SS Letitia The SS " Letitia was an ocean liner , built initially for service with the shipping firm Anchor - Donaldson Ltd . She continued to serve with the successor company Donaldson Atlantic Line Ltd , and was requisitioned for service at the start of Second World War to serve as an armed merchant cruiser . She was withdrawn from this service in 1941 and became a troop ship . She was badly damaged in 1943 and on being repaired became a hospital ship in Canada . She was returned to civilian service in 1946 after the end of the war , and was bought by the Ministry of Transport , who assigned her to be managed by Donaldson Bros & Black Ltd as the Empire Brent . She sailed on a number of voyages , at times carrying troops to the Far East , as well as serving as an emigration ship to Australia . She was briefly laid up in 1950 , but returned to service under charter from the Government of New Zealand as the Captain Cook " . She was finally withdrawn from service in 1960 and was sold for scrapping . Career . Early service . " Letitia " was built at the yards of the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company , Govan and was launched on 14 October 1924 . Completed in April 1925 she initially sailed for the Glasgow - based Anchor - Donaldson Ltd , on their summer route between Liverpool , Quebec and Montreal with another Anchor - Donaldson steamer the SS " Athenia " . In winter she sailed to Halifax and St John ' s , Newfoundland . Her maiden voyage was from Glasgow to Montreal on 24 April 1925 . This was a joint venture between Cunard Line and Anchor - Donaldson Line . She underwent a refit in 1927 , and with the reforming of the company into the Donaldson Atlantic Line in 1935 , " Letitia " was one of the assets retained . On 11 April 1935 , " Letitia " ran aground at Cape Papas , Patras Greece . She was refloated on 13 April . On 16 August 1935 , " Letitia " ran aground on the South Briggs Reef , at the entrance to Belfast Lough . The passengers were dismebarked , She was refloated on 20 August . Second World War . " Letitia " was requisitioned by the Admiralty on 9 September 1939 , shortly after the outbreak of the Second World War . She underwent a refit to rearm her with eight 6 - inch and two 3 - inch guns , and resumed service on 6 November 1939 with the pennant number F16 . She spent most of her time in the Atlantic ; initially between October 1939 and January 1940 deploying with the Halifax Escort Force . On 6 January 1940 , Convoy HX 15 departed from Halifax , Nova Scotia , arriving at Liverpool on 19 January . " Letitia " was an escort for the convoy . Most of 1940 was spent with the Northern Patrol , followed by the period of November 1940 to February 1941 with the Northern and Western Patrol . On 13 January 1941 , " Letitia " ran aground at Halifax , Nova Scotia and was badly damaged . She was briefly with the Bermuda and Halifax Escort Force , before returning to the North Atlantic Escort Force between May and June 1941 . By now however it had become clear to the Admiralty that using liners like the " Letitia " as armed merchant cruisers left them too exposed to attack , without offering substantially increased protection . The remaining merchant cruisers were withdrawn from service , " Letitia " being withdrawn on 7 June 1941 , and were instead used as troop ship s by the Ministry of War Transport . On 10 January 1942 , a portion of Convoy WS 15 sailed from Liverpool , with another portion sailing from the Clyde on 11 January . The two portions combined off Oversay on 12 January . " Letitia " was part of the Liverpool portion and was destined for Durban . On 29 March 1942 Letitia arrived at Glasgow from Cape Town . On 22 August 1942 , Convoy AT 20 sailed from Halifax , Nova Scotia During the evening of 22 August , " Letitia " failed to react to an order to perform an emergency zig - zag and was sent to correct " Letitia ' s " actions . This set in motion a chain of events that led to a collision between and . As a result of this , " Ingraham " sank . There was a further collision between and . In November 1942 , Convoy MFK 1Y departed Gibraltar bound for the United Kingdom . On 23 January 1943 , Convoy WS 26 sailed from the Clyde , destined for Durban , South Africa via Freetown , Sierra Leone and Cape Town , South Africa . " Letitia " left the convoy at Freetown . On 27 February , Convoy KMF 10A formed off Oversay in conjunction with Convoy WS 27 . On 18 May 1943 , Convoy WS 30 departed Liverpool , combining with Convoy KMF 15 off Oversay on 21 May . " Letitia " was a member of both these convoys . On 4 November 1943 , Convoy KMS departed the United Kingdom bound for the Mediterranean . " Letitia " joined the convoy at Algiers and left at Philippeville . " Letitia " served in this role until 1943 , when she was badly damaged . She was able to sail to the United States for repairs , after which she was used by the Canadian government as a hospital ship , carrying 200 medical personnel and with a capacity for 1 , 000 patients . She spent the remainder of the war carrying wounded personnel to Canada , and was due to be reassigned to the Pacific Ocean when the war ended . She continued in service in the immediate aftermath of the war , repatriating Canadian service personnel . She was sold in 1946 , during this period as a transport , to the Ministry of Transport , which renamed her " Empire Brent " . The Ministry assigned her to be operated on their behalf by her previous owners , now trading as Donaldson Bros & Black Ltd . Post - war . While sailing for Halifax from Britain in 1946 , " Empire Brent " collided with the in the River Mersey on 20 November 1946 , sinking the " Stormont " and requiring " Empire Brent " to sail to Birkenhead to be dry - docked while repairs were carried out to her bow . A complete overhaul on the Clyde followed in December that year , during which time she was refitted again to be a troop ship . She sailed between India and the Far East for the next two years , before transferring to run an emigration service between the UK and Australia in 1949 . She was on this service until being withdrawn and laid up in late 1950 . After six months out of service she was refitted again to serve as an emigration ship for those travelling from the UK to New Zealand , under the name " Captain Cook " . She operated under charter to the New Zealand government , who paid in a series of instalments . She began her voyages in early 1952 , sailing between Glasgow and Wellington via the Panama Canal . She briefly returned to her pre - war sailing route across the Atlantic from the UK to Canada in 1955 , but subsequently returned to the New Zealand route . A fire while in harbour at Wellington in 1957 caused extensive damage , but she was able to sail to the UK where she was repaired . She had been bought outright by the New Zealand government by 1959 , making her final voyage to Glasgow in early 1960 , and was then laid up at Falmouth , Cornwall . " Captain Cook " was then sold to British Steel , who towed her to Inverkeithing , where she arrived on 29 April 1960 for breaking up . Official Numbers and Code Letters . Official Numbers were a forerunner to IMO Numbers . " Letitia " had the United Kingdom Official Number 148847 . She used the Code Letters KSLT until 1933 , and GLBX from 1934 .