Greek Ship

26°31′34.13″N 53°54′29.11″E / 26.5261472°N 53.9080861°E / 26.5261472; 53.9080861

Khoula F, the "Greek Ship", on Kish Island
History
Name	Empire Trumpet[1] (1943–1946)[2][3] Naturalist (1946–1959)[2] Persian Cyrus (1959–1965)[2] Hamadan (1965–1966)[2] Koula F (1966)[2]
Owner	Ministry of War Transport, London[1] (1943–1946)[2] Charente Steamship Co. Ltd., Liverpool (1946–1959)[2] Iranian Lloyd, London (1959–1965)[2] Iranian Shipping Lines SA, Khorramshahr (1965–1966)[2] P. Frangoulis & A.I Cliafas, Piraeus (1966)[2]
Operator	T&J Harrison[1] (1943–1959)[2] B Ashworth (Overseas) Ltd (1959–65)[2]
Port of registry	Greenock[1]
Builder	William Hamilton & Co., Port Glasgow[1]
Yard number	458[2]
Launched	9 March 1943[2]
Completed	April 1943[1]
In service	1943
Out of service	1966
Identification	(as Empire Trumpet) UK Official Number 168995[1] signal code BFGT[1]
Nickname(s)	"The Greek Ship"
Fate	beached 25 July 1966[2]
General characteristics
Type	Cargo ship[1]
Tonnage	7,059 GRT[1] 6,601 tonnage under deck[1] 4,805 NRT
Length	432.7 ft (131.9 m)[1]
Beam	56.2 ft (17.1 m)[1]
Draught	34.2 ft (10.4 m) [1]
Installed power	510 NHP[1]
Propulsion	3-cylinder triple-expansion steam engine[1]
Sensors and processing systems	direction finding[1] echo sounding[1]

The Greek Ship (Persian: کشتی یونانی, Kešti-ye Yunāni) is the nickname of a cargo steamship, Khoula F, that has been beached on the southwest coast of Kish Island, Iran, since 1966. She was built in 1943 by the British shipyard of William Hamilton and Company in Port Glasgow, Scotland, under the name Empire Trumpet.^[1] From 1946 to 1966, she passed through a series of British and Iranian owners and various changes of name.^[2] Her final owners were Greek.^[2]

Propulsion

Empire Trumpet was steam powered. She had nine corrugated furnaces with a combined grate area of 165 square feet (15 m²) that heated three 220 lb_f/in² single-ended boilers with a combined heating surface of 7,248 square feet (673 m²).^[1] The boilers supplied a triple-expansion engine, which had cylinders of 24.5 inches (62 cm), 39 inches (99 cm) and 72 inches (180 cm) bore by 48 inches (120 cm) stroke, and was rated at 510 NHP.^[1] The engine was built by David Rowan & Co Ltd of Glasgow.^[1]

Career

Empire Trumpet's first owner was the British Ministry of War Transport,^[1] which placed her under the management of Larrinaga Steam Ship Co from 1943^[3] and then T&J Harrison Co^[1] from 1945.^[3] She was chartered to the South African Government from 1943 to 1946.^[2] In 1946, Charente Steam Ship Co bought the ship, renamed her Naturalist, and continued the management arrangement with T&J Harrison.^[2]

In 1959, Iranian Lloyd & Co Ltd of Khorramshahr bought the ship and renamed her Persian Cyrus.^[2] Iranian Lloyd placed Persian Cyrus under the management of B Ashworth and Co. (Overseas) Ltd of London.^[2] In 1965, Iranian Shipping Lines SA of Khorramshahr bought the ship and renamed her Hamadan.^[2] In 1966, P.J. Frangoulis and A.I. Cliafas of Greece bought the ship and renamed her Koula F.^[2]

Wreck

Approximate position of Kish Island and Koula F's wreck in the Persian Gulf.

On July 25, 1966, Koula F ran aground on the south-western coast of Kish Island in the Persian Gulf. The Dutch salvage tug Orinoco tried to refloat the ship but was unsuccessful.^[2] The insurers declared Khoula F a total loss^[2] and she has remained beached ever since. The ship's condition has deteriorated and her stern has started to break up. The ship attracts tourists who come to view her at sunset.^[4][5]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Koula F (ship, 1943).

This page was last edited on 13 June 2024, at 21:34