Stanbell was a 9,804 GRT tanker

Tank ship

A tanker is a ship designed to transport liquids in bulk. Major types of tankship include the oil tanker, the chemical tanker, and the liquefied natural gas carrier.-Background:...

 which was built by Sir J Laing & Sons, Sunderland in 1943 as Empire Beresford for the Ministry of War Transport. Postwar she was sold into merchant service and renamed Stanbell. She was converted to a bulk carrier

Bulk carrier

A bulk carrier, bulk freighter, or bulker is a merchant ship specially designed to transport unpackaged bulk cargo, such as grains, coal, ore, and cement in its cargo holds. Since the first specialized bulk carrier was built in 1852, economic forces have fueled the development of these ships,...

 and later sold to new owners and renamed Kelantan, serving until scrapped in 1965.

Description

Empire Beresford was built by Sir J Laing & Sons, Sunderland. She was yard number 753 and was launched on 15 September 1943 with completion in December. She was 484 feet (147.52 m) long, with a beam of 68 in 3 in (20.8 m) and a depth of 36 in 1 in (11 m). Her GRT was 9,804, with a NRT of 5,793.

Career

Empire Beresford was placed under the management of J A Billmeir & Co Ltd, who traded as the Stanhope Steamship Co Ltd. Her port of registry was Sunderland. Empire Beresford was a member of a number of convoys during the Second World War.

HX 313
Convoy HX 313 departed New York

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 on 10 October 1944 and arrived at Liverpool

Liverpool

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

 on 24 October. Empire Beresford was listed as a member of this convoy but did not sail in it, she joined the following convoy, HX 314.

HX 314
Convoy HX 314 departed New York on 15 October 1944 and arrived at Liverpool on 29 October. Empire Beresford was bound for Killingholme

Killingholme

Killingholme is an area of Lincolnshire, comprising the villages of North Killingholme and South Killingholme. It is the site of two oil refineries, the Humber Refinery and Lindsey Oil Refinery, and an liquid petroleum gas storage facility .It is also a fast expanding port, handling RORO ferries...

.

In 1945, Billmeir's purchased Empire Beresford from the MoWT and renamed her Stanbell. On 13 December 1953, Stanbell was in collision with SS Marine Courier off Cape Henry

Cape Henry

Cape Henry is a cape on the Atlantic shore of Virginia north of Virginia Beach. It is the southern boundary of the entrance to Chesapeake Bay.Across the mouth of the bay to the north is Cape Charles...

, Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

. The master of Marine Courier was found to have been at fault and his license was suspended for a month.

In 1955, Stanbell was converted to a bulk carrier. She was now 10,341 GRT, 5,623 NRT and 14,810 DWT. In 1960, Stanbell was sold to the Malaya Shipping Co Ltd, Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

 and renamed Kelantan. She was initially placed under the management of United Shipping & Investment Co Ltd, Hong Kong but management was later transferred to Gibson Shipping Co Inc, Macao

Mação

Mação is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 400.0 km² and a total population of 7,763 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of eight parishes, and is located in the Santarém District....

. Kelantan was scrapped in March 1965 at Hirao

Hirao, Yamaguchi

is a town located in Kumage District, Yamaguchi, Japan.As of 2003, the town has an estimated population of 14,396 and a density of 418.49 persons per km². The total area is 34.40 km².-External links:* *...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

.

Official Numbers and Code Letters

Official Numbers were a forerunner to IMO Numbers

IMO ship identification number

The IMO ship identification number is made of the three letters "IMO" followed by the seven-digit number assigned to all ships by IHS Fairplay when constructed. This is a unique seven digit number that is assigned to propelled, sea-going merchant ships of 100 GT and above...

. Empire Beresford had the UK Official number 180053 and the Code Letters

Code letters

Code letters were a method of identifying ships before the introduction of modern navigation aids. Later, with the introduction of radio, code letters were also used as radio callsigns.-History:...

 GFMY.

Propulsion

The ship was propelled by a triple expansion steam engine which had cylinders of 27 inches (68.6 cm), 44 inches (111.8 cm) and 76 inches (193 cm) bore by 51 inches (129.5 cm) stroke. It was built by North East Marine Engineering Co Ltd, Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...

.