Name Limerick Out of service 26 April 1943 Length 140 m | Yard number 389 Launched 12 March 1925 Draft 12 m | |
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Owner Union Steamship Company Builder William Hamilton & Co, Glasgow Identification Official Number 148634 | ||
The MV Limerick was an 8,724-gross register ton (GRT) refrigerated cargo ship built by William Hamilton & Co, Glasgow in 1925 for the Union Steamship Company of New Zealand.
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Fate
While sailing in convoy GP48 along the east coast of Australia, protected by the Royal Australian Navy corvettes HMAS Colac and Ballarat, Limerick was torpedoed and sunk on 26 April 1943, by Japanese submarine I-177 off Cape Byron. All but two of the crew were rescued by Colac. I-177 escaped unharmed.
Wreck
The wreck of the Limerick lies in 100 m of water, about 18 km east of Ballina. Discovered by local anglers, the wreck's identity was officially confirmed on 2 February 2013, when it was mapped by the marine research vessel Southern Surveyor.
References
MV Limerick (1925) Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA