SS Esturia (1910)

History
Name
  • Esturia (1910-1928)
  • Loukia (1928-1937)
BuilderArmstrong Whitworth & Company, Walker[1]
Yard number826
Launched23 Aug 1910
CompletedOct 1910
IdentificationUK Official Number: 129151
FateSank after hitting a mine in 1937
General characteristics
Tonnage2,143 GRT
Length275 feet (84 m)[2]
Beam39 feet (12 m)
Draught28.8 feet (8.8 m)

Esturia was a 2,143 gross register ton oiler, built by Armstrong Whitworth & Company, Walker in 1910. She operated as an oil tanker for the Burmah Oil Company, before being chartered by the Royal Australian Navy on 11 September 1914, during the First World War, as an oiler and stores ship. She served as the destroyer depot ship for HMAS Swan, Huon, and Torrens in Australian and Malayan waters. After being dispatched to Port Said, Egypt with the destroyers, she was transferred to the Admiralty.

After serving with the Admiralty, she was sold in 1918 to Shell Tankers UK,[3] who operated her until 1928 when she was sold to the Greek company Mavris Bros Piraeus and renamed Loukia.

Fate

Loukia was lost on 4 March 1937, during a storm, after hitting a mine off Cape San Sebastian, Catalonia, Spain, during the Spanish Civil War. Loukia exploded, killing 23 of the 24 crew.[4]

Notes

  1. ^ "SS Esturia (1910)". tynebuiltships.co.uk. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  2. ^ "Lloyd's Register 1930-31" (PDF). plimsollshipdata. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  3. ^ "Esturia". Helder Line. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  4. ^ "MINE SINKS TANKER. Spanish Coast. 23 MEN DROWN. Shipping to be Diverted". Sydney Morning Herald. 6 March 1937. Page 17, column 3. Retrieved 21 May 2024 – via Trove.

References

  • Gillett, Ross (1986). Australia's navy : past, present & future. Brookvale, NSW: Child & Henry. ISBN 0-86777-178-X.
  • Odgers, George (1982). The Royal Australian Navy : an illustrated history. Brookvale, NSW: Child & Henry. ISBN 0-86777-240-9.