HMS Arpha

{{otherships|SS Aztec}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2017}}

{{Use British English|date=December 2017}}

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{{Infobox ship image

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{{Infobox ship career

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| Ship name =*SS Canterbury (1900–26)

  • SY Arpha (1926–38)
  • SS Arpha (1938–39)
  • HMS Arpha (1939–46)
  • SS Coriano (1946–55)

| Ship owner =*South Eastern and Chatham Railway (1901–22)

  • Southern Railway (1923–26)
  • W E Guinness (1926–38)
  • Crete Shipping Co Ltd (1938)
  • Sark Motorships Ltd (1938–39)
  • Royal Navy (1939–46)
  • W J Brown (1946)
  • Shell Company of Venezuela (1946–47)
  • Caribbean Petroleum Co (1947–49)
  • Shell Caribbean Petroleum Co (1949–51)
  • J M Perez Hernandez (1951–55)

| Ship operator =*South Eastern and Chatham Railway (1901–22)

  • Southern Railway (1923–26)
  • W E Guinness (1926–38)
  • Crete Shipping Co Ltd (1938)
  • Sark Motorships Ltd (1938–39)
  • Royal Navy (1939–46)
  • Worms & Co (1946)
  • Anglo-Saxon Petroleum Co Ltd (1946–47)
  • Caribbean Petroleum Co (1947–49)
  • Shell Caribbean Petroleum Co (1949–51)
  • J M Perez Hernandez (1951–55)

| Ship registry =*{{flagicon|United Kingdom|civil}} London (1901–26)

  • {{flagicon|United Kingdom|civil}} Cowes (1926–38)
  • {{flagicon|United Kingdom|civil}} Guernsey (1938–39)
  • {{flagicon|United Kingdom|naval}} Guernsey (1939–46)
  • {{flagicon|United Kingdom|civil}} London (1946–47)
  • {{Flagicon|Venezuela|1930}} Maracaibo (1947–55)

| Ship route = Dover–Calais (1901–26)

| Ship ordered =

| Ship builder = W Denny, Dumbarton

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| Ship yard number = 640

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| Ship launched = 6 December 1900

| Ship completed = January 1901

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| Ship out of service = October 1955

| Ship identification =*UK official number 112803 (1900–39)

  • code letters SDVR (1900–34)
  • {{ICS|Sierra}}{{ICS|Delta}}{{ICS|Victor}}{{ICS|Romeo}}
  • call sign MFCF (1937–46)
  • {{ICS|Mike}}{{ICS|Foxtrot}}{{ICS|Charlie}}{{ICS|Foxtrot}}

| Ship fate = Scrapped 1955

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{{Infobox ship characteristics

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| Ship type =*Passenger ferry (1901–26)

  • Steam yacht (1926–38)
  • Passenger ferry (1938–39)
  • Armed boarding vessel (1939–46)
  • Passenger ferry (1946–55)

| Ship tonnage =*{{GRT|561}} (1901–26), 602 (1926–55)

  • {{NRT|225}} (1901–26), 233 (1926–55)

| Ship displacement =

| Ship length = {{cvt|195.4|ft|abbr=on}}

| Ship beam = {{cvt|28.0|ft|abbr=on}}

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| Ship depth = {{cvt|14.2|ft|abbr=on}}

| Ship decks = 1

| Ship power = 2 × triple expansion steam engines

| Ship propulsion = Twin screws

| Ship speed = {{convert|14|kn|km/h}}

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Arpha was a {{GRT|602|link=off}} passenger ferry built in 1900 as Canterbury for the South Eastern and Chatham Railway. She passed to the Southern Railway on 1 January 1923. She was sold to W E Guinness in 1926 and renamed Arpha. In 1938 she was sold to Sark Motorships Ltd, only to be requisitioned by the Royal Navy in 1939. Postwar, she was sold to Compania Shell de Venezuela and renamed Coriano. After a further change of ownership she was scrapped in 1955.

