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¾ Port bow view of S.S. HERMISTON entering Cardiff Docks.

The 4,795 gross ton steamer Hermiston was one of three sister vessels built between 1936 and 1939 for R. Chapman & Sons of Newcastle. All three vessels were bunt with the distinctive German-designed ‘Malerforrn' bow, clearly visible in this view of the vessel arriving at Cardiff, c. 1948. Ralph Chapman first entered into shipowning holding shares in sailing vessels in the 1860s and the company that he later founded survived until 1974. The Hermiston was sold to Panamanian owners in 1960 and was wrecked on the Japanese coast in December 1967.

Source: Shipping at Cardiff: Photographs from the Hansen Collection 1920-1975 by David Jenkins, 1993.

Built 1939 by Short Brothers Ltd., Pallion, Sunderland, for Carlton Steamship Co Ltd (Chapman & Willan Ltd), Newcastle, managed by R.Chapman & Son. (Owners restyled Carlton & Cambay Steamship Co Ltd., in 1941 ?). 1960 – Sold to Pan Norse Steamship Co., Panama,and renamed NEGO TRADER, managed by Wallem & Co., Bergen, Norway. 1966 – Sold to Kien An Steamship Co., SA, Panama, and renamed KIEN AN, managed by C.W. Hsin. In December 1967, the vessel dragged her anchors while waiting to enter Naoetsu, Japan, in heavy weather, and grounded off Kikizaki, breaking into two. Five crew were lost. (TheSunderlandSite)(Mariners-List.com)(searlecanada.org)