Arlington Court (1)

From SN Guides

Introduction

Court Line has used the name Arlington Court for three ships:

1. Arlington Court (1) - the topic of this article
2. Arlington Court (2) - a cargo ship launched in 1924
3. Arlington Court (3) - a cargo ship launched in 1962

Arlington Court (1) was Haldenstein & Co. Ltd.'s first tramp steamer. She was in service for 28 years. She survived being torpedoed in WW1 and was finally scrapped in 1933.

No images of this ship have been found to date - anyone having one is requested to contact Ships Nostalgia member Benjidog so that it can be added.

Basic Data

• Type: Cargo ship
• Registered owners,managers and operators: Court Line Ltd. - Managers Haldinstien and Co
• Builders: R. Stephenson and Co Ltd.
• Yard: Newcastle
• Country: UK
• Yard number: 94
• Registry: N/K
• Official number: 120632
• Signal letters: N/K
• Call sign: N/K
• Classification society: N/K
• Gross tonnage: 4,346 grt
• Net tonnage: 2,833 grt
• Deadweight: N/K
• Length: 355 ft
• Breadth: 50 ft
• Depth: 26.5 Ft
• Draught: N/K
• Engines: 3 cylinder triple-expansion steam engine
• Engine builders: Blair and Co. Ltd.
• Works: Stockton-on-Tees
• Country: UK
• Power: 358 nhp
• Propulsion: N/K
• Speed: 9 knots
• Boilers: N/K
• Cargo capacity:N/K
• Crew: N/K

• Employment: General purpose cargo vessel

Career Highlights

• 14/10/1905: Launched
• 1915: Managers restyled Haldin & Co. Ltd.
• 28/09/1914: Requisitioned as a RN Collier No 338
• 1916: Sold to G.H.Mitchell & Co
• 14/05/1917: Torpedoed
• 1918: Renamed Penylan
• 1918: Transferred to W.J. Williams for management
• 1919: Sold to Sydney Rees Navigation Co. Ltd. - Managers Ferrier & Rees Ltd. and renamed Penrhos
• 1925: Sold to Soc Anon A Parodi and renamed Zovetto
• 1927: Sold to Essex Line Ltd - Managers Meldrum & SSwinsonand renamed Essex Knoll
• Jan 1933: Arrived in Venice for scrapping - broken up at Pola

Service Pre-WW1

According to External resource #3, Arlington Court (1) sailed on her maiden voyage under Captain S.H. Jones.

She traded worldwide under Captain Robert Rooks throughout 1914 when taken on six months time-charter by the German Gans Line to carry cotton from New Orleans and Mobile to Europe. She then loaded coal in the Tyne for Marseilles in early July, and was requisitioned at Cardiff on her return.

War Service WW1

Arlington Court (1) was used to transport various cargoes during the war:

• RN Collier from 28/9/14 - 22/12/14
• Transportation of sugar and coal from 7/11/15 -13/12/15
• Timber transport 11/3/16 till 2/9/16
• Collier again until 8/9/18
• Transport of wheat from USA. and Australia till mid 1919.

External resource #3 provides the following information:

Arlington Court (1) was ordered to proceed to Abrolhos Rocks off the coast of Brazil to rendezvous with the South Atlantic fleet under Admiral Craddock. She arrived there on 27 October 1914, but the fleet was far away engaging a German squadron at Coronel off Chile, She waited until 6 November when orders were received to proceed to an anchorage 3 miles outside the English Bank lighthouse in the Plate. Here the loss of the British warships was learnt, and the Hain Line tramp Tregurno advised them to move back to Abrolhos to bunker the auxiliary cruiser Orama. The ships were made fast to each other while bunkering was taking place, but the rough sea made them roll heavily with frequent small collisions under water. No leaks were found on the tramp and she set sail for the Falklands to bunker the battlecruiser Invincible - a member of the victorious British squadron at the Battle of the Falklands.

She then came off charter and voyaged to Karachi to load wheat. She was given an 12-pounder as defence against submarines but due to the shortage of these guns it was taken off at Gibraltar and a 3-pounder substituted. Her speed was down to 5.75 knots due to marine growth, and when a periscope was sighted travelling along the port side of the tramp only 200 yards away the worst was feared as the 3-pounder could not be depressed sufficiently to take aim. Amasingly no attacke was made and Liverpool was safely reached early in 1916. Later that year on 30 October she was chased by a U-boat 50 miles SW of Cape St. Vincent but used her gun to good effect to escape. However she was torpedoed on 14 May 1917 off SW Ireland but was towed in and repaired. She was shortly afterwards sole to the Mitchell Steamship Co. Ltd. with W.J. Williams as manager and renamed Penylan after a suburb of Cardiff.

Service Post-War

Currently little information is known about her usage between the end of WW1 and her being scrapped in 1933 but as can be seen from the Career Highlights section above, she changed hands and name several times.

External resources

1. Miramar Ship Index: Miramar
2. Information extracted from Lloyds Registers by John Powell
3. Norman Middlemiss: Travel of the Tramps - Twenty Tramp Fleets

Images

Awaiting an image of this vessel

Contributors

1. Basic information provided by Clive Ketley and John Powell
2. Additional research and construction of entry by Benjidog