SS Arkaba (1924)

History
Name:	Arcoona (1924-1925) Arkaba (1925-1954) William Charlick IV (1954-1959)
Namesake:	Arkaba - Aborginal word for underground waters
Owner:	Adelaide Steamship Company, Sydney (1924-1952) William Charlick Ltd, Hong Kong (1953-1957) Indian & Pacific Ocean Merchants, Rabaul (1957-1959)
Builder:	William Beardmore & Company, Dalmuir, Scotland
Yard number:	630[1]
Launched:	6 March 1924
Fate:	Scrapped at Hong Kong in 1959.
General characteristics
Class and type:	Cargo vessel
Tons burthen:	4,214 gross tons, 2,593 net tons
Length:	341.6 feet (104.1 m)[2]
Beam:	47.2 feet (14.4 m)
Draught:	30.3 feet (9.2 m)
Propulsion:	Triple expansion engine

SS Arkarba was a 4,214 gross ton cargo vessel built by William Beardmore & Company, Dalmuir, Scotland for the Adelaide Steamship Company as Arcoona. She was renamed Arkarba in 1925. She was requisitioned by the Royal Australian Navy during World War II between 26 August and 31 October 1940, as a coal and stores carrier. She became stranded on a reef on 19 February 1952 off Port Lincoln, South Australia.^[3] She was sold and during being towed to Hong Kong, broke her towline in huge seas and floated at the mercy of the waves and current, until reattached to a tugboat.^[4] Refitted in Hong Kong and sold in 1954 to William Charlick Ltd, Hong Kong and renamed William Charlick IV, before being sold to Indian & Pacific Ocean Merchants, Rabaul in 1957.

Fate

She was scrapped in Hong Kong in 1959.

References

1. "ss Arcoona". Clydebuiltships. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
2. "Lloyd's Register 1943-44" (PDF). plimsollshipdata. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
3. "Freighter holed on reef in S.A.". The Canberra Times, Wednesday 20 February 1952, p.1. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
4. "Arkaba adrift in heavy seas". The Mail (Adelaide), Saturday 18 July 1953, p.4. Retrieved 13 January 2012.