Empire Almond

EMPIRE ALMOND

There were only two yards that built ‘Empire’ ships to the order of the MOWT outside of Britain and they were the Hong Kong and Whampoa Dock Co. Ltd. and the Taikoo Dockyard and Engineering Co. Ltd. also at Hong Kong. Only five ships had been completed before Hong Kong was occupied by Japanese forces, three at the former and two at the latter.
Empire Almond was the last ship to get away from the Taikoo yard as she had been launched on 23 July 1941 and completed during September.
The MOWT allocated her management to W. Runciman and Co. followed, in 1943, by Coolham SS Co. Ltd.
In 1946 she was sold to Kaye, Son and Co., London who named her Marquita and then renamed her Marsland in 1951. She is shown as Marsland in this photograph.
In 1960 she was sold to Poland and owners Polish Steamship Co., Szczecin where she was renamed Huta Zgoda. And had become or been converted to a floating warehouse.
She was broken up at Faslane during July 1978.
By 1969 she was named as MP-Zozie-12

Photograph belongs to Stuart Smith
Copyright A. Duncan, Gravesend, Kent.