MV Port Fairy

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History
United Kingdom
NameMV Port Fairy
Namesake
Port Fairy, Victoria
Owner
Commonwealth and Dominion Line
BuilderSwan Hunter, Tyne and Wear
Yard number1339
Launched18 July 1928[1]
CompletedOctober 1928[1]
FateSold to Embajada Cia. Naviera SA of Piraeus
Greece
NameMV Taishikan
OwnerEmbajada Compania Naviera SA of Piraeus
Acquired1965
IdentificationOfficial number: 5528236[1]
FateBroken up at Hong Kong on 4 June 1965[1]
General characteristics
Tonnage8072
GRT
Length477.4 ft (145.5 m)
Beam63.4 ft (19.3 m)
Propulsion
  • Diesel engines
  • Twin screws
Speed15 knots (28 km/h)

MV Port Fairy was a

Port Fairy in Australia, she was renamed Taishikan for her final commercial voyage to Hong Kong
where she was scrapped.

Career

Construction

Port Fairy, 8072

Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson at Wallsend in 1928. She had a length of 147 m (482 ft 3 in), a beam of 19.3 m (63 ft 4 in) and a service speed of 15 knots.[2]

Pre-War

In 1930 her refrigeration equipment was modified and she carried the first cargo of chilled meat (instead of frozen meat) from Australia; she later worked the same cargo from New Zealand.

World War II

Port Fairy had an eventful war employed as an ammunition ship.[3]

Sailing in fast convoy OL8 from

Margaree in rough seas about 300 miles (483 km) west of Ireland (position 53°24′N 22°50′W / 53.400°N 22.833°W / 53.400; -22.833.[4][5]
). Margaree sank quickly; her captain, four officers and 136 crew were lost. Port Fairy rescued 34 of the survivors.

Focke Wulf Fw 200

On 9 July 1943 the small

U-boats
.

HMS Swale

Towards the end of the attack, the remnants of the convoy were joined by the British frigate

PBY Catalinas which strafed and badly damaged one of them[8] Port Fairy was hit on the port quarter by a 50 kg bomb which breached the hull, started a fire, and disabled her steering. Ammunition in adjacent cargo spaces was jettisoned and compartments flooded to minimize the risk of explosion. A bucket chain was set up to douse the fire, meanwhile Swale came alongside and played her own hoses on the blaze, which was extinguished by 2300 hrs. After two more air attacks, during which no further hits were sustained, both ships completed the remaining 500 nm
to Casablanca without incident, Port Fairy steering by her engines.

Post-War

On 25 December 1953, while operating on the Montreal - Australian New Zealand service, both engines failed owing to contaminated lubrication oil and the ship drifted for three days towards the rocks of Fatu Hira atoll. Plans were put in place to rig a temporary sail, but as this was being done one of the engines was repaired and the ship made port at 5 knots.

Disposal

By 1965 Port Fairy was the oldest ship in the fleet, and was sold for £126,000 for scrap to Embajada Compania Naviera SA of Piraeus. Renamed Taishikan, she made her final commercial voyage to Hong Kong, where she was broken up.

References

  1. ^ a b c d "5528236". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 22 June 2009.
  2. ^ "Port Line".
  3. ^ a b c "Maritime Disasters of World War II". Retrieved 20 June 2008.
  4. ^ "U-boat.net (HMCS Margaree)". Retrieved 14 May 2008.
  5. ^ "Naval History.net". Retrieved 14 May 2008.
  6. ISBN 1-904459-20-X
  7. ^ "Mercantile Marine.com". Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 20 June 2008.
  8. ISBN 1-84176-910-X

External links
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=MV_Port_Fairy&oldid=1091788667"