SS ''Empire Admiral'' was a 7,842 ton steamship which was built in 1945 for 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), she was sold in 1947 becoming ''Peter Dal'', and sold again in 1951 and renamed ''Benledi''. In 1953 she was sold to

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the ar ...

and renamed ''Andros Tommeno'', being resold later that year to Liberia. In 1966 she was resold and renamed ''Unique Carrier'', serving until 1969 when she was scrapped in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

History

''Empire Admiral'' was built by Vickers-Armstrongs Ltd, Barrow in Furness for the

and launched on 26 March 1945, being completed the following August. She was managed by H Hogarth & Sons initially, with management passing to A Weir & Co,

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 ...

in 1946. In 1947, ''Empire Admiral'' was sold to A Weir & Co and renamed ''Peter Dal''. On 21 October 1949, an onboard explosion killed one crew member and injured two others. ''Peter Dal'' was only slightly damaged. In 1950, ''Peter Dal'' was sold to W Thompson & Co,

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

who traded as Ben Line, and was renamed ''Benledi''. On 24 February 1950, ''Benledi'' caught fire in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

east of

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. The 44 crew took to the

lifeboats Lifeboat may refer to: Rescue vessels * Lifeboat (shipboard), a small craft aboard a ship to allow for emergency escape * Lifeboat (rescue), a boat designed for sea rescues * Airborne lifeboat, an air-dropped boat used to save downed airmen A ...

and were rescued by the tanker . ''Benledi'' was assisted into

with the help of , the salvage ship and the tug . In 1953, ''Benledi'' was sold to E G Thomson Ltd, remaining within the Ben Line fleet. In 1963, ''Benledi'' was sold to Andros Navigation Co.,

Nassau Nassau may refer to: Places Bahamas *Nassau, Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence Canada *Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upper Canada from 1788 to 1792 *Nassau Street (Winnipeg), ...

and renamed ''Andros Tommeno'', being resold later that year to Frank Shipping Co Ltd, Liberia. In 1966, ''Andros Tommeno'' was sold to Unique Maritime Corporation, Liberia and renamed ''Unique Carrier'', serving until 1969 when she arrived for scrapping on 27 February 1969 in Kaohsiung,

Official number and code letters

Official Numbers were a forerunner to IMO Numbers. ''Empire Admiral'' had the UK Official Number 169038 and used the Code Letters GFJQ.

References

External links

Photo
of SS ''Empire Admiral''
Photo
of SS ''Benledi'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Empire Admiral 1945 ships Ships built in Barrow-in-Furness Steamships of the United Kingdom Empire ships Ministry of War Transport ships Maritime incidents in 1950 Steamships of the Bahamas Merchant ships of the Bahamas Steamships of Liberia Merchant ships of Liberia