SS Lamoricière was a French passenger liner operated by the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique. It was named after the French General Louis Juchault de Lamoricière.
Ship
The ship had been built in the Newcastle yards of Swan Hunter in 1920 as an oil-burning steamship. However, in 1940, due to war conditions, the ship was altered to coal burning which reduced its speed dramatically from 17 kn to only 10 kn. The cabin configuration at launch was six deluxe suites, 106 first class berths, 116 second class berths and 132 third class berths with the proposed route being Algiers-Marseille. There was hold capacity of 2,100 m3.
Final voyage
On its final voyage the ship was captained by Captain Joseph Milliasseau (born in 1893), who had joined the service of the company in 1922. He had captained the ship since 1937 and had been crew on the ship since 1929. For his services in the First World War he had been made a chevalier de la Légion d'honneur in 1921.