A merchant ship, HMS Algerian was acquired, and converted to carry 30 miles (48 km) of 3-inch cable pipe. Two more, HMS Sancroft and HMS Latimer (later renamed Empire Baffin and Empire Ridley respectively), could each handle 100 mi (160 km) of 3-inch pipe weighing approximately 6,400 long tons (6,500 t). Anglo-Iranian Oil personnel supervised the erection of pumping equipment by the Royal Army Service Corps (RASC), Pioneer Corps and Royal Engineers personnel, and a RASC bulk petroleum company was specially trained to operate them.[24] A Port of London Authority factory at Tilbury was requisitioned and converted into a cable pipe factory where 3 to 4 nmi (5.6 to 7.4 km) of cable pipe per day was tested, welded into 4,000-foot (1,200 m) lengths and stored.[22]