''Argobeam'' was a

cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's List of seas, seas and Ocean, oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. ...

which was built in 1945 as ''Empire Calshot'' 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 1946 she was sold and renamed ''Derrycunihy''. A further sale in 1952 saw her renamed ''Argobeam''. In August 1955 an engine room fire left her listing 40° to port and she was abandoned. She was salvaged, repaired and sold, being renamed ''Parkgate''. In 1960 she was sold to

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

and renamed ''Panagos'', serving until scrapped in 1968.

Description

The ship was built by

Burntisland Shipbuilding Company The Burntisland Shipbuilding Company was a shipbuilder and repairer in Burntisland, Fife, Scotland that was founded in 1918. In 1969 it was taken over by Henry Robb, Robb-Caledon Shipbuilders, which in turn was nationalised in 1977 as part of B ...

Ltd,

Burntisland Burntisland ( , ) is a former Royal burgh and parish in Fife, Scotland, on the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. It was previously known as Wester Kinghorn or Little Kinghorn. The town has a population of 6,269 (2011). Burntisland is known ...

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

, Scotland, as yard number 289. She was launched on 10 July 1945 and completed in November. The ship was long, with a beam of and a depth of . She had a GRT of 7,130 and a NRT of 4,860. She was propelled by a two-stroke, single cycle single action

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

which had three cylinders of diameter by stroke.

History

''Empire Calshot'' was built for the MoWT. She was operated under the management of H Hogarth & Sons Ltd. ''Empire Calshot'' was allocated the United Kingdom

Official Number Official numbers are ship identifier numbers assigned to merchant ships by their flag state, country of registration. Each country developed its own official numbering system, some on a national and some on a port-by-port basis, and the formats hav ...

180352. Her port of registry was Burntisland. In 1946, she was sold to McCowan & Gross Ltd,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and renamed ''Derrycunihy'', serving until 1952 when she was sold to Argobeam Shipping Co Ltd, London and renamed ''Argobeam''. She was placed under the management of A Luisi Ltd, London. On 19 August 1955, a fire in her engine room left ''Argobeam'' listing 40° to port and the ship was abandoned. She was taken in tow by the

tug A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, suc ...

''Salveda'' on 21 August, involving a rescue mission of

Sea Captain A sea captain, ship's captain, captain, master, or shipmaster, is a high-grade licensed mariner who holds ultimate command and responsibility of a merchant vessel. The captain is responsible for the safe and efficient operation of the ship, inc ...

John Nordlander, arriving at

Stromness Stromness (, ; ) is the second-most populous town in Orkney, Scotland. It is in the southwestern part of Mainland, Orkney. It is a burgh with a parish around the outside with the town of Stromness as its capital. Etymology The name "Stromnes ...

Orkney Islands Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland ...

on 25 August. Following pumping out, she was towed to

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, Denmark to discharge her cargo and then to

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

. During their time on board ''Salveda'' the crew of ''Argobeam'' smoked a number of

duty-free A duty-free shop or store is a retail outlet whose goods are exempt from the payment of certain local or national taxes and duties, on the requirement that the goods will be sold to travelers who will take them out of the country, who will ...

cigarette A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into Rolling paper, thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhale ...

s, which were being shipped from the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

to Denmark as part of ''Argobeams'' cargo. The unsmoked cigarettes were declared on arrival at Broad Bay,

Isle of Lewis The Isle of Lewis () or simply Lewis () is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides archipelago in Scotland. The two parts are frequently referred to as if they were separate islands. The t ...

, and initially no action was taken. As ''Salveda'' was considered to be "British soil" by

HM Customs and Excise HM Customs and Excise (properly known as Her Majesty's Customs and Excise at the time of its dissolution) was a department of the British Government formed in 1909 by the merger of HM Customs and HM Excise; its primary responsibility was the ...

and not entitled to have duty-free goods on board, officials later demanded the surrender of the unsmoked cigarettes and demanded £7 7s 3d in

duty A duty (from "due" meaning "that which is owing"; , past participle of ; , whence "debt") is a commitment or expectation to perform some action in general or if certain circumstances arise. A duty may arise from a system of ethics or morality, e ...

. Captain Watson paid the duty himself, pledging to fight for the return of the money. ''Argobeam'' was sold to Turnbull, Scott & Co, London, who had her repaired and renamed ''Parkgate''. In 1960, she was sold to Compagnia Navigazione Patlem SA,

and renamed ''Panagos''. She was operated under the management of G Lemos,

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, flying the Lebanese flag. ''Panagos'' was scrapped in 1968 in

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

, China.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Argobeam 1945 ships Ships built in Scotland Empire ships Ministry of War Transport ships Merchant ships of the United Kingdom Steamships of the United Kingdom Merchant ships of Lebanon Steamships of Lebanon Maritime incidents in 1955