SS Hopestar was a cargo ship that was built in 1936 by Swan, Hunter and Wigham Richardson Ltd, Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland for the Wallsend Shipping Co Ltd. She sank off the coast of Newfoundland in 1948 with the loss of all 40 crew. Description Hopestar was long, with a beam of . She had a depth of and a draught of . Her tonnages were , and . She was powered by two Parsons steam turbines, double reduction geared and driving a single screw propeller. The turbines were a high-pressure and a low-pressure unit, working in series. Together, they were rated at . This gave the ship a maximum speed of . The ship's boilers were built by the North Eastern Marine Engineering Co Ltd. History Early history Hopestar was built as yard number 1513 by Swan, Hunter and Wigham Richardson Ltd, Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland for the Wallsend Shipping Co Ltd. Launched on 22 January 1936, she was completed in February 1936. Hopestar was operated under the management of Arthur Stott & Co Ltd. Her port of registry was Newcastle upon Tyne. The Code Letters GYRL and United Kingdom Official Number 161532 were allocated. Following completion of sea trials on 27 February 1936, her maiden voyage was on 29 February. It took her to Spain, Durban, South Africa and the Netherlands East Indies. In 1938, her managers were changed to Stott, Mann & Fleming Ltd. World War II When the Second World War broke out, Hopestar was at Bunbury, Western Australia. She sailed that day for London, which was reached on 28 November 1939 via Fremantle, Durban, Cape Town, Freetown and Belfast. During 1940, she crossed the Atlantic Ocean three times in the first six months, mostly sailing independently but sometimes in convoy. On 9 January 1940, Hopestar came under attack in the North Sea off Cromer from a U-boat. Three torpedoes were fired at her but they were evaded. Her captain was awarded an OBE for his seamanship. One of her gunners was awarded a BEM for his part in driving off the submarine. The second half of 1940 saw her sailing to Buenos Aires, returning to the United Kingdom in December 1940. Hopestar was then out of service for three months, departing from the Belfast Lough on 25 March 1941 for the River Tyne, where she arrived on 1 April. She was then out of service