''Compañía de Filipinas'' was a cargo

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

that was built in Scotland in 1890 for the Compañía General de Tabacos de Filipinas (CGTF). In the

Philippine–American War The Philippine–American War or Filipino–American War ( es, Guerra filipina-estadounidense, tl, Digmaang Pilipino–Amerikano), previously referred to as the Philippine Insurrection or the Tagalog Insurgency by the United States, was an arm ...

the Navy of the First Philippine Republic armed her as its flagship and renamed her ''Filipinas''. After that war she reverted to her original name and commercial service. In the Second World War, Japanese forces captured her and renamed her ''Hoei Maru''. She was sunk in July 1945, shortly before the end of the war.

Building

Lobnitz & Co built the ship in

Renfrew Renfrew (; sco, Renfrew; gd, Rinn Friù) is a town west of Glasgow in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It is the historic county town of Renfrewshire. Called the "Cradle of the Royal Stewarts" for its early link with Scotland's former ...

, Scotland as yard number 342, launching her in 1 July 1890. Her registered length was , her beam was and her depth was . Her tonnages were , . She had a single screw, driven by a three-cylinder triple-expansion steam engine that was rated at 88 NHP. CGTF

registered Registered may refer to: * Registered mail, letters, packets or other postal documents considered valuable and in need of a chain of custody * Registered trademark symbol, symbol ® that provides notice that the preceding is a trademark or service ...

her at Manila. Her

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 ...

were MBOG.

Flagship ''Filipinas''

In 1898, while she was inter-island service, the Revolutionary Navy (later the

Philippine Navy The Philippine Navy (PN) ( tgl, Hukbong Dagat ng Pilipinas, , Sea Army of the Philippines) ( es, Armada de Filipinas, , Ejército del Mar de las Filipinas) is the naval warfare service branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. It has an e ...

) took over the ship as its flagship. The Revolutionary Navy initially consisted of a small fleet of eight captured Spanish steam launches refitted with Gonzalez Hontoria de 9 cm (mod 1879) guns, and then received a donation of five merchant ships, namely the ''Taaleño'', the ''Balayan'', the ''Bulusan'', the ''Taal'' and the ''Purísima Concepción'', before acquiring ''Filipinas''. The acquisition was made possible by the Filipino crew of the ship, who mutinied under the Cuban Vicente Catalan, who proclaimed himself "admiral". When the Filipino flag was raised on the ship, the East Asia Squadron contested it and claimed the ship for Germany. Despite an impending naval incident, the ship remained under Filipino control until the

proved the naval superiority of the American Asiatic Squadron and decimated the Revolutionary Navy. After the US conquest of the Philippines, the ship was returned to CGTF and resumed her original name and commercial service. By 1935 her tonnages had been reassessed as and , and the call sign KZEP had superseded her code letters.

''Hoei Maru''

During the Philippines campaign in the Second World War, Japanese forces captured ''Compania de Filipinas'' off Fortune Island in 1942. She was taken into Japanese Government service and renamed . On 3 July 1945 a aerial mine sank her near Jindo Island. This was the only ''Hoei Maru'' that was a cargo ship, but there were other Japanese vessels with the same name: *''Hoei Maru No. 2'' (

tanker Tanker may refer to: Transportation * Tanker, a tank crewman (US) * Tanker (ship), a ship designed to carry bulk liquids ** Chemical tanker, a type of tanker designed to transport chemicals in bulk ** Oil tanker, also known as a petroleum ta ...

), sunk by a mine on 10 September 1944 *''Hoei Maru'' ( minesweeper), sunk by torpedo on 29 September 1944 *''Hoei Maru No. 3'' (tanker), sunk by aircraft on 21 January 1945 *''Hoei Maru No. 5'' (tanker), sunk by aircraft on 6 May 1945

References

{{July 1945 shipwrecks 1890 ships Maritime incidents in July 1945 Merchant ships of Spain Naval ships of the Philippines Ships built on the River Clyde Steamships of Japan Steamships of Spain Ships sunk by mines