''Seniority'' was an
cargo ship which was built in 1942 as ''Empire Boswell'' 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). Postwar she was sold into merchant service as ''Aviswell'' and ''Seniority'', serving until she ran aground on 7 November 1950. Although refloated, she sank on 8 November 1950.
Description
The ship was built by
William Gray & Co. Ltd.,
West Hartlepool
West Hartlepool was a predecessor of Hartlepool, County Durham, England. It developed in the Victorian era and took the name from its western position in the parish of what is now known as the Headland.
The former town was originally formed ...
.
She was yard number 738.
Launched as ''Empire Boswell'' on 2 June 1942, she was completed in August 1942.
[
The ship was long, with a beam of and a depth of . She was propelled by a ]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 he ...
which had cylinders of , and bore by stroke. The engine was built by the Central Marine Engine Works, West Hartlepool.
Career
''Empire Boswell's'' port of registry was West Hartlepool. She was initially operated under the management of Currie Line Ltd.[ She was a member of a number of convoys during the ]Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
.
;ON 160
Convoy ON 169 departed from the United Kingdom on 12 January 1943 and arrived at Ambrose
Ambrose of Milan ( la, Aurelius Ambrosius; ), venerated as Saint Ambrose, ; lmo, Sant Ambroeus . was a theologian and statesman who served as Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397. He expressed himself prominently as a public figure, fiercely promo ...
on 5 February. ''Empire Boswell'' is noted as a straggler from this convoy.Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native En ...
on 2 May 1943 and arrived at Liverpool
Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
on 21 May.Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...
, United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
on 15 September 1943 and arrived at Port Said
Port Said ( ar, بورسعيد, Būrsaʿīd, ; grc, Πηλούσιον, Pēlousion) is a city that lies in northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal. With an approximate population of ...
on 13 October. ''Empire Boswell'' joined the convoy at Gibraltar and left at Bône
Annaba ( ar, عنّابة, "Place of the Jujubes"; ber, Aânavaen), formerly known as Bon, Bona and Bône, is a seaport city in the northeastern corner of Algeria, close to the border with Tunisia. Annaba is near the small Seybouse Rive ...
, Algeria
)
, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Algiers
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, religi ...
.British-India Steam Navigation Company
British India Steam Navigation Company ("BI") was formed in 1856 as the Calcutta and Burmah Steam Navigation Company.
History
The ''Calcutta and Burmah Steam Navigation Company'' had been formed out of Mackinnon, Mackenzie & Co, a trading part ...
.[
In 1949, ''Aviswell'' was sold to F T Everard & Co Ltd and renamed ''Seniority''. On 7 November 1950, ''Seniority'' ran aground at Leinish Point, ]Inner Hebrides
The Inner Hebrides (; Scottish Gaelic: ''Na h-Eileanan a-staigh'', "the inner isles") is an archipelago off the west coast of mainland Scotland, to the south east of the Outer Hebrides. Together these two island chains form the Hebrides, whic ...
(). Although refloated, she sank the next day off the Bo Vich Chuan Rock.[
]
Official Numbers and Code Letters
Official Numbers were a forerunner to IMO Numbers
IMO or Imo may refer to:
Biology and medicine
* Irish Medical Organisation, the main organization for doctors in the Republic of Ireland
* Intelligent Medical Objects, a privately held company specializing in medical vocabularies
* Isomaltoolig ...
. The ship had the UK Official Number
Official numbers are ship identifier numbers assigned to merchant ships by their 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 have sometimes ...
168945.[ ''Empire Boswell'' used the ]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 ...
BCBP.[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seniority
1942 ships
Ships built on the River Tees
Steamships of the United Kingdom
Ministry of War Transport ships
Empire ships
Merchant ships of the United Kingdom
Maritime incidents in 1950
Shipwrecks of Scotland