MV Limerick (1925)

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.^[1]

History
New Zealand
Name	Limerick
Owner	Union Steamship Company
Builder	William Hamilton & Co, Glasgow
Yard number	389
Launched	12 March 1925
Out of service	26 April 1943
Identification	Official Number: 148634
Fate	Sunk 26 April 1943
General characteristics
Type	Cargo ship
Tonnage	8,724 GRT
Length	460 ft 0 in (140.21 m)
Beam	62 ft 6 in (19.05 m)
Draught	37 ft 9 in (11.51 m)
Installed power	6,000 bhp (4,500 kW)
Propulsion	2 x Brown Sulzer Diesel engines
Speed	13.5 knots (25.0 km/h; 15.5 mph)
Crew	74

Fate

While sailing in convoy GP 48 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 the Japanese submarine I-177 off Cape Byron.^[2] All but two of the crew were rescued by Colac. I-177 escaped unharmed.^[2]

Wreck

The wreck of the Limerick lies in 100 metres (330 ft) of water, about 18 kilometres (11 mi) 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.^[3]