''Seniority'' was an cargo ship which was built in 1942 as ''Empire Boswell'' 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). Postwar she was sold into merchant service as ''Aviswell'' and ''Seniority'', serving until she ran aground on 7 November 1950. Although refloated, she sank on 8 November 1950.

Description

The ship was built by William Gray & Co. 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 ...

. She was yard number 738. Launched as ''Empire Boswell'' on 2 June 1942, she was completed in August 1942. The ship was long, with a beam of and a depth of . She 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 bore by stroke. The engine was built by the Central Marine Engine Works, West Hartlepool.

Career

''Empire Boswell's'' port of registry was West Hartlepool. She was initially operated under the management of Currie Line Ltd. She was a member of a number of convoys during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. ;ON 160 Convoy ON 169 departed from the United Kingdom on 12 January 1943 and arrived at Ambrose on 5 February. ''Empire Boswell'' is noted as a straggler from this convoy. ;SC 129 Convoy SC 129 departed from Halifax,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

on 2 May 1943 and arrived at

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

on 21 May. ;UGS 18 Convoy UGS 18 departed from the Hampton Roads,

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

on 15 September 1943 and arrived at Port Said on 13 October. ''Empire Boswell'' joined the convoy at

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

and left at

Bône Annaba ( ar, عنّابة, "Place of the Jujubes"; ber, Aânavaen), formerly known as Bon, Bona and Bône, is a seaport city in the northeastern corner of Algeria, close to the border with Tunisia. Annaba is near the small Seybouse River ...

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

. In 1945, management of ''Empire Boswell'' was transferred to the

British-India Steam Navigation Company British India Steam Navigation Company ("BI") was formed in 1856 as the Calcutta and Burmah Steam Navigation Company. History The ''Calcutta and Burmah Steam Navigation Company'' had been formed out of Mackinnon, Mackenzie & Co, a trading part ...

. In 1947, ''Empire Boswell'' was sold to Aviation & Shipping Co Ltd and renamed ''Aviswell''. She was operated under the management of Purvis Shipping Co Ltd. In 1949, ''Aviswell'' was sold to F T Everard & Co Ltd and renamed ''Seniority''. On 7 November 1950, ''Seniority'' ran aground at Leinish Point, Inner Hebrides (). Although refloated, she sank the next day off the Bo Vich Chuan Rock.

Official Numbers and Code Letters

Official Numbers were a forerunner to IMO Numbers. The ship had the UK Official Number 168945. ''Empire Boswell'' used the Code Letters BCBP.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seniority 1942 ships Ships built on the River Tees Steamships of the United Kingdom Ministry of War Transport ships Empire ships Merchant ships of the United Kingdom Maritime incidents in 1950 Shipwrecks of Scotland