HMS Malines

TSS Malines

Company type	Passenger steamer
Industry	Maritime transport
Founded	1921
Founder	Armstrong Whitworth and Company
Headquarters	High Walker , United Kingdom
Area served	Harwich–Antwerp route
Owner	Great Eastern Railway (1921–1923), London and North Eastern Railway (from 1923)

TSS Malines was a passenger steamer constructed for the Great Eastern Railway in the year 1921.

History

Constructed by Armstrong Whitworth and Company at High Walker, the vessel was launched on 6 January 1921, with Mrs John Kenneth Foster performing the launching ceremony. She was designed as a sister ship to the Antwerp and Bruges, both introduced to service on the Harwich–Antwerp route in 1920. Her inaugural voyage to Antwerp took place on 21 March 1922. Following the acquisition of the Great Eastern Railway by the London and North Eastern Railway in 1923, she came under their ownership.

In 1932, Malines collided with the tanker Hanseat, which resulted in her being driven onto a sandbank in the River Scheldt. Subsequently, six tugs managed to refloat her, after which she was towed upriver to Antwerp for docking and repairs. On 7 May 1933, she was involved in a collision near Flushing with the Swedish steamer Jamaica (945 tons), an incident that caused the sinking of the Jamaica. Later, in 1936, she collided with the Dutch vessel Almkirk (6,810 tons); fortunately, no injuries were reported from this event.

The vessel was requisitioned by the Royal Navy in 1940 and renamed HMS Malines. She served as an auxiliary Convoy Escort Vessel during wartime operations. On 19 July 1942, German aircraft torpedoed her near Port Said, Egypt, leading to her being beached. After being refloated in January 1943, she was repurposed as a training hulk for the remainder of the conflict. In June 1945, she was towed by the Empire tug Susan from Port Said to Falmouth; however, progress was delayed when water ingress occurred in her hold between Gibraltar and Lisbon. Ultimately, she returned to the Tyne on 8 November 1945.