Habib Marikar was a 7,067 GRT cargo ship that was built in 1943 by Short Brothers Ltd, Sunderland, Co Durham as Empire Duchess for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT).

She was wrecked on 3 November 1967 when her engine failed whilst the ship was caught in Typhoon Emma.

All but one of her crew were rescued by USS Navarro before the ship was driven ashore on the Paracel Islands and wrecked.

[1] The United Kingdom Official Number 180051 and Code Letters GBQP were allocated.

[5] She then joined Convoy EN 323, which departed that day an arrived at Loch Ewe on 25 December.

[4] About this time, she either ran aground or was involved in a collision either in the Cape Cod Canal or at Boston.

[2] Empire Duchess departed from New York on 21 March and sailed to the Hampton Roads, Virginia, arriving the next day.

Empire Duchess departed from Bathurst on 11 August for Dakar, Senegal, where she arrived later that day.

[19] She then sailed to Southend, arriving on 19 November and departing two days later as a member of Convoy FN 1548,[4] which had a destination of Methil.

[4] She was involved in a collision with another ship, possibly Chemong, on 21 December off the coast of Norfolk (52°59′15″N 1°49′30″E / 52.98750°N 1.82500°E / 52.98750; 1.82500).

[4] On 18 February, Empire Duchess was in port at Ghent, Belgium when there was an explosion and fire in the No.

This was caused by a steel joist striking a 25-pounder shell and detonating it whilst the ship was being unloaded.

Her Captain, Lieutenant Walter Denton, was Mentioned in Despatches for his actions in fighting the fire and preventing a larger explosion without regard to his personal Safety.

[2] Empire Duchess departed from Hull on 13 March and resumed service between Southend and Antwerp.

[27] In 1958, she was sold to the Cambay Prince Steamship Co Ltd, Hong Kong and renamed Tyne Breeze.

[1] On 13 December 1959, Tyne Breeze rescued the 43 crew of the Panamanian cargo ship Eastern Lucky, which had sprung a leak off Formosa.

[1] On 3 November 1967, Habib Marikar suffered a major engine breakdown whilst caught up in Typhoon Emma,[2] at 16°37′N 113°02′E / 16.617°N 113.033°E / 16.617; 113.033.

Electronic Technician 3 Mick Ferl was awarded a Commendation for rescuing one of the crew from Habib Marikar who had fallen into the water.

Those not requiring medical treatment were transferred to the Dutch merchant ship Bengalis and landed at Hong Kong.