SS Tien Loong – a Chinese first but Harland and Wolff, Belfast built
Nick Cranfield, in Shanghai, has been researching the history of the SS Tien Loong. And discovered:
- The SS Invergoil was built by Harland and Wolff at Belfast in 1922 and launched on 21st September 1922.
- It was delivered to the British Mexican Petroleum Company on 9th November 1922.
- But subsequently sold to Moller & Co of Shanghai in 1936 and renamed the SS Nils Moller.
- Then in 1946 it was sold again to Chinese Maritime Trust and renamed SS Tien Loong before its voyage to Le Havre.
And what was the Tien Loong’s ‘Chinese first’?
On August 4, 1947, the 10,471 ton Tien Loong was the first steamship owned, managed, financed and crewed by Chinese, to sail from Shanghai and eventually across the Atlantic Ocean to France. She arrived in Le Havre, France on October 28.
Further details are provided in the linked article below.
HF: In 1950 the Tien Loong was transferred to Panama, where it was renamed the Atlantic Dragon. And in 1959 scrapped. The first source below gives the ship a tonnage of 6,647.
This article was first published 29th October 2014.
See:
- http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/moller.shtml
- http://www.theyard.info/ships/ships.asp?entryid=641
- http://www.lago-colony.com/LAKE_TANKER_FAMLIES/captain_james_MILLER.htm
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