SS ''Eestirand'' ( Estonian for ''Estonian Coast'' or ''Estonian Beach''), built in 1910, was an

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

n steel-hulled cargo steamship. She was one of the largest ships in her class at the time and served as the mother-ship of the first Estonian herring expeditions in the 1930s. After Estonia was occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940, she was used as a Soviet Navy transport vessel in World War II until beached in 1941 on

Prangli Prangli ( sv, Vrangö) is an Estonian island in the Gulf of Finland. The first records are from 1387 when it was called ''Rango''. The first settlers came from Sweden. The Estonian culture spread to the island in the 17th century. Prangli is ...

Island during the

Soviet evacuation of Tallinn The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

History

The ship was built in 1910 by Archibald McMillan & Son Ltd. in

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990. Dumbarton was the ca ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

and launched as ''Starthardle'' for the Burrell & Son Steamship Line of

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

. In 1916 the Scottish-American shipping magnate

Robert Dollar Robert Dollar, also known as Captain Robert Dollar (1844–1932), was a Scots-American industrialist born in Bainsford, Falkirk, Scotland. The title "Captain" was honorary and he was called the "Grand Old Man of the Pacific". Both were bestowed ...

bought her for his Dollar Steamship Lines. Renamed ''Harold Dollar'', she worked between

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

and Asia. In 1932 the Estonian Fishing Co. bought the ship, then called ''Glenbeath'', from the Waverley Shipping Company in Sunderland, England, for £7,500

pounds sterling Sterling (abbreviation: stg; Other spelling styles, such as STG and Stg, are also seen. ISO code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound ( sign: £) is the main unit of sterling, and ...

. She came to the Estonian port of

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...

on 12 May where she was renamed ''Eestirand'' and refitted for the fishing trade. At the time she was the largest ship in the Estonian merchant fleet. The ship made her maiden voyage as ''Eestirand'' on 9 June 1932 under captain Jakob Lepni, with a crew of 142 men and women. She served as the mother ship for the first Estonian herring expedition off the coast of

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

and took in her first herring catch on 7 July. After its return to Tallinn on 15 September with its cargo, the expedition was considered a success, with Estonian fish exports now exceeding imports. ''Eestirand'' continued to serve as the flagship for the Estonian fishing industry until she was requisitioned into the Soviet Navy following the

Soviet occupation of the Baltic states The Soviet occupation of the Baltic states covers the period from the Soviet–Baltic mutual assistance pacts in 1939, to their invasion and annexation in 1940, to the mass deportations of 1941. In September and October 1939 the Soviet governme ...

Service in World War II

In World War II ''Eestirand'' was recommissioned into the Soviet Baltic Fleet as ''VT-532'' in 1941. Her primary role was transporting troops and war

materiel Materiel (; ) refers to supplies, equipment, and weapons in military supply-chain management, and typically supplies and equipment in a commercial supply chain context. In a military context, the term ''materiel'' refers either to the specif ...

in the heavily mined

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and ...

. As German troops advanced on Tallinn in August 1941, the Soviets began preparations for evacuation. ''Eestirand'' would be part of a convoy or ships responsible for the evacuation of Soviet military personnel and Estonian conscripts to

Kronstadt Kronstadt (russian: Кроншта́дт, Kronshtadt ), also spelled Kronshtadt, Cronstadt or Kronštádt (from german: link=no, Krone for " crown" and ''Stadt'' for "city") is a Russian port city in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal city ...

to help relieve the German siege of Leningrad. On 24 August 1941 ''Eestirand'' came under attack from German planes as she neared the

Keri Lighthouse __NOTOC__ Keri Lighthouse ( Estonian: ''Keri tuletorn'') (previously known as Kokskäri Lighthouse) is a lighthouse in the Gulf of Finland on Keri Island. The light itself is at an elevation of above sea level, while the lighthouse itself ...

on Keri Island. 44 men were killed in the bombardment, and many more drowned after falling overboard. The commander of the evacuation fleet,

Vladimir Tributs Vladimir Filippovich Tributs () ( – August 30, 1977) was a Soviet naval commander and admiral from 1943. Life and career Born in 1900 in Saint Petersburg, Tributs joined the Navy in 1918 and during the Russian Civil War participated in co ...

, ordered ''Eestirand''s captain, Boris Nelke, to continue to

. Ignoring the order, Nelke instead chose to head to

Island, about to the south, and beach the badly damaged ship on the shore of the island. Once beached, Nelke and his crew helped the 2,700 surviving Estonian conscripts to disarm the Soviet military personnel aboard the ship and escape onto the island and avoid mobilization to Leningrad. For his part in the revolt, Nelke was branded an "enemy of the people" by the Soviets and forced to flee Estonia to live in exile. He died in Sweden in 1972. In 1946 the wreck of ''Eestirand'' was raised and towed to Kopli Bay for scrapping.

Monument

After the war a monument was erected on Prangli Island to honor the passengers and crew of ''Eestirand'' who were killed on that voyage. The monument includes a large -high wooden cross with the inscription "''Eestirand'' 24–08–41", adorned with a life preserver from the ship. The original anchor was salvaged from the wreck and set in concrete at the foot of the cross. 42 smaller white wooden crosses stand for those killed in the attack. A central granite pedestal bears a plaque which reads (translated from Estonian): ''"Here at Prangli Island off the coast of Keri on 24 and 25 August 1941, the steam ship Eestirand was lost to bombing of German aircraft. For dozens of Estonians and Russian Jews it was their last sea voyage."'' Eestirand memorial site.jpg Eestirand memorial site, 2016.jpg II maailmasõjas hukkunute ühishaud-"Eesti rand".JPG

References

{{August 1941 shipwrecks 1910 ships Ships built on the River Clyde Fishing vessels Maritime incidents in August 1941 Maritime incidents in the Soviet Union Merchant ships of Estonia Ships sunk by German aircraft Shipwrecks in the Gulf of Finland Steamships of the Soviet Union Steamships of the United Kingdom Steamships of the United States World War II naval ships of Estonia World War II naval ships of the Soviet Union World War II shipwrecks in the Baltic Sea