| SS Darien (1924) | |
|---|---|
| Career (Panama) |  |
| Name: |
MV La Marea[1] (1924–29) |
| Owner: | Balboa Shipping Co, Inc.[2] |
| Operator: | United Fruit Company[2] |
| Port of registry: |
 [2] |
| Builder: | Cammell Laird, Birkenhead[2] |
| Completed: | April 1924[2] |
| Identification: |
    |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage: |
as built: 4,281 GRT[2] tonnage under deck 3,533[2] 2,276 NRT[2] |
| Length: |
as built: 325.2 ft (99.1 m)[1] after lengthening: 352.7 ft (107.5 m)[2] |
| Beam: | 48.1 ft (14.7 m)[2] |
| Draught: |
as built: 22 ft 5.5 in (6.85 m)[1] after lengthening: 22 ft 6.5 in (6.87 m)[2] |
| Depth: | 28.3 ft (8.6 m)[2] |
| Installed power: |
as built: 981 NHP[1] as re-engined: 839 NHP[2] |
| Propulsion: |
single screw |
SS Darien was a refrigerated cargo ship of the United Fruit Company. Cammell Laird of Birkenhead, England built her as MV La Marea, completing her in 1924.[1] She had been renamed Darien by 1930[1] and had been re-engined from diesel to steam by 1931.[2]
The ship was owned by a United Fruit subsidiary, Balboa Shipping Co, Inc, which registered her under the Panamanian flag of convenience.[1] She was still in service in 1945.[4]
Building[]
La Marea was built as a diesel-electric motor vessel, with four four-cylinder single-acting two-stroke diesel engines.[1] They powered electric generators that supplied current to a single electric propulsion motor rated at 981 NHP that turned a single propeller shaft.[1] She was equipped with both submarine signalling and wireless.[1]
Rebuilding[]
By 1930 Darien had been lengthened by 27.5 feet (8.4 m), which increased her gross register tonnage by 592 tons.[1] By 1931 she had been converted from diesel-electric to steam turbo-electric propulsion.[2] Her four diesel engines and four electric generators were replaced with two water-tube boilers and a single British Thomson-Houston turbo generator.[2] Her boilers had a combined heating surface of 8,660 square feet (805 m2)[2] and a working pressure of 400 lbf/in2.[2] The conversion reduced Darien's power output to 839 NHP.[2]
Darien was not United Fruit's first turbo-electric ship. As early as 1921 Workman, Clark and Company of Belfast had completed SS San Benito for Balboa Shipping, again using a BT-H turbo generator and propulsion motor.[5]
References[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 Lloyd's Register, Steam Ships & Motorships. London: Lloyd's Register. 1930. http://www.plimsollshipdata.org/pdffile.php?name=30b1359.pdf. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 Lloyd's Register, Steamers & Motorships. London: Lloyd's Register. 1931. http://www.plimsollshipdata.org/pdffile.php?name=31b0316.pdf. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
- ↑ Lloyd's Register, Steamers & Motorships. London: Lloyd's Register. 1934. http://www.plimsollshipdata.org/pdffile.php?name=34b0236.pdf. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
- ↑ Lloyd's Register, Steamers & Motorships. London: Lloyd's Register. 1945. http://www.plimsollshipdata.org/pdffile.php?name=45a0276.pdf. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
- ↑ Lloyd's Register, Steamers & Motorships. London: Lloyd's Register. 1933. http://www.plimsollshipdata.org/pdffile.php?name=33b0773.pdf. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
The original article can be found at SS Darien (1924) and the edit history here.