The SS Benlomond was a British cargo steamship constructed in 1922 by Irvine's Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co. in West Hartlepool, on the River Tees. She measured 420 feet in length, with a beam of 55 feet and a depth of 36.3 feet. Her gross tonnage was 6,629 GRT, and her net tonnage was 4,153 NRT. Propelled by a three-cylinder triple-expansion steam engine built by Richardsons Westgarth & Company, she had a maximum speed of approximately 12 knots. Her initial power plant drove a single screw propeller, making her suitable for long-distance cargo operations. Originally registered in the UK at Liverpool under official number 145913 and code letters KLQC, she was part of Furness, Withy’s fleet and was first named Cynthiana. Within her first year, she underwent several name changes—becoming Hoosac and then London Corporation—while her registry shifted to London. By 1926, she had been transferred to Warren Line (Liverpool) Ltd, a subsidiary of Furness, Withy, before returning to the parent company by 1929. Her navigation equipment in the 1920s included submarine signaling and wireless direction finding, with her wireless call sign evolving to GFWM by 1930. In 1937, the Goulandris brothers acquired her, renaming her Marionga J. Goulandris and registering her on the Greek island of Andros. The following year, Ben Line Steamers purchased her, renaming her Benlomond and re-registering her in Leith, Scotland. Ben Line added an echo-sounding device to her navigation suite, enhancing her capability for deep-sea navigation. Throughout her service, SS Benlomond participated in trade routes primarily between Britain and the Far East, traversing key ports such as Singapore, Hong Kong, and Suez. During World War II, she undertook convoy duties across the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Her service ended tragically in 1942 when she was torpedoed and sunk by U-172 off the coast of Brazil, resulting in the loss of her entire crew except for one survivor, Poon Lim. His remarkable survival story, drifting for 133 days, underscores her maritime significance during wartime convoys and her role in the broader history of merchant shipping during the conflict.

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