Empire Charmian was a heavy lift ship which was built in 1943 by Vickers-Armstrongs, Barrow in Furness. She was built for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). In 1951 she was sold into merchant service and renamed Vercharmian. After running aground in 1961, she was scrapped in 1962.
The ship was built by Vickers Armstrongs, Barrow-in-Furness. She was launched on 25 November 1942 and completed in March 1943.[1]
The ship was 416feet long, with a beam of 66feet and a depth of 31feet. She had a GRT of 7,513 and a NRT of 5,133.[2]
The ship was propelled by a 2-stroke Single Cycle Single Action diesel engine, which had three cylinders of NaNinches bore by NaNinches diameter. The engine was built by William Doxford & Sons Ltd. Sunderland.[2]
Empire Charmian was built for the MoWT. She was placed under the management of the British-India Steam Navigation Co Ltd. Her port of registry was Barrow in Furness. The Code Letters BFDL and United Kingdom Official Number 167745 were allocated.[2]
Empire Charmian was a member of a number of convoys during the Second World War.
In 1945, Empire Charmian transported a number of TIDs to Hong Kong. In February 1945, she transported TID 124 from the United Kingdom to Hong Kong. In October 1945, she transported TID 122 from Singapore to Hong Kong, and TIDs 123, 129 and 130 from Manus Island, Admiralty Islands to Hong Kong.[5]
In 1946, management of Empire Charmian was transferred to the Hain Steamship Co Ltd.[6] In 1951, Empire Charmian was sold to Vergottis Ltd, London and renamed Vercharmian.[1]
On 26 July 1960, crewmember Fernando Davila was injured when he fell through an open hatch on the forecastle of Vercharmian. He sued in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit claiming damages for injuries suffered when he fell through the hatch. The claim was denied and an appeal was unsuccessful.[7] On 31 May 1961, Vercharmian ran aground off Mormugao, India. She was refloated, and sailed on 7 July but was discovered to be leaking and was beached in Mormugao Bay. She was refloated on 7 October and towed to Karachi, Pakistan. She arrived on 7 March 1962 at Chittagong, India for scrapping.[1]