Court Line - the company and its ships

Dorington Court (2)

 

Court Line used the name Dorington Court for five ships:

 

· Dorington Court (1) - a cargo ship completed in 1908

· Dorington Court (2) - a cargo ship completed in 1915

· Dorington Court (3) - a cargo ship completed in 1939

· Dorington Court (4) - a cargo ship completed in 1940 and originally named Empire Meteor

· Dorington Court (V) - a cargo ship completed in 1957

 

Dorington Court (2) was in service from 1914, saw service in WW2 with German owners and was ignominiously scuttled with a cargo of chemical weapons in 1948. Overall she had a service life of 34 years.

Basic Data

Type: Cargo ship

Registered owners,managers and operators:

Cressington Steamship Co. Ltd.

Managers Haldinstien and Co

Builders: Richardson, Duck and Co.

Yard: Stockton-on-Tees

Country: UK

Yard number: 644

Registry: N/K

Official number: 136786

Signal letters: N/K

Call sign: GDMR

Classification society: N/K

Gross tonnage: 4,777

Net tonnage: 3,019

Deadweight: N/K

Length: 389.6 ft

Breadth: 53.4 ft

Depth: 26.4 ft

Draught: N/K

Engines: Triple expansion steam engine

Engine builders: Blair and Co Ltd.

Works: Stockton-on-Tees

Country: UK

Power: N/K

Propulsion: Single screw

Speed: 10 knots

Cargo capacity: N/K

Crew: N/K

Service during WW1

 

No information is currently available.

 

 

Service between WW1 and WW2

 

No information is available apart from ownership changes and that Dorington Court (2) was laid up in the Tyne for a number of years during the depression in the 1930s.

Service as Harm Fritzen during WW2

 

In an interesting twist to the fate, a ship that started life as British was serving the Germans as Harm Fritzen during WW2.

 

Ext. Ref. #13 Reports a hit by the British T1 class submarine Taku:

 

“12 Feb 44, torpedoed and heavily damaged the German merchant Harm Fritzen (4818 GRT) off Stavanger, Norway. The ship was beached to prevent it sinking, later salvaged.”

 

This needs corroboration as the GRT does not match with that recorded - though it could have changed since launch time.

 

Sinking

 

According to Ext. Ref. #2 she was scuttled on 1 March 1948 at position 47.55N/8.58W - this is about 190 miles West of Cape Finisterre in France.

 

Ext. Ref #14 is a risk assessment of ships that were scuttled in the Skaggarak at the end of WW2. In the appendices are listed the "gas ships" that were sunk and their position. It includes the Harm Fritzen and gives its location as - 47°55N 08°58W which corresponds exactly with the information in Ext. Ref. #2.

 

It is concluded that the ship was loaded with dangerous chemical warfare ammunition and sunk to dispose of them. The fact that regular checks are still made suggest that this is going to be an ongoing problem.

 

Images

 

1. Image #1 by courtesy of Clive Ketley.

Image 1 shows Dorington Court (2) after her name change to Laleham in 1937. Date and location are not known.

Image 1