SS Empire Clansman SS " Empire Clansman was a 2 , 065 ton collier which was built in 1942 for the Ministry of War Transport ( MoWT ) . She saw service mainly in British coastal waters during the Second World War , before running aground and being badly damaged in 1945 . She was subsequently salvaged and returned to service for several companies after the war , under the names Sheaf Field , Corfield and then Spyros Amrenakis " , before being wrecked for a second and final time in 1965 . Description . The ship was built by Grangemouth Dockyard Co , Grangemouth . She was launched on 10 October 1942 and completed in December that year . The ship was long , with a beam of and a depth of . She had a GRT of 2 , 065 and a NRT of 1 , 75 . The ship was propelled by a triple expansion steam engine , which had cylinders of , and diameter by stroke . The engine was built by the North East Marine Engine Co Ltd , Newcastle upon Tyne . History . " Empire Clansman " was built by Grangemouth Dockyard Company , Grangemouth as yard number 444 . She was launched on 10 October 1942 and completed in December 1942 . " Empire Clansman " was built for the Ministry of War Transport and managed by Stephenson Clarke & Associated Companies Ltd . Her port of registry was Grangemouth . The United Kingdom Official Number 169097 and Code Letters BFGJ were allocated . Wartime career . " Empire Clansman " served in a number of convoys during the war , spent mostly sailing between British ports , particularly Methil and Southend , but also on occasion visiting the ports of Milford Haven and Portsmouth . She was also at Loch Ewe in December 1943 , an assembly point for merchants and naval escorts assigned to the Arctic convoys . She was to sail with her final convoy from Methil on 18 January 1945 as part of convoy EN 470 , bound for Belfast with a cargo of coal . She was initially detained at Methil , and so missed the sailing of the convoy , but it was decided that she should sail anyway and attempt to overtake it . She duly sailed at 4 p . m , but by 9 . 30 p . m . that evening and with the weather worsening , the master of the " Empire Clansman " , Philip Smith Williams , made the decision to turn his ship around and seek shelter . As he did so , he ran his ship onto Bass Rock . One of the sailors aboard the " Empire Clansman " , Able Seaman F . Southern , was subsequently drowned . A report carried out by the Board of Trade in 1947 declared that ' The stranding was caused by an error of judgement on the part of the master ' and criticised his decision to ' return to shelter from a position in the open sea involving running towards a lee shore in the existing weather conditions . ' The " Empire Clansman " had been badly damaged , but was salvaged and rebuilt . Postwar . " Empire Clansman " returned to service in 1948 , sailing for the Sheaf Steamship Company , Newcastle - upon - Tyne as the " Sheaf Field " . She was sold to William Cory & Son , of London in 1952 and renamed the " Corfield " . She was sold for the final time in 1964 to M . Scufalos , Greece and entered service with them under the name " Spyros Armenakis " . She served for less than a year , before being wrecked on the Nolleplaat sandbank , off Vlissingen , Netherlands on 13 February 1965 . All 21 crew were rescued by lifeboat . " Spyros Armenakis " was carrying a cargo of coal from the United Kingdom destined for Terneuzen , Netherlands .