SS Empire Explorer Empire Explorer was a cargo ship that was built as the cargo liner Inanda in 1925 by Swan , Hunter & Wigham Richardson Ltd , Newcastle upon Tyne , Northumberland , United Kingdom for a British shipping line . She was hired by the Royal Navy in 1940 for use as an ocean boarding vessel but was sunk in an air raid London in September 1940 . She was salvaged , rebuilt as a cargo ship , passed to the Ministry of War Transport ( MoWT ) and renamed Empire Explorer . She served until 9 July 1942 , when she was torpedoed and sunk by in the West Indies . Description . The ship was built in 1925 by Swan , Hunter & Wigham Richardson Ltd , Newcastle upon Tyne , Northumberland . The ship was long , with a beam of . She had a depth of , and a draught of . She was assessed at 5 , 985 GRT , 3 , 746 NRT , 6 , 900 DWT . The ship was propelled by a 606 nhp quadruple expansion steam engine , which had cylinders of , , and diameter by stroke . The engine was built by the Wallsend Slipway Co Ltd , Newcastle upon Tyne . It drove a single screw propeller , and could propel the ship at . History . " Inanda " was launched on 24 February 1925 , and was completed in May . She was built for the Charente Steamship Co Ltd and placed under the management of T & J Harrison Ltd . Her port of registry was Liverpool . She was allocated the United Kingdom Official Number 137410 and Code Letters KSNF . On 3 February 1932 , " Inanda " was on a voyage from London to the West Indies when she suffered a broken propellor . She put into Swansea , Glamorgan for repairs . Following the changes to Code Letters in 1934 , " Inanda " was allocated GLMB . " Inanda " was a member of Covnoy OA 7 , which departed from Southend , Essex on 19 September 1939 and dispersed at sea on 22 September . She was bound for Antigua , where she arrived on 3 October . She departed that day and sailed to Saint Kitts , arriving later that day . On 4 October , " Inanda " sailed for Grenada , arriving on 6 October and departing that day for Trinidad , where she arrived the next day . On 9 October , she sailed for Demarara , British Guiana , arriving the next day and departing on 14 October for Trinidad , where she arrived on 15 October . Departing on 20 October , Saint Vincent and Grenada were visited before " Inanda " arrived at Saint Lucia , from where she sailed on 25 October for Halifax , Nova Scotia , Canada . She arrived on 2 November , sailing on 8 November as a member of Convoy HXF 8 , which arrived at Dover , Kent , United Kingdom on 21 November . " Inanda " was carrying general cargo , rum and sugar . She then sailed to Southend to join Convoy FN 46 , which departed on 1 December and arrived at Methil , Fife the next day . She left the convoy at Middlesbrough , Yorkshire on 2 December . " Inanda " sailed from Middlesbrough on 11 December to join Convoy FS 53 , which had sailed from Methil that day and arrived at Southend on 12 December . She then joined Convoy OA 53 , which sailed on 14 December and dispersed at sea on 16 December . She was carrying a cargo of sulphite as well as a number of passengers and her captain was the convoy ' s Vice Commodore . " Inanda " was bound for Demerara , which was reached on 9 January 1940 via Barbados and Trinidad . She departed on 13 January for Montserrat , from where she sailed on 15 January for Trinidad . She departed on 16 January for Galveston , Texas , United States , arriving on 22 January and sailing on 3 February for Halifax , where she arrived on 13 February . " Inanda " was a member of Convoy HX 20 , which departed on 16 February and arrived at Liverpool on 4 March . She was carrying general cargo . " Inanda " departed from Liverpool on 29 March as a member of Convoy OB 119 , which dispersed at sea on 1 April . She was performing the rôle of a convoy rescue ship and sailed to London after the convoy had dispersed . She then sailed to Southend , from where she departed on 8 April as a member of Convoy OA 125G , which formed Convoy OG 25 on 10 April . " Inanda " was carrying general cargo bound for Antigua , arriving on 24 April and sailing that day for Saint Kitts , where she arrived on 24 April . She sailed the next day for Saint Lucia , from where she departed on 26 April for Grenada , arriving on 29 April . She spent the next few weeks sailing around the West Indies , arriving at Bermuda on 20 May . Carrying general cargo , " Inanda " was a member of Convoy BHX 64 , which departed on 7 August and joined with convoy HX 64 on 12 August . Convoy HX 64 departed from Halifax on 8 August and arrived at Liverpool on 23 August . Inanda was bound for London , which was reached by leaving the convoy and sailing to the Methil Roads , where she arrived on 24 August . She then joined Convoy FS 262 , which departed on 25 August and arrived at Southend on 27 August . " Inanda " was then hired by the Royal Navy for use as an ocean boarding vessel . On 7 September , she was berthed at London Docks when she was sunk in an air raid . She was salvaged and rebuilt as a cargo ship . " Inanda " was renamed " Empire Explorer " , she was passed to the MoWT and placed under the management of T & J Harrison Ltd . Her port of registry was changed to London although she retained the Code Letters GLMB . " Empire Explorer " was a member of Convoy FN 632 , which departed from Southend on 15 February 1942 and arrived at Methil two days later . She left the convoy at the Tyne on 16 February , ot load general cargo . She sailed four days later to join Convoy FN 636 , which had departed from Southend on 19 February and arrived at Methil on 21 February . She then joined Convoy EN 50 , which departed the next day and arrived at Oban , Argyllshire on 23 February . She left the convoy at Loch Ewe and sailed to Saint Kitts , arriving on 17 March . " Empire Explorer " spent the next five weeks sailing around the West Indies , arriving at the Cape Verde Islands on 20 April and sailing two days later for Halifax , where she arrived on 30 April . She joined Convoy HX 188 , which departed on 3 May and arrived at Liverpool on 15 May . She was carrying general cargo , sugar and 38 bags of mail . She left the convoy at the Clyde , arriving on 15 May . " Empire Explorer " sailed on 1 June to join Convoy OS 30 , which departed from Liverpool that day and arrived at Freetown , Sierra Leone on 19 June . She was in ballast and armed with a 4 - inch or 4 . 7 - inch gun , eight machine gun s and a number of kite s . She was stated to be bound for George , South Africa . She arrived at Demerara on 21 June , sailing nine days later for Trinidad , where she arrived on 1 July . " Empire Explorer " sailed from Trinidad on 8 July , carrying 200 bags of mail , of pitch and of sugar and bound for Barbados . At 02 : 47 German time on 9 July , " Empire Explorer " was torpedo ed , shelled and sunk at by , which was in the command of Günther Heydemann . Of her 70 crew and 8 DEMS gunners , three crew were killed . The survivors were rescued by HMS " MTB 337 " and landed at Tobago . Those killed serving on " Inanda " and " Empire Explorer " are commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial , London . " Inanda " has been depicted on postage stamps issued by Barbados and Saint Kitts and Nevis .