''Lodbrog'' is a cable-laying ship that was built as a freight ferry. She was built in 1983 as ''Siegelberg'' and completed in 1985 for

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

n owners as ''Tuzla''. In 1996 she was renamed ''Bolero''. The ship was renamed ''Lodbrog'' after conversion to a cable layer in 2001.

Description

As built, the ship was long, with a beam of and a depth of . She tonnages were and . The ship was powered by two 12-cylinder Halberstadt

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

s of , which can propel the ship at . The ship had lane capacity and could carry 12 passengers.

History

The ship was built as yard number 154 by VEB Mathias Thesen Werft,

Wismar Wismar (; ), officially the Hanseatic City of Wismar () is, with around 43,000 inhabitants, the sixth-largest city of the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and the fourth-largest city of Mecklenburg after Rostock, Schwerin and ...

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

. She was launched on 29 November 1983 as ''Siegelberg'' and then laid up unfinished. In 1985, she was completed as ''Tuzla'' for Compania de Navigatie Romline,

Constanța Constanța (, , ) is a city in the Dobruja Historical regions of Romania, historical region of Romania. A port city, it is the capital of Constanța County and the country's Cities in Romania, fourth largest city and principal port on the Black ...

, Romania. The IMO number 8306591 was allocated. She served in the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

. on 12 May 1990, ''Tuzla'' was involved in a collision with the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

ship . In 1993, she was placed under the Cypriot flag, with

Limassol Limassol, also known as Lemesos, is a city on the southern coast of Cyprus and capital of the Limassol district. Limassol is the second-largest urban area in Cyprus after Nicosia, with an urban population of 195,139 and a district population o ...

as her port of registry. She was placed back under the Romanian flag in 1995. From 28 April 1996, ''Tuzla'' was chartered by

Seatruck Ferries Seatruck Ferries was a UK-based freight-only ferry company which commenced services in 1996. It became a subsidiary of CLdN RoRo, CLdN and was absorbed into the Luxembourg-based parent's overall brand as CLdN RoRo in February 2024. It operated ...

and renamed ''Bolero''. She was one of the first two ferries chartered by Seatruck. ''Bolero'' was employed on the

Heysham Heysham ( ) is a coastal village in the Lancaster district of Lancashire, England, overlooking Morecambe Bay. It is a ferry port, with services to the Isle of Man and Ireland, and the site of two nuclear power stations. History Of historic ...

–

Warrenpoint Warrenpoint () is a small port town and civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland. It sits at the head of Carlingford Lough, south of Newry, and is separated from the Republic of Ireland by a narrow strait. The town is beside the village ...

route. On 14 May 1997, she was chartered by Argoman and employed on the

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-o ...

–

Cuxhaven Cuxhaven (; ) is a town and seat of the Cuxhaven district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town includes the northernmost point of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the shore of the North Sea at the mouth of the Elbe River. Cuxhaven has a footprint o ...

–

Turku Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Aura River (Finland), River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while t ...

route until the charter ended on 28 May 1997. Between June and August 1997, ''Bolero'' was chartered by Estline and employed on the

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

–

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 ...

route. In September 1997 she was chartered to Norfolk Line and employed on the

Felixstowe Felixstowe ( ) is a port town and civil parish in the East Suffolk District, East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England. The estimated population in 2017 was 24,521. The Port of Felixstowe is the largest Containerization, containe ...

–

Scheveningen Scheveningen () is one of the eight districts of The Hague, Netherlands, as well as a subdistrict () of that city. Scheveningen is a modern seaside resort with a long, sandy beach, an esplanade, a pier, and a lighthouse. The beach is popular ...

route. On 16 October 2000, ''Bolero'' was sold to Alcatel Submarine Networks Marine,

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, Denmark, and was renamed ''Lodbrog''. She was laid up in

Leirvik Leirvik is a town and the administrative centre of Stord municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The town lies along the southern coast of the large island of Stord, along the Hardangerfjorden. The town gained "town status" in 1997. The town ...

, Norway. In 2001 she was rebuilt as a cable-laying ship by

Remontowa Remontowa (full name: Gdańska Stocznia "Remontowa” im. Józefa Piłsudskiego S.A.) is a company and shipyard in Gdańsk, Poland. The yard specialises in ship repair and conversions. ''Remontowa S.''A. is one of 26 companies that make up the Re ...

Gdańsk Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...

, Poland. The rebuilt resulted in her being assessed as , . She is now powered by two SKL Magdeburg diesel engines of each. In October 2024, along with the British cruise ship

MS Queen Elizabeth MS ''Queen Elizabeth'' (QE) is a cruise ship of the operated by the Cunard Line. The design is modified compared to earlier ships of the same class, and slightly larger than , at . The ship's name was announced by Cunard on 10 October 2007 ...

, the ''Lodbrog'' responded to the mayday and eventual sinking of the

Royal New Zealand Navy The Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN; ) is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. The fleet currently consists of eight ships. The Navy had its origins in the Naval Defence Act 1913, and the subsequent acquisition of the cruiser , whi ...

ship

HMNZS Manawanui HMNZS ''Manawanui'' can refer to * – the first diving tender of the New Zealand navy from 1953 to 1978 * HMNZDT ''Manawanui'' (1978) – the second diving tender, renamed as in 1988 * – diving tender commissioned in 1988, decommissioned in ...

References

External links

''Lodbrog'' website
(in Danish) {{DEFAULTSORT:Lodbrog 1983 ships Ships of Seatruck Ferries Ships built in East Germany Merchant ships of Bulgaria Merchant ships of Cyprus Merchant ships of Denmark Ferries of the United Kingdom Cable laying ships Ships built in Wismar