SS Atlantic Conveyor
| History | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Name: | Atlantic Conveyor |
| Operator: | Cunard Line |
| Builder: | Swan Hunter, Tyne and Wear, United Kingdom |
| Completed: | 1970 |
| Identification: | IMO number: 6926036 |
| Fate: |
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| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Container ship |
| Tonnage: | 14,950 tons |
| Length: | 695 ft |
| Speed: | 23 kn |
Atlantic Conveyor was a British merchant navy ship, registered in Liverpool, that was requisitioned during the Falklands War.
She was hit on 25 May 1982 by two Argentine air-launched AM39 Exocet missiles, killing 12 sailors. Atlantic Conveyor sank whilst under tow on 28 May 1982.
The wrecksite is designated under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986.
Atlantic Conveyor was a 14,950 ton roll-on, roll-off container ship owned by Cunard. She was built along with six other container ships, each named Atlantic .... and sailing under different national flags for different companies.
Along with her sister ship, Atlantic Causeway, Atlantic Conveyor was requisitioned by the Ministry of Defence at the beginning of the Falklands War through the STUFT system (Ships Taken Up From Trade). Due to the short timescales, the decision that the ship was not "a high-value unit" and a controversy over whether arming auxiliaries was legal, Atlantic Conveyor was not fitted with either an active or a passive defence system.
The ships were used to carry supplies for the Royal Navy Task Force sent by the British government to retake the Falkland Islands from Argentine occupation. Sailing for Ascension Island on 25 April 1982, Atlantic Conveyor carried a cargo of six Wessex helicopters from 848 Naval Air Squadron and five RAF Chinook HC.1s from No. 18 Squadron RAF. At Ascension, she picked up eight Fleet Air Arm Sea Harriers (809 Squadron) and six RAF Harrier GR.3 jump jets.
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