KELLETIA (1) ex. HOPEMOUNT

Submitted by Kees Helder on Wed, 04/22/2015 - 11:14

About

Completed 1929 as Hopemount for Hopemount Shipping. 1945 purchased by STUK and renamed "KELLETIA". 1955 sold to River Line and renamed Coral River, converted to dry-cargo. 5-9-1964 aground at Hong Kong in typhoon, refloated and broken-up in 1965.

Also known as	Hopemount Coral River
IMO number	5507951
Call sign	GSWF
Construction number	1357
Tonnage	10.522 ton
Beam	18m
Length overall	134m
Year of construction	1929
Year of renaming/broken up	1965
Service for Shell	1945 to 1955
Cargo	Crude and white oil products
Class	Chemical / Oil Product Tanker
Flag state	Great Britain
Home port	London
Manager	Anglo-Saxon / Shell Tankers U.K.
Shipyard	Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson Shipbuilders Wallsend UK
Status	Sailing / Sailed for Anglo-Saxon / Shell Tankers UK / STUK

Photo(s)

Comments

914-907-1301

Permalink Submitted by Robin Wilkins on Sun, 08/04/2013 - 05:10

Log in or register to post comments

1257-907-1301

Permalink Submitted by Robin Wilkins on Sat, 08/13/2016 - 01:10

Log in or register to post comments

Sailors

Name	Job	Period
Charles P. Gonsalves	junior engineer	1945 to 1947
Noel Bailie	4th engineer	1949 to 1950
Ron Mason	petty officers peggy (galley boy)	1953 to 1955
Keith Emery.	junior ordinary seaman	1954
James A Stewart	4th engineer officer	1954
Kees Verhoorn K...	matroos/scheepsgezel	1959 to 1960

Anecdotes

Date	Visitor	Anecdote
08/13/2016 - 01:10	Robin Wilkins	Further to my earlier memory of sailing on Kelletia 1, I have come across the story of the ship under her previous name of Hopemount.She sailed in Convoy PQ14 to Murmansk from Reykjavik on 8 April 1942. The convoy was attacked by German bombers on 15th April and the 16th. Also the convoy came under German submarine attack. the Hopemount had two large guns. a HA/LA 4inch and a Japanese 4.7inch, made in 1914. She also had Lewis guns and Oerlikons. These were manned by DEMS Naval gunners and Royal Marines. The ships crew also had Hotchkiss machine guns. The Hopemount on arrival in Russia, was used as fleet supply ship for other ships needing fuel for return trips to the UK. In my day, under her Kelletia name, sailing in the warm waters of the Persian Gulf and Pacific Ocean the ship must have felt as though she was on holiday!
08/04/2013 - 05:10	Robin Wilkins	The Kelletia (1) was discarded in 1955 not 1954. I served as Deck Boy and JOS 1954/55 and with other crew was discharged in Singapore in 1955 and flown to the Uk by KLM in a DC3. It took four days with three overnight stops. The ship frequently broke down and stopped for repairs and leaked like a sieve. We were refused entry into Columbo harbour because of the oil leaking out of our tanks. The Kelletia was dry docked in Singapore for a few weeks whilst some of the holes in the hull were plugged, but not all of them. It was my first voyage and the old ship was a bit of a shock. Four men in a small cabin, a barely turning fan in the tropics and mainly bad food. Four and a half ounces of dry tea per man per week and weighed to the tea leaf! For a sixteen year old though, seeing many of the countries in the Far East with a little pocket money (10 pounds a month) it was interesting. Getting up for the 4 to 8 watch though was a bit tough. I retired as Administration Manager for an Oil Refining Company some years ago, so finished my working life associated with oil as it had began, many years earlier.