HMS Arpha
{{otherships|SS Aztec}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2017}}
| {{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image | Ship image = | Ship caption = }} {{Infobox ship career | Hide header = | Ship name =*SS Canterbury (1900–26)
| Ship owner =*South Eastern and Chatham Railway (1901–22)
| Ship operator =*South Eastern and Chatham Railway (1901–22)
| Ship registry =*{{flagicon|United Kingdom|civil}} London (1901–26)
| Ship route = Dover–Calais (1901–26) | Ship ordered = | Ship builder = W Denny, Dumbarton | Ship original cost = | Ship yard number = 640 | Ship way number = | Ship laid down = | Ship launched = 6 December 1900 | Ship completed = January 1901 | Ship christened = | Ship acquired = | Ship maiden voyage = | Ship in service = | Ship out of service = October 1955 | Ship identification =*UK official number 112803 (1900–39)
| Ship fate = Scrapped 1955 | Ship notes = }} {{Infobox ship characteristics | Hide header = | Header caption = | Ship type =*Passenger ferry (1901–26)
| Ship tonnage =*{{GRT|561}} (1901–26), 602 (1926–55)
| Ship displacement = | Ship length = {{cvt|195.4|ft|abbr=on}} | Ship beam = {{cvt|28.0|ft|abbr=on}} | Ship height = | Ship draught = | Ship draft = | 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}} | Ship capacity = | Ship crew = | Ship notes = }} |
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
{{Reflist}}
{{SECR Ships}}
{{SR ships}}
{{1930 shipwrecks}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arpha}}
Category:Ships built on the River Clyde
Category:Ships of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway
Category:Steamships of the United Kingdom
Category:Victorian-era merchant ships of the United Kingdom
Category:World War I merchant ships of the United Kingdom
Category:Merchant ships of the United Kingdom
Category:Ships of the Southern Railway (UK)
Category:Maritime incidents in 1930
Category:Ships of the Royal Navy