Alora

In Biggles and the Lost Sovereigns, the Alora was an old coastal trading vessel of 80 tons which operated a service between Singapore and Tavoy in Burma carrying mail and general freight, chiefly the produce of the coastal villages. Owned by a Chinese company with its headquarters in Singapore, the ship had been for many years under the command of Captain Macdonald. It was Captain Macdonald on board the Alora who discovered the body of a dead Salone seas gypsy with a necklace of gold sovereigns around his neck in the Mergui Archipelago, an event which led to Biggles and co. being sent to the area on a recovery mission. The ship was briefly detained by Captain Yomas of the Burmese Customs Office at Mergui, but Biggles broke Captain Macdonald out of jail and he took the ship out to Singapore.