SS Empire Conrad Empire Conrad was a 7 , 009 GRT cargo ship that was built in 1942 by Charles Connell & Co Ltd , Clydebank for the Ministry of War Transport ( MoWT ) . She was sold to a French company in 1952 and renamed Franta and then resold later that year and renamed Nia . In 1954 , she was sold to a Panamanian company and renamed Eugenia . She served until 1967 , when she was scrapped . Description . The ship was built by Lithgow ' s Ltd , Port Glasgow , as yard number 963 . She was launched on 23 March 1942 , and completed in May . The ship was long , with a beam of . The ship had a depth of and a draught of . The ship had a GRT of 7 , 009 and a NRT of 4 , 972 . The ship was propelled by a triple expansion steam engine , which had cylinders of , and diameter by stroke . The engine was built by J G Kincaird & Co Ltd , Greenock . History . " Empire Conrad " was built in 1942 for the MoWT . She was placed under the management of Glen & Co Ltd . The Code Letters BDTG and United Kingdom Official Number 168983 were allocated . Her port of registry was Greenock . On 20 May 1942 , " Empire Conrad " departed from Milford Haven , Wales with a cargo of 32 Spitfires in cases . The aircraft were all Spitfire Mk VcT . Also on board were the ground crew who were to assemble them , a total of over 110 men . " Empire Conrad " was escorted by the 29th ML Flotilla and the corvette . The convoy was later joined by the Minesweepers and . " Empire Conrad " arrived at Gibraltar on 27 May . The aircraft were transferred to the aircraft carrier where they were assembled . On 2 June , " Eagle " departed from Gibraltar escorted by the cruiser and destroyer s , , , and . On 3 June , the aircraft were flown off " Eagle " bound for Malta . Twenty - eight of them arrived safely , with the other four being shot down en route . " Empire Conrad " was a member of Convoy HG 84 , which departed from Gibraltar on 10 June 1942 , and arrived at Liverpool on 20 June . She was carrying iron pyrites and a general cargo and was bound for Leith and Hull . " Empire Conrad " was a member of Convoy KMS 15 , which departed the United Kingdom on 1 June 1943 bound for Gibraltar and the Mediterranean . She joined the convoy at Tripoli , Libya and left it at Port Said , Egypt . " Empire Conrad " was a member of Convoy MKS 21 , which departed from Alexandria , Egypt on 3 August 1943 and arrived at Gibraltar on 14 August , departing later that day for Liverpool , where it arrived on 25 August . " Empire Conrad " joined at Gibraltar , she was carrying a cargo of scrap metal and was bound for Manchester . In 1945 , " Empire Conrad " was a member of Convoy KMS 92G , which detached from Convoy OS 118 at sea on 29 March . On 31 December 1945 , was reported to be adrift in the Mozambique Channel , north east of Durban , South Africa . " Empire Conrad " went to her assistance . In 1952 , " Empire Conrad " was sold to P Atychiades , Marseilles , France and was renamed " Franta " . She was sold in 1954 to the Refast Steamship Co and was renamed " Nia " . She was operated under the management of Marcou & Sons Ltd , London . Later that year , she was sold to Ocean Tramp Tankers Corporation , Panama and was renamed " Eugenia " . She was reflagged to Liberia . In November 1956 , " Eugenia " was one of a number of ships trapped in the Suez Canal , Egypt . She served until 1967 , and was scrapped at Niihama , Japan in April 1967 .