Description

The ship was built by W Denny & Bros, Dumbarton. She was yard number 640 and was launched on 6 December 1900 with completion in January 1901.{{csr|register=MSI|id=1112803|accessdate=3 January 2010}} As built, she had a GRT of 566 and a NRT of 144.{{cite web |url= https://www.clydeships.co.uk/view.php?&ref=15194 |title=Canterbury |work=Scottish Built Ships |publisher=Caledonian Maritime Research Trust |access-date=27 March 2024}} She was powered by two triple expansion steam engines, which had cylinders of 13½ inches (34 cm), 20½ inches (52 cm) and {{convert|31|in|cm}} bore by {{convert|21|in|cm}} stroke.{{cite book |url= https://plimsoll.southampton.gov.uk/shipdata/pdfs/37/37b0979.pdf |year=1937 |title=Lloyd's Register |volume=II.–Steamers and Motorships of 300 tons gross and over |place=London |publisher=Lloyd's Register |via=Southampton City Council |at=Supplement: A |access-date=3 January 2010}} These could propel her at a speed of {{convert|14|kn|km/h}}. Arpha was {{convert|195.4|ft}} long, with a beam of {{convert|28.0|ft}} and a depth of {{convert|14.2|ft}}.

History

Canterbury was built for the South Eastern and Chatham Railway. She was used on their Dover - Calais route.{{cite web|url=http://www.scienceandsociety.co.uk/results.asp?image=10282855&wwwflag=2&imagepos=58 |title='SS Canterbury', c 1923–1926. |publisher=Science & Society |access-date=3 January 2010}} Her port of registry was London. In 1926, Canterbury was sold to W E Guinness and was rednamed Arpha. She was converted to a yacht, with a GRT of 602 and a NRT of 233. Her port of registry was changed to Cowes, Isle of Wight. On 6 June 1930, she ran aground in Moon Sound ({{coord|58|47|N|23|23|E}}).{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Casualty reports |date=7 June 1930 |page=22 |issue=45533 |column=F }} She was refloated on 10 June.{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Casualty reports |date=12 June 1930 |page=25 |issue=45537 |column=C }} In 1938, Guinness sold her to the Crete Shipping Co Ltd, London, who sold her to Sark Motorships Ltd later that year. Her port of registry was changed to Guernsey.

In 1939, Arpha was requisitioned by the Royal Navy. She was used as an armed boarding vessel in the Mediterranean and Red Sea as part of the Contraband Control Service.{{cite web|url=http://www.naval-history.net/xDKWW2-4006-15RNOverseas-Dominion.htm |last=Kindell |first=Don |title=Royal, Dominion and Indian Navy Ships, June 1940, Part 4 of 4 |publisher=Naval-History.net |access-date=6 January 2010}} For the duration of the war, Arpha was shown on Lloyd's Register as still in the ownership of Sark Motorships Ltd.{{cite book |url= https://plimsoll.southampton.gov.uk/shipdata/pdfs/44/44b0074.pdf |year=1944 |title=Lloyd's Register |volume=II.–Steamers and Motorships of 300 tons. Trawlers, tugs, dredgers, etc. |place=London |publisher=Lloyd's Register |at=ARN–ART |via=Southampton City Council |access-date=3 January 2010}} In 1946, Arpha was sold to W J Brown. She was operated under the management of Worms & Co Ltd. Later that year she was sold to the Shell Co of Venezuela Ltd London, operating under the management of the Anglo-Saxon Petroleum Co Ltd. She was renamed Coriano. In 1947, she was sold to the Caribbean Petroleum Co, Venezuela. Coriano was sold in 1949 to the Shell Caribbean Petroleum Co, Maracaibo. She was used to carry passengers during the construction of a refinery. In 1955, Coriano was sold to J M Perez Hernandez. She was scrapped by North American Smelting Co, Bordentown, New Jersey, arriving for scrapping on 28 October 1955.

Identification

Official numbers were a forerunner to IMO numbers. Canterbury and Arpha had the United Kingdom official number 112803 Canterbury{{'}}s code letters were SDVR.{{cite book |year=1914 |title=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |volume=I.–Steamers |place=London |publisher=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |via=Internet Archive |url= https://archive.org/details/HECROS1915ST/page/n190/mode/1up |at=CAN–CAP}} Arpha{{'}}s call sign was MFCF.

References