Empire Conyngham was a 1,408 GRT cargo ship that was built as Marie in 1899 by Neptun AG, Rostock, Germany for German owners.

She was sold to Latvia in 1925 and renamed Gauja, serving until 1941 when she was captured by the Kriegsmarine in the Baltic Sea.

In 1945, she was seized by the Allies, passed to the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) and was renamed Empire Conyngham.

[2] By 1935, her code letters had been changed to YLCZ and the ship was assessed at 1,408 GRT, 829 NRT.

[5] On 18 June 1949, Empire Conyngham departed Dartmouth, Devon with a cargo of obsolete bombs.