SS Ljusneälf Ljusneälf was a 1 , 391 GRT cargo ship that was built in 1917 as Tilburg by L Smit & Zoon , Kinderdijk for Dutch owners . She was sold to German owners in 1922 and renamed " Ljusneälf " . A sale in 1938 saw her renamed Hubert Schröder . She was seized by the Allies in April 1945 , passed to the Ministry of War Transport ( MoWT ) and renamed Empire Conquest . In 1947 , " Empire Conquest " was sold into merchant service and renamed Southern Island . In 1951 , she was sold to Italian owners and renamed Verax . In 1960 , she was sold to Panamanian owners and renamed Costance , serving until 1966 when she ran aground at Lampedusa Island , Italy and was declared a total loss . Description . The ship was built by L Smit & Zoon , Kinderdijk as yard number 794 . She was launched in 1917 , and completed in February 1918 . The ship was long , with a beam of and a depth of . The ship had a GRT of 1 , 391 and a NRT of 808 . The ship was propelled by a triple expansion steam engine , which had cylinders of , and diameter by stroke . The engine was built by Smits . It was supplied by two Scotch boiler s which had a heating area of and operated at a pressure of . The engine was rated at and could propel the ship at . History . " Tilburg " was built in 1917 for NV Nederlandsche Scheepvaart Maatschappij Transatlanta , Rotterdam . The Code Letters PTNJ were allocated . She was initially operated under the management of B de Booy and L Arij Jansen . In 1920 , the management of " Tilurg " was changed to P W K van den Rope . On 8 November 1922 , she was sold to Baltische Reederi , Hamburg and was renamed " Ljusneälf " . She was allocated the Code Letters RCNJ . On 15 September 1926 , she was sold to August Bolten Wm . Miller ' s Nachfolger , Hamburg . " Ljusneälf " served with them until 11 January 1933 , when she was sold to China Reederi AG , Hamburg . Her Code Letters were changed to DHPJ . She was then managed by August Bolten . On 20 July 1937 , " Ljusneälf " was sold to Richard Schröder , Rostock . In March 1938 , she was renamed " Hubert Schröder " . On 9 April 1945 , " Hubert Schröder " was seized by the Allies in the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal . She was passed to the MoWT and renamed " Empire Conquest " . She was placed under the management of M Taylor . Her port of registry was changed to London . The Code Letters GLGC and United Kingdom Official Number 180764 were allocted . In 1946 , " Empire Conquest " was sold to Southern Shipping & Finance Co Ltd , London and was renamed " Southern Island " . She was operated under the management of British & Overseas Minerals Ltd , London , and then by M Kissa . In 1951 , " Southern Island " was sold to Ubaldo Gennari fu Torquato & Co , Rimini , Italy and was renamed " Verax " . In 1960 , she was sold to Compagnia de Navigazione Caribbean Cargo Carriers , Panama and was renamed " Costance " , operating under the management of Ubaldo Gerrari fu Torquato & Co . In 1962 , she was sold to Compagnia de Navigazione Costance SA , Panama and operated under the management of Vittorio Morace , Naples . On 21 April 1966 , " Costance " was on a voyage in ballast from Naples to Sfax , Tunisia when she ran aground on Lampedusa Island , Italy in stormy weather , and subsequently sank .