''Empire Cymric'' was a

Ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

that was built in 1944 by Harland & Wolff Ltd,

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

LST (3) A Landing Ship, Tank (LST) is a ship first developed during World War II (1939–1945) to support amphibious operations by carrying tanks, vehicles, cargo, and landing troops directly onto a low-slope beach with no docks or piers. The shallow d ...

HMS ''LST 3010'' for the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

. She was transferred to the

Koninklijke Marine The Royal Netherlands Navy (, ) is the Navy, maritime service branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. It traces its history to 8 January 1488, making it the List of navies, third-oldest navy in the world. During the 17th and early 18th centurie ...

in 1945, serving as HNLMS ''LST 3010''. In 1947, she was transferred back to the Royal Navy and renamed HMS ''Attacker''. The ship was requisitioned by the

Ministry of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...

in 1954 and renamed ''Empire Cymric''. Requisitioned briefly during the

Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, also known as the Second Arab–Israeli War, the Tripartite Aggression in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel, was a British–French–Israeli invasion of Egypt in 1956. Israel invaded on 29 October, having done so w ...

in 1956 as HMS ''Empire Cymric'', she served until 1962, and was scrapped in 1963.

Description

The ship was built in 1944 by Harland & Wolff Ltd,

. The ship was long, with a beam of .She had a draught of . She was assessed at , The ship was propelled by a 5,500 ihp

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 heat ...

which was supplied by two 3-drum boilers. It drove twin screw propellers and could propel the ship at . In Royal Navy service, armament was 8 x 20mm AA guns.

History

''LST 3010'' was launched on 30 September 1944. She was commissioned into the

on 5 April 1945. ''LST 3010'' was transferred to the

in 1945. In February and March 1946, ''LST 3010'' was in service in

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...

, where a

war of independence Wars of national liberation, also called wars of independence or wars of liberation, are conflicts fought by nations to gain independence. The term is used in conjunction with wars against foreign powers (or at least those perceived as foreign) ...

was taking place. In 1947, she was returned to the Royal Navy and was renamed ''Attacker''. She was chartered by the

and converted to a ferry. In 1955, she was sold to the Atlantic Steam Navigation Company and renamed ''Empire Cymric''. Operated on the

Preston, Lancashire Preston () is a city on the north bank of the River Ribble in Lancashire, England. The city is the administrative centre of the county of Lancashire and the wider City of Preston, Lancashire, City of Preston local government district. Preston ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

route, ''Empire Cymric'' was requisitioned by the Royal Navy for use during the

. She was escorted from

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

Port Said Port Said ( , , ) is a port city that lies in the northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, straddling the west bank of the northern mouth of the Suez Canal. The city is the capital city, capital of the Port S ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

by , which escorted her back to Malta after the crisis was over. She served until 1963, arriving on 1 October at

Faslane His Majesty's Naval Base, Clyde (HMNB Clyde; also HMS ''Neptune''), primarily sited at Faslane on the Gare Loch, is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Devonport and HMNB Portsmouth). It ...

Dunbartonshire Dunbartonshire () or the County of Dumbarton is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and registration county in the west central Lowlands of Scotland lying to the north of the River Clyde. Dunbar ...

for scrapping.

References

External links

Photo of ''Empire Cymric''Photo of ''Empire Cymric''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Empire Cymric LST (3)-class tank landing ships 1944 ships Ships built in Belfast Empire ships LST (3)-class tank landing ships of the Royal Netherlands Navy Troop ships of the Netherlands Ferries of the United Kingdom Steamships of the United Kingdom Merchant ships of the United Kingdom Ships built by Harland and Wolff