Empire Almond was a cargo ship that was built in 1941. She was renamed Marquita in 1946, Marsland in 1951, Huta Zgoda in 1960 and MP-Zozie-12 in 1969. She was scrapped in 1978.
Empire Almond was built by Taikoo Dockyard and Engineering Co Ltd, Hong Kong[1] as yard number 297. She was launched on 23 July 1941 and completed in September 1941. Empire Almond was built for the Ministry of War Transport[1] and initially operated under the management of the W Runciman & Co Ltd, London[1] and later the Coolham Steamship Co Ltd.[2] Empire Almond was initially homeported in Hong Kong[1] but her homeport was changed to London in 1942.[3]
Empire Almond was a member of a number of convoys during the Second World War.
Convoy OS 33 sailed from Liverpool for Freetown, Sierra Leone on 1 July 1942, arriving on 20 July.[4] Empire Almond sailed from the Clyde with a destination of Takoradi, Ghana with a cargo of Government stores.[4]
Convoy MKS 52 departed from Augusta on 13 June 1944. Empire Almond was bound for Malta for attention to defects.[5]
Convoy KMS 67 left Liverpool on 24 October 1944 and arrived at Gibraltar on 2 November. Empire Almond was carrying a cargo of stores and general cargo, bound for Alexandria.[6] At 1300 hrs on 26 October, Empire Almond was stopped with an engine fault. It took about 4 hours before she was able to resume her journey. She was escorted by the S and, rejoining the convoy at 2200 hrs.[7]
Convoy MKS 72 left Lisbon on 23 December 1944. Empire Almond was carrying a cargo of steel.[8]
Convoy KMS 85 left Liverpool on 17 February 1945 and reached Gibraltar on 24 February. Empire Almond sailed from Southend bound for Lisbon.[9]
In 1946 Empire Almond was sold to Kaye, Son & Co, London and renamed Marquita.[10] Marquita visited Auckland, New Zealand on 3 May 1949.[11] She was renamed Marsland in 1951. In 1960, Marsland was sold to the Polska Żegluga Morska, Szczecin and renamed Huta Zgoda.[10] In about 1967 Huta Zgoda was sold to Rejonowe Zaklady Zbozowe PZZ and converted into a grain storage hulk at Gdańsk. In 1969, Huta Zgoda was sold to Zaklady Obrutu Zbozami Importawanymi i Eksportowymi PZZ and renamed MP-Zozie-12. she served in this capacity until 1978. MP-Zozie-12 was sold for scrap in 1978, arriving at Faslane under tow on 10 July.[12]
Official numbers were a forerunner to IMO Numbers.
Empire Almond had the UK Official Number 172790 and Call sign VRFR.[1]