''California Star'' was an

refrigerated Refrigeration is any of various types of cooling of a space, substance, or system to lower and/or maintain its temperature below the ambient one (while the removed heat is ejected to a place of higher temperature).IIR International Dictionary of ...

cargo liner A cargo liner, also known as a passenger-cargo ship or passenger-cargoman, is a type of merchant ship which carries general cargo and often passengers. They became common just after the middle of the 19th century, and eventually gave way to conta ...

that was built in 1945 as ''Empire Clarendon'' by

Harland & Wolff Harland & Wolff Holdings plc is a British shipbuilding and Metal fabrication, fabrication company headquartered in London with sites in Belfast, Arnish yard, Arnish, Appledore, Torridge, Appledore and Methil. It specialises in ship repair, ship ...

Ltd, Belfast 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 Transpor ...

(MoWT). In 1947 she was sold and renamed ''Tuscan Star'', then ''Timaru Star'' in 1948. She was sold again in 1950 and was renamed ''California Star'' in 1959. She was scrapped in 1969.

Description

Harland and Wolff Ltd built the ship at Belfast as yard number 1231. She was launched on 4 May 1945 and completed in October 1945. The ship was long, with a beam of and a depth of . Her

tonnage Tonnage is a measure of the capacity of a ship, and is commonly used to assess fees on commercial shipping. The term derives from the taxation paid on '' tuns'' or casks of wine. In modern maritime usage, "tonnage" specifically refers to a cal ...

s were and . Accommodation was provided for 35 passengers. This was reduced to 12 in 1948. The ship was propelled by a

Burmeister & Wain Burmeister & Wain was a large established Danish shipyard and leading diesel engine producer headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded by two Danes and an Englishman, its earliest roots stretch back to 1846. Over its 150-year history, it g ...

-type

two-stroke A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes of the piston, one up and one down, in one revolution of the crankshaft in contrast to a four-stroke engine which re ...

single cycle double-acting

marine Diesel engine Marine propulsion is the mechanism or system used to generate thrust to move a watercraft through water. While paddles and sails are still used on some smaller boats, most modern ships are propelled by mechanical systems consisting of an electr ...

that had eight cylinders of diameter by stroke.

History

''Empire Clarendon'' was built for the MoWT. She was a sister ship to . On 27 November 1946, ''Empire Clarendon'' was sold to Frederick Leyland & Co Ltd. She was placed under the management of the Blue Star Line Ltd. In 1947 she was renamed ''Tuscan Star'', followed by another renaming to ''Timaru Star'' in 1948. In 1949, she was sold to Lamport & Holt Line Ltd,

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

. She was renamed ''California Star'' in 1958, and sold to the Blue Star Line Ltd in 1959. With the introduction of

IMO Number The IMO number of the International Maritime Organization is a generic term with two distinct applications: * the IMO ship identification number is a unique ship identifier; or, * the IMO company and registered owner identification number is u ...

s, 5058002 was allocated to ''California Star''. In March 1968 ''California Star'' was laid up in the River Blackwater,

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

. Re-entering service by July 1968, she served until 1969, when she was sold to Tsuan Yau Steel & Iron Works Co Ltd. She arrived on 21 April 1969 at

Kaohsiung Kaohsiung, officially Kaohsiung City, is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsiung City has a population of approximately 2.73 million p ...

, Taiwan for scrapping, which was commenced on 20 May 1969.

References

External links

* – colour photo * – later photo {{DEFAULTSORT:California Star 1945 ships Cargo liners Empire ships Ministry of War Transport ships Merchant ships of the United Kingdom Ships built by Harland and Wolff Ships built in Belfast Ships of the Blue Star Line Ships of the Lamport and Holt Line