The SS Storaa was a cargo vessel originally constructed in 1918 by the Greenock & Grangemouth Dockyard Company, completing her fitting in April of that year. She measured 280 feet (85.34 meters) in length, with a beam of 41 feet 9 inches (12.73 meters), a depth of 18 feet 9 inches (5.72 meters), and a draught of 18 feet 1 inch (5.51 meters). Propelled by a triple expansion steam engine built by Dunsmuir & Jackson Ltd, Glasgow, she was capable of sustaining moderate cargo loads for her era. Initially named Wellpark, she was one of a series of six ships built for Denholm Line Steamers Ltd, and her port of registry was Greenock. Over the years, she changed ownership multiple times and was renamed several times: Navex in 1928 under Belgian ownership, Prina in 1937, Willy in 1938, and finally Storaa in 1939 under Danish ownership. Her ownership continued to shift, and her flags changed accordingly, reflecting her international service. In 1940, during World War II, she was requisitioned by the UK Ministry of Shipping, reflagged to London, and managed by W T Gould Ltd, Cardiff. Her crew was imprisoned when she was detained at Casablanca in June 1940, but they escaped deportation during the Allied invasion of French North Africa. Subsequently, she was seized by the Vichy Government and renamed Saint Edmond, only to be scuttled at Port Lyautey in November 1942. Raised in January 1943, she was refitted and returned to the UK as Storaa under the Ministry of War Transport. Her service ended tragically when, on 3 November 1943, she was torpedoed and sunk by the German fast attack S 138 off Hastings while part of Convoy CW 221. She was carrying a cargo of steel billets, pig iron, and tank parts, and was armed with anti-aircraft and small-caliber weapons for convoy defense. Of the 36 crew and personnel aboard, 22 lost their lives, including her captain and officers. Today, her wreck rests roughly 9 nautical miles off the coast near Hastings, in about 100 feet of water. Designated as a protected war grave under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986 in 2008, SS Storaa remains a significant maritime relic, embodying the wartime peril faced by merchant vessels and the complex legal and historical issues surrounding war graves and wreck preservation.

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