 Postcard depicting the SS Irwell | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | 1906–1954: SSIrwell |
| Operator |
|
| Port of registry |  |
| Builder | Swan Hunter and Wigham Richardson[1] |
| Yard number | 758 |
| Launched | 10 May 1906 |
| Completed | May 1906 |
| Out of service | 3 April 1954 |
| Fate | Scrapped |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage | 1,040 gross register tons (GRT) |
| Length | 255 feet (78 m) |
| Beam | 36 feet (11 m) |
| Draught | 16.3 feet (5.0 m) |
SSIrwell was a freight vessel built for theLancashire and Yorkshire Railway in 1906.[2]
She was built in 1906 bySwan Hunter and Wigham Richardson as a sister ship toSS Mersey, and launched on 10 May 1906 for theLancashire and Yorkshire Railway to provide freight services from Goole to Rotterdam. She made her maiden voyage from the River Tyne to Goole on 13 June 1906.[3]
In June 1907, two stowaways were discovered when she had departedHamburg. Clowes Enoch ofSchleswig Holstein, and Joseph Todhunter of Birkenhead were found among the sails in the after part between decks[4]
In December 1913, she was returning to Goole fromGhent when she reversed forcefully into the north wall of the dock. A small boat was smashed and some pieces of the wall were dislodged.[5]
In 1914, she was engaged in the potato trade fromJersey, bringing the produce directly intoKingston upon Hull.[6] She was transferred to theLondon and North Western Railway in 1922 and to theLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway in 1923.
On 15 May 1929, she left Goole for Copenhagen, but became stuck in ice off the Danish Coast north ofSjaelland with a broken rudder and the steward was reported as dead.[7] The mate of the ship fell overboard, striking his head against one of the anchor chains, and was killed.[8] On 18 October 1934, she collided with the BritishsloopEdna in theHumber estuary atWhitton,Lincolnshire,England.Edna sank.[9]
She was transferred to Associated Humber Lines in 1935. She was based inIcelandic waters as a naval supply ship duringWorld War II. In 1946, she switched toLarne toLoch Ryan service.
On 28 December 1947, she was on a voyage fromRotterdam in heavy seas; the second officer reported seeing ayacht tossing helplessly flying distress signals. The American vessel, theSeafarer had set out from Cowes to sail to Norway. During the crossing, their engine failed, and the sail was blown away by the westerlygale. They had drifted for two days before being spotted byIrwell. The crew ofIrwell managed to get a line aboardSeafarer, and they towed the yacht toMasslius.[10]
In 1948, she was transferred to theBritish Transport Commission and she was scrapped in March 1954 atGateshead.
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1934 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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