The MV Stirlingshire was a refrigerated cargo liner with a gross register tonnage of 7,067 GRT, built in 1944 by Harland & Wolff Ltd in Belfast. She measured 432 feet 9 inches (131.90 meters) in length, with a beam of 56 feet 2 inches (17.12 meters) and a depth of 34 feet 3 inches (10.44 meters). Her propulsion was provided by a four-stroke, single-cycle, single-action diesel engine, featuring six cylinders of 29½ inches (75 cm) diameter and a 59¼ inches (150 cm) stroke, which drove a screw propeller. This engine was constructed by Harland & Wolff in Glasgow and enabled her to reach a speed of approximately 12 knots (22 km/h). Launched on September 2, 1944, and completed by February 1945, she was initially named Empire Falkland and managed by Turnbull, Martin & Co Ltd under the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). Her early service involved Atlantic convoy operations; she made her maiden voyage on February 25, 1945, from the Clyde, joining Convoy OS 113 en route to Buenos Aires, where she arrived on March 21 with a cargo of meat. She subsequently traveled via Gibraltar, Liverpool, Antwerp, and multiple U.S. and Australian ports, demonstrating her extensive global cargo routes during the final years of World War II. In 1946, she was sold to the Scottish Shire Line Ltd and renamed Stirlingshire, continuing merchant service under the management of Turnbull, Martin & Co Ltd. Notable during her post-war career was her cargo voyage from Melbourne in September 1946, carrying foodstuffs and wool to Liverpool via the Suez Canal. She remained active through the 1950s and early 1960s, with a notable collision at Durban in 1961 involving the Danish vessel Lily Nielsen. After serving for over two decades, she was finally scrapped in 1966 in Bruges, Belgium. The Stirlingshire's operational history reflects her significance as a versatile refrigerated cargo vessel during and after wartime, contributing notably to maritime trade routes across multiple continents.

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