
SS Tobruk

Tobruk was a cargo ship which was built in 1941 as Empire Builder by William Gray & Sons Ltd for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). On completion she was handed over to the Polish government-in-exile (along with four others; "Narwik", "Bałtyk", "Białystok" and "Borysław", which in 1950 was renamed to "Bytom") and renamed "Tobruk". She was a member of a number of convoys during the Second World War. She was sold in 1951 to Polskie Linie Oceaniczne and served until 1967. She was scrapped in 1968.
Description.
"Empire Builder" was built by William Gray & Sons Ltd, West Hartlepool. She was yard number 1123. "Empire Builder" was launched on 19 November 1941 and completed in January 1942.
The ship was long, with a beam of and a depth of . She was propelled by a triple expansion steam engine which had cylinders of , and bore by stroke. The engine was built by Central Marine Engine Works, West Hartlepool. It could propel her at "Empire Builder" was listed on Lloyds Register as having a GRT of 7,090 and a NRT of 5,050. "Tobruk" was listed on Lloyds Register as having a GRT of 7,048 and a NRT of 4,977. Her DWT was 10,500.
Career.
"Empire Builder's" port of registry was West Hartlepool. On completion, she was handed over to the Polish Government and renamed "Tobruk". Her port of registry was changed to Gdynia. "Tobruk" was owned by the Polish government and operated under the management of Gdynia-America Shipping Lines Ltd.
Convoy PQ 13 departed Loch Ewe on 10 March 1942 and arrived at Murmansk, Soviet Union on 31 March having lost six ships to enemy action. A further two were sunk at Murmansk after the convoy's arrival. "Tobruk" was damaged by enemy bombing at Murmansk, repairs took about six months to complete. Crew members were joking later that the convoy departed on the 13th day of the month, the trip lasted 13 days, and Tobruk had the thirteenth position in the convoy.
Convoy QP 14 departed Murmansk on 13 September 1942 and arrived at Loch Ewe on 26 September, having lost four ships to enemy action. "Tobruk" was carrying a cargo of Apatite. She departed Murmansk on 8 September bound for Archangelsk, from where she joined the convoy.
Convoy SL 178 departed Freetown, Sierra Leone on 25 November 1944 and arrived at Liverpool on 15 December. "Tobruk" was on a voyage from Pepel to Barry, Glamorgan. She was carrying a cargo of iron ore and two passengers. On 9 December, a deceased seaman from "Tobruk" was buried at sea.
Postwar, "Tobruk" continued in Polish Government service until 1951 when she was sold to Polskie Linie Oceaniczne. In 1950 during a storm in the Bay of Biscay in order to prevent the ship from crashing into the local reefs the crew improvised a sail, saving the ship; this is the only known example of a modern bulk carrier using a sail. She served until 1967, and was scrapped at Gdynia in June 1968.
In popular culture.
The wartime history of the ship has been portrayed in a novel "S.S. Tobruk – w konwojach śmierci" (SS Tobruk – in the convoys of death) by Jana Kazimierza Sawickiego.