THE HISTORY OF MV.
LIEMBA FORMERLY KNOWN AS GRAF VON GOETZEN
Mv.
Liemba (GRAF VON GOTZEN) whereby the name “Liemba” means “Lake” in Kirungu
tribe. It is the former German war ship that is still going strong. The Mv.
Liemba served as a cargo ship on Lake Tanganyika. In 1913, Mv. Liemba was built
as “GRAF VON GOETZEN” at Mayers Shipyard, Papenburg, Germany specifically for
services on Lake Tanganyika in German East Africa (Deutze ost Africa), now
Tanzania.
The
ship sailed from Papenburg to Dar es Salaam and dismantled at the Dar port,
thereafter, the parts were then transported to Kigoma in steel plates section,
whereby the ship was reassembled and launched to operate in 1914.
During
the First World War, the ship served as an armed cargo and passenger’s vessel
on the Germany side. At the end of the First World War in 1917, the ship was
scuttled by the Germans by opening the sea water valves to let the ship sunk.
The German army thought it was better to sink her rather than leave her for the
Victorious British army.
The
ship was refloated again by the British in 1922 and reinstated as a combined
cargo/passenger vessel. Formerly owned by East African Railways then Tanzania
Railways Corporation and now Marine Services Company Ltd with effect from 21st
June 1999.
The
boat is 67 long, 10m wide and can carry 600 passengers and 200 tonnes of
freight. Rehabilitation of the boat was carried out several times. In early
1950s, the Liemba was two years out of services undergoing a refit. Then in
1970, the ship’s accommodation facilities were renovated and its passengers
capacity increased from 430-600. clts coal run engines were replated with
diesel powered ones to give it an additional 20 years. In 1991, DANIDA (Danish
Development Agency) spent US $4 million on modernizing the vessel. At the time,
the Liemba plied the route Kigoma-Bujumbura/Burundi-Mpulungu/Zambia-Kigoma
The
purpose of the rebuilding and rehabilitation of MV. LIEMBA was to ensure that
the ship’s continued status as a passenger-cum-cargo ship on Lake Tanganyika and
to increase the vessel’s capacity so that 600 passengers and 200 tonne good
could be carried.
Prepared
By:
Kelvin
Ngowi,
Conservator
of Antiquities,
Dr.
Livingstone Memorial Museum,
P.
O. Box 565,
Ujiji-Kigoma,
Tanzania.
0766014335,
0712207460
ngowike91@gmail.com
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