Clan Allan was a cargo ship that was built in 1942 as Empire Forest by John Readhead & Sons Ltd, South Shields, County Durham, United Kingdom for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). She was sold to Clan Line in 1946 and renamed Clan Allan. Sold in 1958 to Bullard, King & Co Ltd and renamed Umtali, she was sold back to Clan Line the following year and renamed Clan Allan. She was sold to Mullion & Co Ltd, Hong Kong in 1961 and renamed Ardsirod, serving until 1966 when she was scrapped.
Description
The ship was long between perpendiculars ( overall), with a beam of . She had a depth of and a draught of . She was assessed at , .
The ship was propelled by a 510 nhp triple expansion steam engine, which had cylinders of 24 inches (62 cm), and diameter by stroke. The engines were built by John Readhead & Sons Ltd. It drove a single screw propeller. The engine could propel the ship at a speed of .
History
The ship was built in 1942 by John Readhead and Sons Ltd, South Shields, County Durham as Empire Forest for the MoWT. She was yard number 526. She was launched on 13 January 1942 and completed in March. The United Kingdom Official Number 168653 and Code Letters BDFF were allocated. Her port of registry was South Shields.
Empire Forest was operated under the management of Smith, Hogg & Co Ltd. She departed from the River Tyne on her maiden voyage of 22 March 1942, to join Convoy FN 661, which had departed from Southend, Essex the previous day and arrived at Methil, Fife on 23 March. She then joined Convoy EN 63, which sailed the next day and arrived at Oban, Argyllshire on 27 March. She left the convoy at Loch Ewe. Empire Fores then joined Convoy ON 80, which departed from Liverpool, Lancashire on 27 March and arrived at Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada on 15 April. She left the convoy off Halifax, sailing on to Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, where she arrived on 17 April.
Empire Forest sailed from Saint John on 10 May for Cape Town, South Africa, where she arrived on 10 June. She departed nine days later for Durban, arriving on 22 June and sailing on 25 June for Lourenço Marques, Mozambique, which was reached on 27 June. She departed on 15 June for Bombay, India, where she arrived on 2 August. Empire Forest was a member of Convoy BP 54, which departed from Bombay on 6 September. She arrived at Basra, Iraq on 15 September sailing two days later for Um Qasr, which was reached later that day.
Empire Forest sailed from Um Qasr on 26 September for Karachi, India, where she arrived on 2 October. She sailed three days later for Bombay, arriving on 17 October. She departed on 20 October for Colombo, Ceylon, where she arrived on 25 October. Empire Forest sailed the next day for Visakhapatnam, India, from where she sailed on 1 November for Calcutta, arriving on 5 November. She sailed a week later for Madras, where she arrived on 20 November and departed four days later for Durban. She arrived on 16 December. Empire Forest was a member of Convoy DC 2, which departed from Durban on 23 December and arrived at Cape Town on 28 December.
Empire Forest then sailed to Recife, Brazil, from where she sailed on 20 January 1943 to join Convoy BT 1, which had departed from Bahia, Brazil on 18 January and arrived at Trinidad on 30 January. She then joined Convoy TAG 41, which sailed on 8 February and arrived at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba on 13 February. She then joined Convoy GN 41, which sailed that day and arrived at New York, United States on 21 February. Carrying general cargo, Empire Forest joined Convoy SC 121, which sailed on 23 February and arrived at Liverpool on 14 March.