SS ''Gallic'' 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 ...

built in 1918. During her career, she had six different owners and sailed under the flags of the United Kingdom, Panama and Indonesia. She underwent seven name changes during her 37-year career. She was scrapped at Hong Kong in 1956, the last surviving

White Star Line The White Star Line was a British shipping line. Founded out of the remains of a defunct Packet trade, packet company, it gradually grew to become one of the most prominent shipping companies in the world, providing passenger and cargo service ...

cargo ship."SS Gallic," de Kerbrech, Richard (2009). ''Ships of the White Star Line.'' Surrey, UK: Ian Allan Publishing. p. 179.

Career

In the latter part of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

the UK

Shipping Controller Shipping Controller was a post created by the Lloyd George Coalition Government in 1916 under the New Ministries and Secretaries Act (6 & 7 George 5 c.68) to regulate and organize merchant shipping in order to supply the United Kingdom with the ...

ordered a large number of

merchant ship A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are ...

s, built to a set of standard designs, to replace losses due to German's resumption of

unrestricted submarine warfare Unrestricted submarine warfare is a type of naval warfare in which submarines sink merchant ships such as freighters and tankers without warning. The use of unrestricted submarine warfare has had significant impacts on international relations in ...

. One of these was ''War Argus''; one of 22 Standard Type "G" ships. She was built by Workman, Clark & Co. of

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 ...

, who launched her on 19 October and completed her on 12 December, a month after the Armistice. She was operated by the White Star Line for the government until she was officially declared surplus in 1919. In August 1919, ''War Argus'' was purchased by White Star and renamed ''Gallic''. ''Gallic'' then served on the Australian service, and was later switched to Atlantic cargo service. As a result of the Depression and the merger of White Star with the

Cunard Line The Cunard Line ( ) is a British shipping and an international cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its four ships have been r ...

, in October 1933 ''Gallic'' was sold to the

Clan Line The Clan Line was a passenger and cargo shipping company that operated in one incarnation or another from the late nineteenth century and into the twentieth century. History Foundation and early years The company that would become the Clan Lin ...

and renamed ''Clan Colquhoun''. She continued her service on the same Atlantic route for the next 14 years. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, she was operated by 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 ...

as a refrigerated cargo carrier; unlike many other cargo steamers, she survived the war without incident. In February 1947, ''Clan Colquhoun'' was sold to the Zarati Steamship Co. of Panama and renamed ''Ioannis Livanos''. However, her new owners sold her in 1949 to another Panamanian shipping company, the Two Oceans Navigation Company SA (''Dos Oceanos Compania de Navegacion SA''), which renamed her ''Jenny''. In 1951, she was sold to Djakarta Lloyd NV of Indonesia, which renamed her ''Imam Bondjal'', but changed this to ''Djatinegra'' in 1952. In 1955, after 37 years of service, she was sold to Japanese breakers for

scrapping Scrap consists of Recycling, recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap can have Waste valorization, mone ...

. While under tow from

Djakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and an autonomous region at the provincial leve ...

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

, on 1 December 1955 ''Djatinegra'' was forced to put in at

Lingayen Lingayen, officially the Municipality of Lingayen (; ; ; ), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality and capital of the Philippine Province, province of Pangasinan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 10 ...

in the Philippines with her engine room flooded. She was refloated on 21 February 1956 and was scrapped at Hong Kong shortly after.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gallic (1918) 1918 ships Merchant ships of Indonesia Merchant ships of Panama Merchant ships of the United Kingdom Ministry of War Transport ships Ships built in Belfast Ships of the Clan Line Ships of the White Star Line Standard World War I ships Steamships of Indonesia Steamships of Panama Steamships of the United Kingdom