SS Dia

SS Dia was a cargo ship which was built as Empire Beaconsfield in 1943. She was owned by the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) and managed by Bank Line Ltd and Constants (South Wales) LTd. Postwar she was sold to her managers and renamed Hawkinge. She later saw service with different owners as Angusbrae, Hispania and Dia. She developed a leak and sank off Savona, Italy on 14 October 1964.

Career
Empire Beaconsfield was built by William Gray & Sons Ltd, West Hartlepool, Co Durham. She was yard number 1159, Empire Beaconsfield was launched on 2 October 1943 and completed in December that year. Empire Beaconsfield was built for the MoWT and placed under the management of Andrew Weir & Co Ltd, trading as the Bank Line. Her port of registry was West Hartlepool.

In 1943, management was transferred from Bank Line to Constants (South Wales) Ltd, Cardiff. In 1946, she was sold to her managers and renamed Hawkinge. In 1951, she was sold to the Dundee, Perth & London Shipping Co and renamed Angusbrae. In 1956, she was sold to Willem H Müller & Co NV, Rotterdam and renamed Hispania. In 1960, she was sold to the West End Corporation, Panama and renamed Dia.

Sinking
On 14 October 1964, Dia developed a leak and sank south of Savona, Italy at 44.2°N, 8.63333°W.

Official Numbers and Code Letters
Official Numbers were a forerunner to IMO Numbers. Empire Beaconsfield had the UK Official Number 180066 and used the Code Letters GFMX.

Propulsion
The ship was propelled by a triple expansion steam engine which had cylinders of 20 in, 31 in and 55 in diameter and 39 in stroke. It was built by the Central Marine Engineering Works Ltd, West Hartlepool and developed 281 hp.