MV Liemba

The MV "Liemba", formerly the "Graf von Götzen", is a passenger cargo ferry that runs along the eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika. The ship was built in 1913 in Germany, and was one of three vessels operated by the Germans to control Lake Tanganyika during the early part of World War I. It was scuttled by its captain on 26 July 1916 off the mouth of the Malagarasi river, during the German retreat from the town of Kigoma. In 1924 the ship was salvaged by a British Royal Navy salvage team and recommissioned in 1927 as the "Liemba". The vessel is now owned by the Tanzania Railways Corporation and runs between the ports of Bujumbura, Burundi, Kigoma, Tanzania and Mpulungu, Zambia with numerous stops to pick up and set down passengers in between.

The ship was the inspiration for the German gunboat "Luisa" in C.S. Forester's 1935 novel "The African Queen", and the subsequent film version. The story of the ship's sinking was recently retold in a book by Giles Foden entitled Mimi "and" Toutou "Go Forth. The Bizarre Battle for Lake Tanganyika". In 1992 the boat featured in the travel series 'Pole to Pole' and Michael Palin stayed in one of the ship's cabins.

History

Early history

The "Graf von Götzen" was built in 1913 at the Meyer-Werft Shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, and named after Count Gustav Adolf Graf von Götzen, the former governor of German East Africa. After a preliminary assembly, the ship was taken apart and shipped in parts to East Africa to serve as a passenger and cargo ferry, in addition to the Tanganyika railroad. It arrived first in Dar es Salaam, and was then taken on the Central Line to Kigoma, on Lake Tanganyika. It was there, in 1914, that the ship was rebuilt and launched, in June 1915.

World War I

With the aid of the "Götzen" which had been additionally equipped with a convert|4|in|mm|sing=on gun from the SMS "Königsberg", the Germans had complete supremacy of the lake in the early stages of the war. The ship was used both to ferry cargo and personnel across the lake, and as a base from which to launch surprise attacks on Allied troops. It therefore became essential for the Allied forces to gain control of the lake themselves. Under the command of Geoffrey Spicer-Simson and the Royal Navy they achieved the monumental task of bringing two armed motor boats "Mimi" and "Toutou" from England to the lake by rail, road and river to Kalemie on the western shore of Lake Tanganyika. The two boats waited until December 1915, and mounted a surprise attack on the Germans, with the capture of the gunboat "Kingani"-renamed HMS Fifi. Another German vessel, the "Hedwig von Wissman", was sunk in February 1916, leaving the "Götzen" as the only German vessel remaining on the lake.

As a result of their strengthened position on the lake, the Allies advanced towards Kigoma by land, and the Belgians established an airbase on the western shore at Albertville. It was from there, in June 1916, that they launched a bombing raid on German positions in and around Kigoma. It is unclear whether or not the "Götzen" was hit (the Belgians claimed to have hit it but the Germans denied this), but German morale suffered and the ship was subsequently stripped of its gun since it was needed elsewhere.

The war on the lake had reached a stalemate by this stage, with both sides refusing to mount attacks. However, the war on land was progressing, largely to the advantage of the Allies, who cut off the railway link in July 1916 and threatened to isolate Kigoma completely. This led the German commander, Gustav Zimmer, to abandon the town and head south. In order to avoid his prize ship falling into Allied hands, Zimmer ordered that the vessel be scuttled. The task was given to the three engineers from Meyer Werft who had traveled with the dismantled ship to Lake Tanganyika in order to supervise its assembly. They decided on their own that they would try to enable a later salvage; they loaded the ship with sand and covered all engines with a thick layer of grease before before sinking her carefully on July 26, off the mouth of the Malagarasi River.

Resurrection

The "Götzen" remained on the bottom of Lake Tanganyika until 1924, when it was salvaged up by the British, to aid transport around the lake in the new protectorate of Tanganyika. They found that the engines and boilers were still usable and the ship returned to service in May 1927 as a passenger and cargo ferry under the new title MV "Liemba".

Recent history

The ferry has been operating almost nonstop since that date. After Tanzanian independence in 1961, the Tanzania Railways Corporation took over the running of the ferry, allowing them to tie in services with the Central Line from Kigoma to Dar es Salaam. In 1970, the ship underwent an overhaul, in which the original steam engines were replaced with twin diesels and the accommodation upgraded, allowing an increase in passenger numbers from 430 to 600.

In 1993 the vessel underwent a further overhaul managed by a Danish shipyard, Karstensen Shipyard, Northern Jutland, sponsored by Danida, a Danish developmental organization.

In 1997, the "Liemba" was used by the UNHCR, along with the MV "Mwongozo", to transport more than 75,000 refugees, who had fled Zaire during the First Congo War, back to their homeland following the overthrow of longtime dictator Mobutu Sese Seko. The ship made a total of 22 trips between Kigoma and Uvira during this five month operation.

The African Queen

The original version of"The African Queen" written by C.S. Forester and serialised in the News Chronicle in 1934 was very different from the one we associate with the film. In this Rose and Allnut are planning to attack a German cruiser named Dortmund. A loose version based on the SMS "Königsberg", with the launch sailing down the river to attack it in the river delta.

In the book the The German gunboat "Königin Luisa" (referred to by hero Charlie Allnutt as the "Louisa"), is based on the "Kingani", a German gunboat sunk on Lake Tanganyika and to a certain extent the events portrayed in the film are based on the dramatic military operation carried out by the Royal Navy, but the events described in the book bear little resemblance to the true historical events. [Foden, Giles (2005). "Mimi and Toutou Go Forth: The Bizarre Battle of Lake Tanganyika" (p266) Penguin Books Ltd. ISBN 0-14-100984-5] The book was subsequently made into a film, the 1951 classic "The African Queen", starring Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn. The gunboat used in the filming, was played by the steam-tug "Buganda" on Lake Victoria, which was used for the long shots. The film brought a certain notoriety to the "Götzen"/"Liemba", however. Like its real life counterpart, the "Luisa" ended up at the bottom of Lake Tanganyika, following a collision with the 'hero boat' "African Queen" towards the end of the film.

Ferry operation

The "Liemba" runs a weekly service in each direction, running from Kigoma to Mpulungu Wednesday to Friday, and back again from Friday to Sunday. Accommodation ranges from 1st class (luxury cabin) to 3rd class (seating only).

There are docks at Kigoma, Mpulungu and Kasanga, but at all other stops, passengers must travel to the shore by way of a smaller boat. Notable stops along the route include: Lagosa (for Mahale Mountains National Park), Karema (for Mpanda) and Kasanga (for Sumbawanga).

Notes and references

Bibliography and external links

* [http://www.naturalhighsafaris.com/knowledge/history/thegrafvongoetzen.html The Graf von Goetzen] , Natural High Safaris.
* [http://www.tanganyika.it/tanzania.php?pag=itinerario&tappa=19 M.N. Liemba] , A trip on Liemba, 2004, Tanzania, by Ilic Radice.
* [http://www.geocities.com/cdferree/tanganjikasee/tangan.html TANGANJIKASEE, A Gunboat War in Deutsch-Ostafrika] , by Dennis L. Bishop and Holger Dobold.
* [http://www.nationaudio.com/News/EastAfrican/0308/Maritime/MA3.html Former German War Ship Still Going Strong] , The "EastAfrican", August 3 - 9 , 1998.
*Fitzpatrick, Mary, et al (2001). Lonely Planet: East Africa (6th ed.). Victoria: Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd. ISBN 1-74059-131-3
*Shipwrecks & Salvage on the East African Coast by Kevin Patience - 2006