Design and Construction (1946 – 1947):

The British India Steam Navigation Company (British India Line) was inseparably linked with British imperial history in India, in South-East Asia, and in East Africa. Its history was the history of Scottish enterprise in the East. Through its founder, Sir William Mackinnon, its expansion matched the expansion of British influence in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf, particularly through Mackinnon's company the Imperial British East Africa Company, and the B.I. agencies Mackinnon, Mackenzie and Gray Mackenzie.

The Sangola was the lead ship of a class of three vessels constructed for British India's postwar Calcutta to Far East service "The Apcar Route" which British India had acquired from Apcar Line back in 1912. The second ship of the series was delivered in 1947 and together they teamed up initially with the 1925 built Shirala to cover the service until the Santhia entered service in 1950.

British India Line service (1947 – 1963):

 The Sangola was built in 1947 by Barclay Curle & Co, Whiteinch in Glasgow for British India Line. She was handed over to her owners on the 6th June 1947. As built the Sangola could accommodate 21 first class passengers and 70 second class passengers as well as 2,447 on deck. Later on the introduction of fold down bunks in deck class reduced her capacity to 995. The Sangola and her two sister ships were designed with the Asian coastal trades in mind and the large numbers of native passengers that travelled from port to port outside the monsoon season. Each of the ships also had four cargo holds and the Sangola had 402,000 cubic feet of bale capacity and 11,000 cubic feet of refridgerated space. As she and her sister ships served on the historic "Apcar Service" from India to the Far East they were distinctive in having their names emblasoned on the hull sides amidships in Chinese characters. This tradition continued in 1955 when BI ships were given white hulls.

One incident in the career of the Sangola was in the early afternoon of the 1st July 1953 when she ran aground on Hiraganj Sand in the River Hooghly while on a voyage from Calcutta to Japan. The ship had a crew of 173 and 1,490 passengers on board. Also on board was a contingent of Gurkhas bound for posting in Hong Kong. These soldiers were asked by the Master to help manage and evacuate the ship's passengers and this was accomplished with ease by the early morning of the 2nd July 1953. For the next 6 days the Sangola was at the mercy of tides and currents in the river and these threatened to break up the ship. To counter this accommodation amidships was stripped of furniture and heavy steel girders fitted fore and aft along the decks. Air compressors were placed on board and coupled to the steering gear. On the 8th July 1953 finally the Sangola was refloated. In honour of the assistance provided to the ship by the Brigade of Gurkhas, the Chairman of the British India Steam Navigation Company (British India Line) presented three silver bugles to them and these are now known as the "Sangola Bugles" and are much treasured by the Gurkhas. The Gurkha Museum in Winchester now has displayed the ship's bell from the Sangola in honour of this assistance back in 1953.

http://www.vsdh.org/bisn/images/sangola-bugles_72_dpi.jpg

The Apcar service from Calcutta to the Far East was discontinued in 1962 and in March 1963 the Sangola was retired from service and sold to Japanese shipbreakers for scrapping.