SS Walnut

HMS Walnut, T103 in WW2 Royal Navy configuration
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Walnut
Builder	Smiths Dock Company, South Bank, Middlesbrough
Yard number	755
Laid down	June 15, 1939
Launched	August 12, 1939
Completed	December 31, 1939
Identification	Pennant number T103
Fate	Sold to Stem Olson Company Limited 1948
Notes	Source: Miramar Ship Information Database, Record No. 5185985
Name	SS Walnut
Owner	Stem Olson Company Limited
Port of registry	Gothenburg, Sweden
Acquired	1948
Fate	Sold to Compania Maritima Walnut S/A in 1948
Name	SS Walnut
Owner	Compania Maritima Walnut S/A
Port of registry	Panama City, Panama
Acquired	1948
Fate	Court Auction in 1949, Salvaged, Sold to Borromee Verreault Company 1951
Notes	Source: "Ship Statistics", SS Walnut 1948 – Voyaged to Freedom
Name	Keta
Owner	Borromee Verreault Company
Port of registry	Halifax, Nova Scotia
Fate	Broken up Les Méchins, Quebec, December 1976 by Nittolo Metal Company
Notes	Source: Miramar Ship Information Database, Record No. 5185985
General characteristics
Class and type	Tree-class trawler
Displacement	545 tons
Length	164 ft (50 m)
Beam	27 ft 8 in (8.43 m)
Draught	11 ft 1 in (3.38 m) (mean)
Propulsion	One triple expansion reciprocating engine, 1 shaft, 850 ihp (630 kW)
Speed	12.25 knots (22.69 km/h; 14.10 mph)
Complement	40 (as naval ship)
Crew	18 (as civilian ship)
Armament	1 × QF 12-pounder (76 mm) anti-aircraft gun 3 × 20 mm Oerlikon AA guns 30 × depth charges

SS Walnut was a refugee ship converted from a British minesweeping Tree-class trawler which carried Baltic refugees from Sweden to Canada in 1948. The refugees' arrival at Pier 21 in Halifax, Nova Scotia led to a controversy which played an important role in shaping Canada's postwar refugee policies.^[1]

Initially entering service during the Second World War as HMS Walnut, the trawler was sold for commercial purposes following the war. Converted for use as a cargo ship, the vessel retained the name Walnut until 1959 when sold and renamed Keta. The ship was broken up in 1976.