MV Liemba — the World’s Oldest Passenger/Cargo Steamer at 100

Posted on by November 10, 2016

liembaRecently, the BBC published an article titled WW1: The indestructible warship. The article refers to the Graf Goetzen. Calling her the “indestructible warship” seems to be a bit of an exaggeration. As warships go, she was not very impressive and given that she was scuttled without engaging in significant combat in 1916, she was not quite “indestructible”. Exaggeration aside, she is a fascinating ship with a wonderful history. At over 100 years old, she is believed to be the oldest passenger ferry in service.

The 234′ long passenger steamer Graf Goetzen was built in 1913 in Germany, then taken apart, packed in 5,000 crates and shipped to Africa, where the crates traveled by rail and then were carried on the backs of porters to the shores of Lake Tanganyika, where the ship was reassembled. Now named MV Liemba, the passenger ferry continues to operate along the eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika, providing an economic lifeline to scores of villages along the shores of the longest lake in the world.

Prior to World War I German East Africa was a colony which included what are now Burundi, Rwanda, and the mainland part of present Tanzania. The colony was nearly three times the area of present-day Germany. Graf Goetzen was built at the Meyer Werft shipyard in 1913, taken apart, transported and rebuilt as a German passenger ferry for the colony operating on Lake Tanganyika. When the world war broke out, she was converted to an auxiliary cruiser with the addition of four guns — one 10.5 cm, one 8.8 cm, and two 37 mm Hotchkiss revolver guns.

When British and Belgian advanced on the German colony in 1916, the Graf Goetzen was scuttled. She was scuttled, however, with great care. The ship was loaded with sand and all the machinery was covered with a heavy coating of grease. The Germans lost their African colonies during the war, so they did not return to salvage the Graf Goetzen. The British did salvage her in 1924, renaming the ship Liemba. The engines and machinery which had been protected by heavy grease, were recoverable. The ship continued to be powered by a triple expansion steam engine until 1970, when a diesel engine was installed.

If the story of the German ship built, disassembled and then carried by hand to Lake Tanganyika sounds familiar, it may be because the Graf Goetzen was the inspiration for the German ship in C.S. Forester’s novel African Queen. When Hollywood made the movie based on the novel in 1951, the Liemba played a starring role. Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn also appeared in the film.

Liemba

Thanks to Alaric Bond for contributing to this post.

Comments

MV Liemba — the World’s Oldest Passenger/Cargo Steamer at 100 — 9 Comments

  1. A fascinating read. Further reading is the story of the Yavari on Peru’s Lake Titicaca which also has an amazing history and although older, started life as a gunboat and spent time laid up. Originally, and bizarrely, this steam powered vessels’ boiler was fired with dried llama lungs.

    Her website is here:

    http://www.yavari.org/yavari-story.html

  5. The National Maritime Historical Society is hosting a seminar on Saturday, 15 November, 2014 at 10:30am at Hendrick Hudson Free Library (185 Kings Ferry Road, Montrose, NY 10548) featuring Producer and Director John Billingsley and his 2011 documentary film Liemba. To find out more about the film and view a trailer, visit http://www.indicanpictures.com/indicanpictures/liemba/

    The Public is invited. Please contact the National Maritime Historical Society at 914-737-7878, ext. 0 or email NMHS@seahistory.org if you you’d like to attend. A $5 donation is appreciated. If you would also like to join us for lunch following the presentation, it is $22 prepaid, with cash bar. Reservations required for lunch.

  7. This is a very nice vessel we use it to ferry tourist to the western circuit ogf Tanzania thats Mahaleand Katavi when they are doing the following program

    Day 1: Arrival

    Arriving in Dar then transfer to royal Mirage for overnight

    Day 2: Dar es Salam

    Breakfast transfer to the airport for your flight to Kigoma on arrival transfer to Kigoma Hotel

    Day 3; Transfer Day

    After breakfast Transfer from Kigoma Hotel to Sunuka half way south to Mahale then board a speed boat 1hrs to Mahale National park for formalities and then proceed to the bandas afternoon beach safaris

    Day 4-7 Mahale Mountain National Park

    After breakfast another early morning game viewing (Chimpanzee tracking in the forest). Lunch at camp. Spend the rest of the afternoon fishing by boat on the lake for 2-3 hrs. Mahale is one of the best locations on Lake Tanganyika for fishing; hence you will be able to catch a lot of fish in only a few hours’. Some of the types of species caught are the sangara (Nile Perch) and kuhe

    Day 8 Mahale to Katavi
    Transfer to airstrip. SAL flight to Katavi. Game drives O/N banda Katavi flight time is 1015am arriving 1105am overnight Bandas

    Day 9 Katavi

    After breakfast game drive in Katavi National Park. This remote national park in western Tanzania is probably the wildest and most untouched reserve in the whole of Africa. Katavi contains one of the highest concentrations of wildlife amongst the Tanzanian parks. Thousands of buffalos, antelopes and elephants roaming the around the park provide ample feeding opportunity to the hundreds of prides of lions and other predators sharing the habitat. The park provides a good opportunity of viewing the rare species of cheetah and wild dogs. Other predators include leopards and hyenas. Prominent species include zebras, eland, topi, impala, hartebeest, waterbucks, giraffe, reedbuck and Defasssa. Dinner and overnight at Bandas.

    Day 10 Katavi

    After breakfast continue with another early morning game drive with picnic lunch. Prominent species of birds at the rivers include yellow-billed, open-billed and saddle-billed stork, pink-backed pelican, Africa spoonbill and numerous heron, egrets and plovers. Raptors include fish eagle, bateleur and white-backed vulture. Other species are also found in the woodland and floodplain areas of the park. Dinner and overnight at Bandas.

    Day 11;Katavi to Kigoma

    Private car Drive to Mpanda for Breakfast then onwards drive to Uvindza arriving Kigoma in the evening drop off at Mapinduzi Hotel

    Day: 12; Kigoma to Dar

    Transfer to the airport for Flight Back to Dar airport and then connect Flight to Zanzibar

    Price per person is 3450usd per person

    1 overland transfer from Kigoma to sigunga then on the last day after Mahale you will be picked from Sigunga back to Kigoma

    2.Speed boat from sigunga to Mahale then on the last day from Mahale back to Sigunga

    3.All park fees

    4.All guide fees5.I will provide 1Litre of water every day

    6. Accomodation in rest house/Bandas in Mahale

    The price excludes

    Food while in Mahale aproximately 30usd pp per dayAccomodation while in KigomaTransfers on arrival