SS Kowloon No . 1 Kowloon No . 1 was a cargo ship that was built in 1943 as Empire Dirk by Ailsa Shipbuilding Co Ltd , Troon , Ayrshire , United Kingdom for the Ministry of War Transport ( MoWT ) . Spending the war years in home waters , she was sold into merchant service in 1951 and renamed Nancy Moller , and then Mount Austin after a further sale later that year . In 1956 , she was sold to the Australian Government and renamed Coolabah . She was sold to Hong Kong in 1956 and renamed Troon Breeze . A sale in 1964 to Panama saw her renamed Cachupin before she was sold back to Hong Kong in 1966 and renamed " Kowloon No . 1 " . She served until 1967 when she ran aground off Hachinohe , Japan . Although refloated , she was declared a constructive total loss and was scrapped in 1968 . Description . The ship was built in 1943 by Ailsa Shipbuilding Co Ltd , Troon . She was yard number 447 . The ship was long , with a beam of . She had adepth of , and a draught of . As built , she was assessed at 2 , 942 GRT , 1 , 668 NRT . The ship was propelled by a 268 nhp triple expansion steam engine , which had cylinders of , and diameter by stroke . The engine was built by Ailsa Shipbuilding Company , Troon . History . Second World War . " Empire Dirk " was built for the MoWT . She was launched on 31 August 1943 , and completed in November . Her port of registry was Troon . The Official Number 167650 and Code Letters BFKW were allocated . She was placed under the management of C Strubin & Son . " Empire Dirk " made her maiden voyage on 28 November 1943 , when she departed from the Clyde for Preston , Lancashire , arriving five days later . She departed from Preston on 10 December for the Clyde , arriving on 12 December and departing six days later for Swansea , Glamorgan , where she arrived on 22 December . She sailed from Swansea on 5 January 1944 for Cardiff , arriving that day and then sailing to join Convoy WP 459 , which departed from Milford Haven , Pembrokeshire on 9 January and arrived at Portsmouth , Hampshire on 11 January . She was the only merchant ship in the convoy , which was escorted by four " Hunt " - class destroyer s : , , and . She left the convoy at Plymouth , Devon on 11 January , departing the next day to join Convoy WP 460 , which departed from Milford Haven on 11 January and arrived at Portsmouth two days later . " Empire Dirk " left the convoy at Dartmouth , Devon on 12 January , departing two days later to join Convoy WP 461 , which had departed from Milford Haven on 13 January and arrived at Portsmouth on 15 January . She left the convoy at St Helens Roads , off the Isle of Wight to join Convoy CE 237 , which arrived at Southend , Essex on 16 January . " Empire Dirk " spend the next six months sailing the east coast of the United Kingdom , mostly in convoys between Methil Fife and Southend , with calls at Blyth , Northumberland , Hull , Yorkshire , and the Tyne . She departed from Southend on 21 July as a member of Convoy ETC 44 , which was bound for the Seine Bay , in Upper Normandy , France . She then sailed to Barry , Glamorgan , via convoys FBC 34 and FBC 35 , arriving on 26 July . She departed from Barry on 22 August as a member of Convoy EBC 86 , which arrived at the Seine Bay two days later . " Empire Dirks " movements are not recorded for the next three months , but she departed from the Solent on 25 November as a member of Convoy EBF 47 , which arrived at Milford Haven two days later . She sailed on to Cardiff , arriving on 28 November . " Empire Dirk " was a member of Convoy BTC 38 , which departed from Milford Haven on 14 January 1945 and arrived at Southend three days later . She spent the next two months sailing between Southend and Methil , with a call at Sunderland , Co Durham in February . She arrived at the Tyne on 25 March , not sailing until 4 May when she joined Convoy FS 1795 , which had departed from Methil that day and arrived at Southend on 4 May . She then joined Convoy TAM 158 , which departed that day and arrived at Antwerp , Belgium the same day . She left the convoy at Terneuzen , Netherlands . Post - war . " Empire Dirk " made a return trip from Antwerp to Southend via convoys ATM 154 and TAM 174 before sailing to the Tyne via Southend , arriving on 30 May . She spent the next two months sailing between the Tyne , Bergen , Norway and Methil . In 1947 , management of " Empire Dirk " was transferred to Moller Line ( U . K . ) Ltd . In that year , she was converted from coal to oil fuel . She was sold to her managers in 1950 and renamed " Nancy Moller " in 1951 . On 12 May 1951 , " Nancy Moller " departed from Singapore , bound for Whampoa China . She was carrying a cargo of of rubber destined for China in contravention of an export ban . On 18 May , she was intercepted by off Hainan Island , China and escorted back to Singapore . The interception was carried out under regulation 53 of the Emergency Powers ( Defence ) Act 1939 , which gave the British government powers to requisition any ship on the British or Colonial register and order the ship to proceed as directed . An agreement had been made between the British government and the governments of the Federation of Malaya and Singapore to limit exports of rubber to China to per month from 9 April 1951 . The embargo was part of a United Nations embargo against China , which was supplying arms to Kim Il - Sung ' s forces in the Korean War . " Nancy Moller " reached Singapore on 23 May . Her cargo was stated to be worth S $ 2 , 000 , 000 ( then £1 , 000 , 000 ) . Her cargo had been covered by an export licence that had been issued before the embargo came into force . Later that year , she was transferred to Mount Line Ltd , Hong Kong and renamed " Mount Austin " , remaining under Moller ' s management . She was sold to the Australian Shipping Board in 1952 and renamed " Coolabah " , although she was not reflagged until October 1954 . She was assessed at 3 , 327 GRT , 1 , 824 NRT . In November 1956 , she was sold to the Cambray Breeze Shipping Co Ltd , Hong Kong and renamed " Troon Breeze " , but returning to the British flag . On 18 April 1957 , " Troon Breeze " rescued the 25 crew of the Italian steamship , which had caught fire in the Andaman Sea off the coast of Burma . In March 1958 , the owners of " Troon Breeze " were fined Rp200 , 000 ( then £6 , 451 ) for a violation of maritime flag law . She had been detained for about a month at Makassar . On 19 January 1964 , " Troon Breeze " was seized at Samarinda , East Borneo , where she had arrived to load a cargo of lumber . The ship and her 40 crew were detained . The detention of " Troon Breeze " was stated by the " Straits Times " to be in retaliation for the detention of two Indonesian ships at Hong Kong due to court action against Penai , the Indonesian state shipping company . " Troon Breeze " was sold in 1964 to the San Fernando Shipping Co SA , Panama and was renamed " Cachupin " . In 1966 , she was sold to the Shiu Cheung Shipping & Trading Co Ltd , Hong Kong and renamed " Kowloon No . 1 " . She served until 16 September 1967 when she ran agound at Hachinohe , Japan ( ) . She was refloated on 7 October 1967 and towed to Yokosuka , arriving on 11 October . " Kowloon No . 1 " was declared a constructive total loss . She was sold for scrap in February 1968 , and was scrapped at Opama in June 1968 .