Hope yet for African Queen gunboat on Lake Tanganyika

[Gerald]

Ships don't come with much more historical ballast than the MV Liemba. The steamer still shudders and belches its way across Lake Tanganyika every Wednesday and Friday, a century after it was built as a warship in Germany.

In its time it's been a pawn in the colonial scramble for Africa. It's been scuttled and then raised again from the deep. It was the model for one of the vessels in The African Queen, the film starring Katharine Hepburn as a prim spinster and Humphrey Bogart as the rough captain.

And now it's a ferry on Africa's longest lake, invariably packed with hundreds of people plus their jumble of bundles and baskets as it churns the water between Kigoma in Tanzania across the lake to Mpulungu in Zambia.

But for how long? Such is the ramshackle, dented state of the vessel that the company which runs it has asked the German government to help with refurbishment. The basis of the appeal is that this is a piece of German history. The steamer that serves the citizens around Lake Tanganyika was once the Kaiser's gunboat.

Cat and Dog

A spokesman for the Marine Services Company told the BBC: "We have requested that Germany help in its rehabilitation. This is because of financial constraints but we have not had a concrete commitment."

The Liemba started life as the Graf Goetzen in 1913 when she was built as a warship in Papenburg on the River Ems in northern Germany. It is said that the Kaiser himself ordered the construction to further his imperial ambitions.

The Graf Goetzen was then transported in parts, in 500 crates, from Hamburg to Dar es Salaam on the coast of East Africa - and from there over mountains to Lake Tanganyika where Germany, Britain and Belgium were all engaged in colonial jostling.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14677418


Note: 29 August 2011 Last updated at 00:42 GMT

Wow almost a hundred years old, but hey if it works!

[kraznyi_oktjabr]

Originally Posted by Rilder

Wow almost a hundred years old, but hey if it works!

There are ships of similar age in service in finnish lakes. S/S Suomi built in 1906 is nowadays in cruise service, but atleast 1990's she ran weekly Jyväskylä - Lahti passenger service (not sure when she was replaced by another vessel). Twice a week if I remember correctly.

Back to the Liemba, very unfortunate that she do not have her original steam power plant anymore.

[Penguin]

Originally Posted by Vendor

But for how long? Such is the ramshackle, dented state of the vessel that the company which runs it has asked the German government to help with refurbishment. The basis of the appeal is that this is a piece of German history.

yeah right - let the German taxpayer pay for it.
How long has it been a piece of Germany's history and how long has it been one of Africa's? Maybe the regimes over there should fill their own pockets a little less and spend some money on the ship.

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Penguin

yeah right - let the German taxpayer pay for it.
How long has it been a piece of Germany's history and how long has it been one of Africa's? Maybe the regimes over there should fill their own pockets a little less and spend some money on the ship.

Highly unlikely I suspect.

[Penguin]

Originally Posted by jimbuna

Highly unlikely I suspect.

Damned, I hoped that I'd convince the leaders of Tanzania and Congo with my post Don't you Brits have some pennies left in your money socks that Cameron overlooked?

As much as I like ships - and the Bogie movie - I do also think that the money for her renovation should not come from people to which she provides no use.

A year ago, a businessman from Papenburg, the town where the vessel was built, offered to buy the ship. He wanted to get the ship back to his hometown when she goes out of service. This would be a possibility - but he also told that he discusses this matter with the state, so he'll probably also try to milk them for money.
It would probably be cooler to keep her running like a living museum than putting her in a dry dock. But given her condition, the costs to keep her goinmg rise exponentially, not even mentioning the danger she is to the lake's environment.

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Penguin

Damned, I hoped that I'd convince the leaders of Tanzania and Congo with my post Don't you Brits have some pennies left in your money socks that Cameron overlooked?

As much as I like ships - and the Bogie movie - I do also think that the money for her renovation should not come from people to which she provides no use.

A year ago, a businessman from Papenburg, the town where the vessel was built, offered to buy the ship. He wanted to get the ship back to his hometown when she goes out of service. This would be a possibility - but he also told that he discusses this matter with the state, so he'll probably also try to milk them for money.
It would probably be cooler to keep her running like a living museum than putting her in a dry dock. But given her condition, the costs to keep her goinmg rise exponentially, not even mentioning the danger she is to the lake's environment.

Oh I fully agree

[Catfish]

Only the "Graf Goetzen" never was a military ship - it was certainly intended to be used on lake "Tanganyika", as a a freight steamer:

http://s265523220.e-shop.info/shop/a...tab-1:100.html,

named after a then famous german african explorer.

When war broke out the international treaties of all colonies remaining neutral in case of a war were soon broken, and the few "Schutztruppe"-enlisted men thought about what they could do.
So much later, after a seaplane attack the Graf Goetzen received two machine guns and a 10.5 cm gun from the then sunk cruiser "SMS Koenigsberg", but it proved to have a too heavy recoil for the thin steel plates and wooden deck of the "Goetzen", so the was removed again, put on wheels, and used by General Lettow-Vorbeck.

Rumours say that a black-painted palm tree stem was then used as a "gun" to impress belgian and english forces, however no one knows if anyone ever fell for this trick Anyway, later propaganda made it a "warship".

Some english planes with belgian pilots tried to sink the steamer, but only did minor damage, and when the german Askaris had to retreat from Kigoma the "Goetzen" was scuttled. However, it had been well painted and the machines greased, to be able to raise and use it as soon the war was over.

There is also a colourful story about british Mr. Spicer-Simpson and his steam tractors pulling two motor boats (Mimi and Toutou) to lake Tanganyika, which should destroy the "Graf Goetzen". But even if taking a small german boat "Wissmann" as a prize, they barely came near the "Goetzen" before it was scuttled by the german engineers - who had just assembled the ship, and called the project Sysiphos.

When Germany had lost all its colonies the belgians raised the ship, only to lose it again in a storm, still towed to the pier but with still-open valves and pumping out water all the time. Then the steamer was again raised and used by England for a while, only to be scuttled again when there was no more use for it.

A few years later an english entrepreneur who had always liked the idea to be captain of a steamer bought and raised the ship again, overhauled the steam engines and put it to duty. When a few years later the africans adopted the ship it was again refitted with Diesel engines, and remained in service until today.

It would really deserve to be be restored and used, it still is the only freight steamer on the lake and valuable for all the people living at the lake's shore.

Greetings,
Catfish

[Gerald]

Originally Posted by Penguin

yeah right - let the German taxpayer pay for it.
How long has it been a piece of Germany's history and how long has it been one of Africa's? Maybe the regimes over there should fill their own pockets a little less and spend some money on the ship.

Open you wallet now,

[Catfish]

Good film, in english - sure looks battered:
http://paukenschlag-blog.org/?p=3084

[Gerald]