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THE SHIP



Please "click" on ships picture to see details





The prefix "Empire" was given to all wartime built and requisitioned ships. "Empire" ships could very from tankers, tugs, coasters, cargo ships and even passenger liners.

The Empire Mica was Yard Number 328 and was built by Furness SB, in Haverton Hill on Tees, England. She was built for the Ministry of War Transport (MOWT), and was leased to the Anglo-American Oil Company, or ESSO, as it is known today. Although the Empire Mica was launched on the 10-April-1941, she was not completed for a further 3 months.

The ship was classed as an "Ocean Type Deep Sea Tanker". These tankers were also known as the "Three Twelves". The name three twelves comes from the fact that the ships were 12,000 ton dead weight and that they could achieve 12 knots on a fuel consumption of 12 tons per day. Except for a few changes to different ships, the plan, seen above, was the same for all of the Ocean Type Tankers. The ship was based on a "Shell" design. The idea had been to fit diesel engines to the ships, with some components coming from the continent. But because of the swift advance of the German army, these parts were impossible to get. So many ships, including the Empire Mica were fitted with 674nhp triple expansion steam engines. These engines could give the ship 11 to 12 knots, which was fast enough to enable the ship to travel in the "Fast Convoys". A typical journey across the Atlantic would take one of these convoys around 16 or 17 days.

The ship was 463.5ft long with a 61ft beam and displaced 8032grt. By the standards of today's Super Tankers, this ship would not have been very big, but back in 1941 she was a good size. If you have trouble imagining 463.5ft, the length of an English football (soccer) pitch can very from 300ft upto 390ft, so the ship would have been around a pitch and a half in length.

For defense, the ship was fitted with 1 4”, 1 – 12 pounder, 2 Hotchkiss, 2 Marlins, 2 Lewis guns, 2 P.A.C’s, and Kites.

The terms "Dead Weight" and "GRT", (gross tonnage), refer to the amount of water that is displaced by the ship, and not the ships actual weight. Gross tonnage is a measure of the internal capacity of a ship, it is a cubic or space measurement of all areas of a vessel with some allowances or deductions for exempt spaces such as living quarters. Deadweight tonnage (or deadweight carrying capacity) is the difference between the light and loaded displacements of a ship. Deadweight tonnage comprises the cargo, stores, ballast, fresh water, fuel oil, passengers, crew and their effects.


Empire Mica's movements


To see the full list of the Empire Mica's movements click --> Mica's movements <--

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