The ship was 116feet long, with a beam of 27feet. She had a depth of 12feet and a draught of 13feet. She was assessed at, .[1] [2]
The ship was propelled by a 900 ihp triple expansion steam engine, which had cylinders of 14, diameter by 27inches stroke. The engine was built by Ferguson Brother (Port Glasgow) Ltd. It drove a single screw propeller.[2]
Empire Freetown was built in 1945 as yard number 377 by Ferguson Brothers (Port Glasgow) Co. Ltd., Port Glasgow, Renfrewshire for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT).[3] She was launched on 22 October 1945 and completed on 31 January 1946.[2] Her port of registry was Glasgow. The United Kingdom Official Number 169463 and Code Letters GFDP were allocated.[1] She was operated under the management of the Overseas Towageand Salvage Co. Ltd, London.[2]
The MoWT became the Ministry of Transport in April 1946. She was passed to the Admiralty on 31 May 1947 and renamed Oriana. On 19 January 1948, with the French tug Vagrant, she was towing HMMS 366 from Chatham Dockyard to Brightlingsea, Essex when she struck a mine and sank in the Colne Estuary with the loss of all fifteen of her crew, who all hailed from the Medway Towns, Kent.[2] [3] [4] [5]