{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}} {{Use British English|date=December 2016}} {{Infobox ship |section1={{Infobox ship/image |image= |image_caption= }}
|section2={{Infobox ship/career |hide_header= |country = |flag = |name=*''Empire Bromley'' (1945-46) *''Levenwood'' (1946-51) *''Basildon'' (1951-67) |ordered= |awarded= |builder=G Brown & Co (Marine) Ltd, Greenock. |yard_number=233 |laid_down= |launched=26 May 1945 |completed=June 1945 |christened= |acquired= |registry=*{{flagicon|United Kingdom|civil}} Greenock (1945-46) *{{flagicon|United Kingdom|civil}} Middlesbrough (1946-67) |identification=*UK Official Number 169524 *Code Letters GDTM (1945-46) *{{ICS|Golf}}{{ICS|Delta}}{{ICS|Tango}}{{ICS|Mike}} |owner=*Ministry of War Transport (1945-46) *Constantine Shipping Co (1946-61) *Panax (Overseas) Ltd (1961-62) *Don Shipping Co Ltd (1962-63) *R S Braggs & Co (Shipping) Ltd (1963-67) |operator=*Joseph Constantine Steamship Line Ltd (1945-61) *Panax (Overseas) Ltd (1961-62) *C M Willie & Co (Shipping) Ltd (1962-63) *R S Braggs & Co (Shipping) Ltd (1963-67) |commissioned= |recommissioned= |decommissioned= |in_service= |out_of_service=October 1967 |renamed= |reclassified= |refit= |captured= |struck= |reinstated= |fate=Scrapped 1967 }}
|section3={{Infobox ship/characteristics |hide_header= |header_caption= |tonnage=*{{GRT|1,058}} *{{NRT|584}} *{{DWT|1,410}} |length={{convert|204|ft|8|in|m|2|abbr=on}} |beam= {{convert|32|ft|8|in|m|2|abbr=on}} |draught= |depth={{convert|13|ft|7|in|m|2|abbr=on}} |propulsion=1 × triple expansion steam engine |speed= |range= |capacity= |complement= }} }}
'''''Basildon''''' was a {{GRT|1,055|disp=long}} coaster that was built in 1945 as '''''Empire Bromley''''' for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). She was sold into civil service in 1946 and renamed '''''Levenwood'''''. Another change of ownership saw her renamed ''Basildon'' and she served under this name until scrapped in 1967.
==Description== ''Empire Bromley'' was built by G Brown & Co (Marine) Ltd, Greenock.<ref name=Ships>{{cite book |last2=Sawyer |first2=L A |last1=Mitchell |first1=W H |date=1995 |title=The Empire Ships |publisher=Lloyd's of London Press Ltd |location=London, New York, Hamburg, Hong Kong |isbn=1-85044-275-4}}</ref> She was yard number 233.<ref name=Miramar>{{csr|register=MSI |shipname=Empire Bromley |id=1169524|accessdate=8 December 2009}}</ref> Launched on 26 May 1945, she was completed in June 1945.<ref name=Ships/>
The ship was {{convert|204|ft|8|in|m|2}} long, with a beam of {{convert|32|ft|8|in|m|2}} and a depth of {{convert|13|ft|7|in|m|2}}. She was propelled by a triple expansion steam engine that had cylinders of {{convert|14|in|cm}}, {{convert|24|in|cm}} and {{convert|40|in|cm}} bore by {{convert|27|in|cm}} stroke. The engine was built by Rankin & Blackmore Ltd, Greenock.<ref name=Bromley>{{cite web |url=https://plimsoll.southampton.gov.uk/shipdata/pdfs/45/45a1180.pdf |title=Lloyd's Register, Steamers & Motorships |website=Plimsoll Ship Data |access-date=16 December 2009}}</ref> She had a GRT of 1,058, with a NRT of 584 and a DWT of 1,410.<ref name=Clyde>{{csr|register=C|shipname=Empire Bromley |id=3150 |accessdate=26 December 2018}}</ref>
==Career==
''Empire Bromley's'' port of registry was Greenock. She was operated under the management of John Kelly Ltd,<ref name=Clyde/> and then Joseph Constantine Steamship Co Ltd.<ref name=Bromley/> In 1946, she was sold to Constantine Shipping Co and renamed ''Levenwood''.<ref name=Ships/> Her port of registry was changed to Middlesbrough.<ref name=Clyde/> She was operated under the management of J Constantine Steamship Line Ltd. On 31 January 1953, ''Levenwood'' was in the North Sea and in danger of drifting ashore on the Lincolnshire coast. A distress call was issued and a tugboat requested.<ref name=Levenwood>{{cite web |url=http://www.radioclubs.net/northlincsraynet/articles.php?articles_id=459 |title=Fifty Years of RAYNET in Lincolnshire Pt1 |website=North Lincolnshire RAYNET Group |access-date=16 December 2009}}</ref>
''Levenwood'' was sold in 1961 to Panax (Overseas) Ltd, London and renamed ''Basildon''. She was sold in 1962 to Don Shipping Co Ltd, operated under the management of C M Willie & Co (Shipping) Ltd. ''Basildon'' was sold in 1963 to R S Braggs & Co (Shipping) Ltd. She was scrapped in October 1967 at Burcht, Belgium.<ref name=Ships/>
==Official Numbers and Code Letters==
Official Numbers were a forerunner to IMO Numbers. The ship had the UK Official Number 169524.<ref name=Miramar/> ''Empire Bromley'' used the Code Letters GDTM.<ref name=Bromley/>
==SS ''Levenwood''==
The Joseph Constantine Steamship Co Ltd also owned an earlier vessel that sailed under the name ''Levenwood''. The 800 ton store ship distinguished itself at Dunkirk on Friday 31 May 1940. The vessel was armed as a DEMS ship by soldiers of the Royal Lancashire Regiment and rescued soldiers from the Bray-Dunes area of the beach during Operation Dynamo.
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Empire ships}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Basildon}} Category:1945 ships Category:Ships built by George Brown and Company Category:Empire ships Category:Ministry of War Transport ships Category:Steamships of the United Kingdom Category:Merchant ships of the United Kingdom