SS ''Eestirand'' (

Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also

...

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

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

n steel-hulled cargo

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

. 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 () is an Estonian island in the Gulf of Finland. The earliest known written records of Prangli date from 1387, the island was then called Rango, and it had been settled by Swedes. The first Estonian-speaking inhabitants are known to hav ...

Island during the

Soviet evacuation of Tallinn The Soviet evacuation of Tallinn, also called Juminda mine battle, Tallinn disaster or Russian Dunkirk, was a Soviet operation to evacuate the 190 ships of the Baltic Fleet, units of the Red Army, and Soviet civilians from the fleet's encircled ...

History

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

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; , or ; or , meaning 'fort of the Britons (historical), Britons') is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven, Dunbartonshire, River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

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

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

. In 1916 the Scottish-American shipping magnate

Robert Dollar Robert Dollar, also known as Captain Robert Dollar (1844–1932), was a Scottish-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 besto ...

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

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and Asia. In 1932 the Estonian Fishing Co. bought the ship, then called ''Glenbeath'', from the Waverley Shipping Company in

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

, England, for £7,500

pounds sterling Sterling (Currency symbol, symbol: Pound sign, £; ISO 4217, currency code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound is the main unit of account, unit of sterling, and the word ''Pound (cu ...

. She came to the Estonian port of

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

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 Herring are various species of forage fish, belonging to the Order (biology), order Clupeiformes. Herring often move in large Shoaling and schooling, schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate wate ...

expedition off the coast of

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

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 The Soviet Navy was the naval warfare Military, uniform service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy made up a large part of the Soviet Union's strategic planning in the event of a conflict with t ...

following the

Soviet occupation of the Baltic states The occupation of the Baltic states was a period of annexation of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania by the Soviet Union from 1940 until its dissolution in 1991. For a period of several years during World War II, Nazi Germany occupied the Baltic st ...

Service in World War II

In World War II ''Eestirand'' was recommissioned into the Soviet

Baltic Fleet The Baltic Fleet () is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Baltic Sea. Established 18 May 1703, under Tsar Peter the Great as part of the Imperial Russian Navy, the Baltic Fleet is the oldest Russian fleet. In 1918, the fleet w ...

as ''VT-532'' in 1941. Her primary role was transporting troops and war

materiel Materiel or matériel (; ) is supplies, equipment, and weapons in military supply-chain management, and typically supplies and equipment in a commerce, commercial supply chain management, supply chain context. Military In a military context, ...

in the heavily mined

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

. 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 (, ) is a Russian administrative divisions of Saint Petersburg, port city in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal cities of Russia, federal city of Saint Petersburg, located on Kotlin Island, west of Saint Petersburg, near the head ...

to help relieve the German

siege of Leningrad The siege of Leningrad was a Siege, military blockade undertaken by the Axis powers against the city of Leningrad (present-day Saint Petersburg) in the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front of World War II from 1941 t ...

. On 24 August 1941 ''Eestirand'' came under attack from German planes as she neared the Keri Lighthouse 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. Life and career Born in 1900 in Saint Petersburg, Tributs joined the Navy in 1918 and during the Russian Civil War participated in combat action ...

, ordered ''Eestirand''s

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

, 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 Cargo 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