The SS Hazelbank was a cargo vessel with a gross register tonnage (GRT) of 6,140, built in 1942 by John Readhead and Sons Ltd in South Shields, County Durham, United Kingdom. Originally named Empire Franklin, she was constructed for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) and measured 432 feet 4 inches (131.78 meters) in length between perpendiculars, with an overall length of approximately 449 feet 3 inches (137 meters). Her beam was 56 feet 7 inches (17.25 meters), and she had a depth of 34 feet 7 inches (10.54 meters), with a draught of 27 feet 3 inches (8.31 meters). The vessel was powered by a triple expansion steam engine rated at 435 nhp, built by her manufacturer, which drove a single screw propeller. Initially launched as Empire Franklin, she was converted shortly after completion into a CAM (Catapult Aircraft Merchant) ship, serving under the management of Hall Brothers and later Lamport and Holt Line. Throughout her wartime service, she participated in numerous convoys across the Atlantic, Mediterranean, and other strategic routes, carrying a variety of cargos including grain, wheat, iron ore, manganese ore, stores, and general goods. Her service record includes voyages from the UK to North America, North Africa, the Mediterranean, and West Africa, often disembarking at ports such as Halifax, Liverpool, Gibraltar, and Freetown. She was involved in multiple convoy operations during World War II, highlighting her role in the Allied war effort. In 1945, she was sold to Bank Line Ltd and renamed Hazelbank, with her port of registry changing to Glasgow. She later changed ownership and names several times: in 1957 to Panamanian company Compagnia Navigazione Nuevo Mundo SA as Irinicos, in 1962 to Greece's Paleocrassos Bros. as Iris II, and finally in 1963 to Salinas Compagnia Navigazione SA, Panama. Her operational lifetime extended into the late 1960s, until she was scrapped in Hong Kong in 1967. The SS Hazelbank/Iris II thus exemplifies a wartime-built cargo ship that served extensively through World War II and the post-war period, reflecting the maritime logistics and commercial maritime history of mid-20th-century shipping.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.