SS Empire Elgar Empire Elgar was a heavy lift ship that was built in 1942 by William Gray & Co Ltd , West Hartlepool , Co Durham , United Kingdom for the Ministry of War Transport ( MoWT ) . During World War II , she served with the Arctic Convoys . In 1947 , she was sold into merchant service and renamed Sea Minstrel . A further sale in 1951 saw her renamed Marandellas . In 1956 , she was sold to a Norwegian company and renamed Edward Jansen . A further sale in 1960 saw her renamed Slitan . In 1961 , she was sold to a Bulgarian company and renamed Pirin ( ) . She served until 1965 when she was scrapped at Split , Yugoslavia . Description . The ship was built in 1942 by William Gray & Co Ltd , West Hartlepool , Co Durham . The ship was long , with a beam of . She had depth of and a draught of . The ship was propelled by a 269 nhp triple expansion steam engine , which had cylinders of , and diameter by stroke . The engine was built by the Central Marine Engine Works , West Hartlepool . History . World War II . " Empire Elgar " was launched on 17 February 1942 and completed in April . The United Kingdom Official Number 168938 and Code Letters BDRL were allocated . Her port of registry was West Hartlepool and she was placed under the management of the Dover Navigation Co Ltd . She had a crew of 27 , plus nine DEMS gunners . " Empire Elgar " arrived at Middlesbrough , Yorkshire on 18 April 1942 . After loading a cargo of war materiel , she made her maiden voyage on 2 May , joining Convoy FN 697 , which had departed from Southend , Essex that day and arrived at Methil , Fife on 4 May . She then joined Convoy EN 81 , which departed on 6 May and arrived at Oban , Argyllshire on 9 May . She left the convoy at Loch Ewe on 8 May , joining Convoy UR 23 , which departed that day and arrived at Reykjavík , Iceland on 12 May . " Empire Elgar " was a member of Convoy PQ - 16 , which departed on 21 May . On 24 May , the convoy was spotted by a Blohm & Voss Ha 139 reconnaissance aircraft . The convoy was to remain under aerial surveillance for the next six days . On 25 May , an attempt was made to bomb the convoy , but no hits were scored . This was followed by a second attack , also unsuccessful . When a third attack was mounted that evening , the CAM ship launched her Hawker Sea Hurricane , but the pilot was wounded whilst attacking five Junkers Ju 88 s , of which one was shot down and another damaged . The pilot bailed out and his aircraft crashed into the sea . DEMS gunners on " Empire Elgar " damaged two aircraft , with one probably destroyed . The attacks continued into the next day . On reaching the entrance to the White Sea , progress was slowed by ice . Two icebreaker s were required to clear a passage . PQ16 arrived at Murmansk , Soviet Union on 30 May . " Empire Elgars " destination was Archangelsk . She moored in the Dvina Bay some from the town , where a new quay was under construction . Amongst her crew were Able Seamen George Kitchener Patterson and Harry Smith and Second Officer Maurice Irvin . Patterson and Smith were awarded British Empire Medal s and Irvin was awarded an MBE for their actions whilst " Empire Elgar " was under attack . These were gazetted on 30 July 1943 . " Empire Elgar " was equipped with derricks enabling her to unload the heavy war stores ( locomotives , tank s and aircraft ) from other ships that arrived with Convoy PQ 16 . Amongst her cargo were tanks . Once she had discharged her cargo , " Empire Elgar " unloaded other ships ' cargos into her hold , returned to the quayside and then put the transferred cargo ashore . She assisted in unloading the survivors of the ill - fated Convoy PQ 17 . In September , " Empire Elgar " was ordered to Molotovosk . Five ships from a convoy ran aground on a sandbank and she was sent to unload their cargos in order to refloat the ships . " Empire Elgar " returned to Archangelsk to unload . She was then ordered to Murmansk to relieve . The voyage taking 24 hours due to the poor quality of the Russian coal . On arrival at Murmansk , it was discovered that the port had been under attack for the previous three days . Murmansk was under almost constant attack as the Germans had possession of airfields only away . In December , a convoy reached the Murmansk area . " Empire Elgar " sailed down the Dvina River to where a jetty served the naval base and airfield . She unloaded a cargo of aircraft from the American Liberty ship , returning to Murmansk on 29 December . Convoy JW 51B arrived at the Kola Inlet on 3 January 1943 . " Empire Elgar " assisted in unloading the ships which reached Murmansk , although this was delayed by problems with her winches . " Empire Elgar " remained in the Soviet Union until August 1944 . She was a member of Convoy RA 59A , which departed from the Kola Inlet on 28 August and arrived at Loch Ewe on 5 September . She was carrying 195 long tons ( 218 tonnes ) of ammunition and was bound for Leith , Midlothian , where she was to receive further instructions . She joined convoy WN 630 , which departed on 7 September and arrived at Methil two days later . " Empire Elgar " departed from Methil on 29 October , spending the next five months sailing between Methil and Southend in various FN and FS convoys . She visited Sunderland , Co Durham from 12 – 15 December , the Tyne from 27 December to 5 January 1945 and again from 31 January to 13 February . She departed from Southend on 19 February as a member of Convoy FN 1638 , which arrived at Methil on 21 February . " Empire Elgar " left the convoy at Great Yarmouth , Norfolk , on 20 February She sailed the next day to join Convoy FN 1640 , which had departed from Southend that day and arrived at Methil on 23 February . She left the convoy at the Tyne on 22 February . " Empire Elgar " sailed on 7 March for Blyth , Northumberland , arriving later that day . She departed on 10 March , joining Convoy FN 1656 , which had departed from Southend the previous day and arrived at Methil on 11 March . She joined Convoy EN 480 , which departed on 13 March and arrived at Loch Ewe two days later . " Empire Elgar " was a member of Convoy UR 157 , which departed on 15 March and arrived at Reykjavik on 20 March . She departed for the Tyne on 2 April , arriving on 11 April via convoys RU 158 , WN 684 and FS 1780 . She departed on 22 April , joining Convoy FN 1693 , which had departed from Southend the previous day and arrived at Methil on 23 April . Reykjavik was reached on 1 May via convoys EN 488 and UR 161 . Post - war . " Empire Elgar " was a member of Convoy RU 163 , which departed from Reykjavik on 22 May 1945 and arrived at the Belfast Lough on 27 May . She was carrying a cargo of cod liver oil . She then sailed to Grangemouth , Stirlingshire , arriving the next day . " Empire Elgar " departed on 1 June for Hull , Yorkshire , arriving two days later . She sailed on 22 June for Liverpool , Lancashire , arriving on 26 June and departing on 3 July for London , where she arrived on 6 July . She departed for Liverpool on 20 July , arriving four days later . In 1947 , " Empire Elgar " was sold to her managers . She was renamed " Sea Minstrel " . In 1951 , she was sold to Drayton Steamship Co Ltd , Newcastle upon Tyne and renamed " Marandellas " . In 1956 , " Marandellas " was sold to I Jansen , Bergen , Norway and renamed " Edward Jansen " . She was sold in 1960 to Skibs A / S Katlander and renamed " Slitan " . In 1961 , she was sold to the Bulgarian Government - owned Navigation Maritime Bulgare , Varna and renamed " Pirin " . She served until 1965 , arriving on 1 October at Split , Yugoslavia for scrapping .