Casgliadau Arlein

Port broadside view of S.S. FLUOR at Cardiff Docks.

Built 1925 by Ailsa Shipbuilding Co., Troon, for William Robertson Ltd., Glasgow (restyled William Robertson Shipowners Ltd., from 1949). She collided with ss STRATHNAVER and sank at Berth 103 at Southampton Docks on 10th October 1946, but was raised fifteen days later and taken to Grangemouth for repairs. 1958 – Ownership transferred to Gem Line Ltd. (William Robertson Shipowners Ltd., Glasgow) from the 1st January, but sold in the April of that year to Inca Transports Corporation, Panama. She was broken up at San Juan de Nieva, Aviles, Spain in October 1973. (clydeships.co.uk) ss FLUOR was chartered to carry a cargo of zinc concentrates from Requejada (about 3 miles up the inlet of St. Martin de la Arena) to Dunkirk. On the 1st - 2nd December 1925, she loaded her bulk cargo of 950 tons leaving her with a margin of a foot above her winter marks. The cargo was sticky but not wet. The ship crossed the bar at about 4.30 p.m. on the 2nd December, 1925, and was then upright. The sea at that time was smooth, but afterwards got up rapidly and the ship began to roll heavily. At 5.40 p.m. the ship fell over suddenly to starboard and took a list of 16°. The forward bulwarks were under water. The master promptly made for Santander, the list increasing gradually. She was brought to anchor at Santander at 10.40 p.m. with a list to starboard of 21°. The hatches were opened on the morning of the 3rd December. The cargo in the after hold "looked like a puddle": it was quite flat, covered with water, and had shifted bodily. After the cargo had been levelled trenches were cut fore and aft and athwart-ships, shifting boards were fitted so as to form bins, and the cargo was dug out and replaced in these bins. The cargo in the fore hold, which appeared to be of a drier nature, had not flattened out or shifted. The vessel proceeded to Dunkirk, where she arrived without further incident. The master of the FLUOR had on four previous voyages carried similar cargoes from Requejada without any shifting. None of these had appeared to the master to be wet. (Official report)