsmarine
- Ministry of War Transport ships
- Empire ships
- Steamships of the United Kingdom
- Merchant ships of the United Kingdom
- Steamships of Greece
- Merchant ships of Greece
- Maritime incidents in 1955
- Steamships of Panama
- Merchant ships of Panama
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
