CHANT ( ship type ) A CHANT ( from Chan " nel T " anker ) was a type of prefabricated coastal tanker which was built in the United Kingdom during the Second World War due to a perceived need for coastal tankers after the invasion of France . Some CHANTs were adapted to carry dry cargos . These were known as the Empire F type coasters . Although five CHANTs were lost during the war , the majority of the ships saw service post war , lasting into the 1990s . Design . The CHANT was developed with experience gained by building the Tug , Inshore and Dock ( TID ) . As with the TIDs , CHANTs were built from prefabricated sections which were manufactured at various factories across the United Kingdom . A total of twenty - eight sections made up into a ship . The largest sections weighed thirteen tons which enabled them to be delivered by road . To simplify construction , they were built without compound curves . All plates being either flat or curved in one direction only , with the exception of the skeg at the stern . All joints were welded , with the final being left unwelded at the factory to enable final adjustment at joints when the ship was assembled by the shipyard . CHANTs were designed with a flat bottom to enable them to ground on beaches . A double hull was used to minimise any chance of leakage . Each CHANT had four sub - divided tanks and was fitted with two derrick s and winches . They were not the most stable of ships , and needed to carry plenty of ballast . CHANTs were assembled at five different shipyards , and launched between February and May 1944 . Some cargo version ( Empire - F type ) were built with a " Chant " prefix name which add some confusion about the real type of vessel ( i . e . CHANT 41 , CHANT 14 , CHANT 39 , and CHANT 49 were all Empire - F type despite their initial names . Builders . H Scarr , Hessle . Henry Scarr Ltd , Hessle , Yorkshire built twelve CHANTs . They were named " CHANT 1 " to " CHANT 12 " inclusive . A further twelve ships were completed as " Empire F type " coasters . Goole Shipbuilding & Repairing . Goole Shipbuilding & Repairing Co Ltd , Goole , Yorkshire built nine CHANTs . They were named " CHANT 22 " to " CHANT 28 " , " CHANT 50 " and " CHANT 51 " . A further thirteen ships were completed as " Empire F type " coasters . Furness Shipbuilding , Haverton Hill - on - Tees . Furness Shipbuilding Co Ltd , Haverton Hill - on - Tees , Co Durham built sixteen CHANTs . They were named " CHANT 42 " to " CHANT 45 " and " CHANT 52 " to " CHANT 65 " . J Readhead & Sons , South Shields . J Readhead & Sons Ltd , South Shields , Co Durham built only two CHANTs ; " CHANT 60 " and " CHANT 61 " . Burntisland Shipbuilding . Burntisland Shipbuilding Company Ltd , Burntisland , Fife built four CHANTS ; " CHANT 66 " to " CHANT 69 " . Empire F type coasters . The " Empire F " type coasters were a dry cargo version of the CHANT tankers . Due to the success of Operation Pluto , which put a fuel pipeline between the English and French coasts , the demand for CHANTs was not as high as had been thought initially . Although of the same dimensions as the CHANTS , the " Empire F " s were 410 - 411 GRT and 460 DWT . They were driven by diesel engines of and could make . A total of twenty five were built . They were renamed with the prefix " Fabric " instead of " CHANT " while still under construction . All were renamed again before launch , carrying the " Empire " prefix and had a suffix beginning with " F " . They were built by H Scarr Ltd , Hessle and Goole Shibuilding & Engineering Ltd , Goole . Built by H Scarr . The twelve " Empire F " type coasters were originally to have been named CHANT 14 to CHANT 17 , CHANT 20 , CHANT 21 , and CHANT 46 to CHANT 49 . Renamed with the prefix " Empire " , they served as " Empire Fabric " , " Empire Fabian " , " Empire Fable " , " Empire Farringdon " , " Empire Fanfare " , " Empire Faversham " , " Empire Facility " , " Empire Faraway " , " Empire Fanal " , " Empire Fastness " , " Empire Farrier " and " Empire Fathom " . Built by Goole Shipbuilding . The thirteen " Empire F " type coasters built at Goole were originally to have been CHANT 29 to CHANT 41 . They were renamed with the prefix " Empire " . They became " Empire Factor " , " Empire Fairhaven " , " Empire Favourite " , " Empire Fashion " , " Empire Fans " , " Empire Farnham " , " Empire Farouche " , " Empire Farringay " , " Empire Farjeon " , " Empire Facet " , " Empire Fang " , " Empire Fairplay " and " Empire Fairway " . D - Day . CHANTs were built to provide supplies of fuel to the Allied Forces in the aftermath of D - Day . Three CHANTs capsized during June 1944 and it was decided to use the Gooseberry s until stability tests had been carried out . " CHANT 23 " was disabled by a shell in her engine room but continued to refuel other ships . " CHANT 26 " was driven ashore on a large wave and ended up in a field having passed through a hedge . After discharging her cargo she was dragged back to the beach , refloated and towed back to the UK . Last in service . The MV " Fermont " ( ex " CHANT 49 " ) , which ran aground in 1991 was the last EMPIRE F type vessel in commercial service . " CHANT 28 " , which had been sold to the French Government in 1946 was still in service at Le Havre , France in 1981 , her name never having been changed . She was scrapped in 1986 . The " Succes III " ( ex " CHANT 12 " ) , in Rotterdam was probably the very last Chant vessel in service in June 2002 . She was scrapped in 2007 in Ghent , Belgium .