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Marialaura was a 7,318 GRT cargo ship that was built in 1945 as Empire Eddystone by William Gray & Co Ltd, West Hartlepool, Co Durham, United Kingdom for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). In 1947, she was sold into merchant service and renamed Winston Churchill. A sale to an Italian owner in 1952 saw her renamed Marialaura, serving until she was scrapped in 1966.

Description

The ship was built in 1945 by William Gray & Co Ltd, West Hartlepool. She was yard number 1176.

The ship was 431 feet (131 m) long, with a beam of 56 feet (17 m). She was assessed at 7,318 GRT.

The ship was propelled by a triple expansion steam engine.

History

Empire Eddystone was launched on 8 December 1943 and completed in May 1944. She was placed under the management of E T Radcliff & Co Ltd, Cardiff, Glamorgan. She was allocated the United Kingdom Official Number 180084, and Code Letters GKMC. Her port of registry was West Hartlepool.

In 1947, Empire Eddystone was sold to Aegean Shipping Co Ltd and renamed Winston Churchill. She was placed under the management of S G Embiricos Ltd, London.

In 1952, Winston Churchill was sold to Fratelli D'Amico, Rome, Italy and renamed Marialaura. She served until May 1966, when she was scrapped at Trieste.

References

1. ^ Mitchell, W.H.; Sawyer, L.A. (1995). The Empire Ships. London, New York, Hamburg, Hong Kong: Lloyd's of London Press Ltd. p. not cited. ISBN 1-85044-275-4.
2. "Marialaura Originally known as: Empire Eddystone". Portcities Hartlepool. Retrieved 5 August 2011.
3. ^ "EMPIRE – D – E". Mariners. Retrieved 5 August 2011.
4. "ON180000". Mariners. Retrieved 5 August 2011.
5. "Signal Letters Database". Convoyweb. Retrieved 5 August 2011. (Enter GKMC or Empire Eddystone in relevant search box)

• 1945 ships
• Ships built on the River Tees
• Empire ships
• Ministry of War Transport ships
• Steamships of the United Kingdom
• Steamships of Italy
• Merchant ships of Italy