''Elisabethville'' was an

ocean liner An ocean liner is a type of passenger ship primarily used for transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). The ...

which was built in 1921 for Compagnie Belge Maritime du Congo. In 1930 the company became Compagnie Maritime Belge. She served the

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

Matadi Matadi is the chief sea port of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the capital of the Kongo Central province, adjacent to the border with Angola. It had a population of 245,862 (2004). Matadi is situated on the left bank of the Congo River, ...

route, connecting

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (, ; ) was a Belgian colonial empire, Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960 and became the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville). The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Repu ...

. ''Elisabethville'' was named after a city in what was then

. The city is now

Lubumbashi Lubumbashi ( , ; former ; former ) is the second-largest Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, located in the country's southeasternmost part, along the border with Zambia. The capital ...

, which is the second largest city in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

, only behind the capital

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the Capital city, capital and Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-grow ...

. In 1940 ''Elisabethville'' was requisitioned by the

Ministry of War Transport The Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) was a department of the British Government formed early in the Second World War to control transportation policy and resources. It was formed by merging the Ministry of Shipping and the Ministry of Transpor ...

(MoWT) for use as a

troopship A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable to land troops directly on shore, typic ...

. She briefly returned to merchant service in 1946 before being requisitioned again in 1947 for further troopship duties, and rechristened the ''Empire Bure''. She was then laid up before being sold in 1950 to Charlton Steamship Co. and was renamed ''Charlton Star''. In 1958 she was sold to Greek owners and renamed ''Maristrella'', serving until she was scrapped in 1960.

Description

''Elisabethville'' was built by J Cockerill SA,

Hoboken Hoboken ( ; ) is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Hoboken is part of the New York metropolitan area and is the site of Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's popula ...

for Compagnie Belge Maritime du Congo. Her yard number was 562. ''Elisabethville'' was launched on 19 May 1921 and completed in November 1921. She had an exact

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same Ship class, class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They o ...

, , that was completed in June 1922. The ship was long, with a beam of and a depth of . As built, her tonnages were and . She had accommodation for 700 passengers in a single class. The ship had twin quadruple expansion steam engines, with cylinders of

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

and , , and bore. The engine was built by SA J Cockerill,

Seraing Seraing (; ) is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality and City status in Belgium, city of Wallonia located in the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Boncelles, Jemeppe-sur-M ...

, Belgium. Between them they developed 964 NHP, giving her a speed of . The engines were fed by six 215 lb_f/in² single-ended boilers with a total heating surface of . Her boilers were heated by 18 corrugated furnaces with a grate surface of .

Career

''Elisabethville'' was operated by Compagnie Belge Maritime du Congo, which in 1930 became Compagnie Maritime Belge (CMB). She was used on the

–

route. In 1930 ''Elisabethville'' was rebuilt, which increased her tonnage to . She was placed under the management of Agence Maritime Internationale. In 1940 she was requisitioned by the MoWT for use as a troopship under the management of Lamport & Holt Line, entering service on 16 December 1940. On 3 February 1947 she was returned to CMB, returning to

on 7 March. On 18 March ''Elisabethville'' was requisitioned by the Ministry of Transport and renamed ''Empire Bure''. In 1949 she was laid up in

Holy Loch The Holy Loch () is a sea loch, part of the Firth of Clyde, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The "Holy Loch" name is believed to date from the 6th century, when Saint Munn landed there after leaving Ireland. Kilmun Parish Church and Argyll Mausole ...

. In 1950 she was sold to Charlton Steamship Co and renamed ''Charlton Star''. The ship was refitted as an ocean liner by Beliard, Crichton & Co,

Greenock Greenock (; ; , ) is a town in Inverclyde, Scotland, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The town is the administrative centre of Inverclyde Council. It is a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, and forms ...

. She was towed to

by the tug ''Turmoil'', arriving on 3 April 1950. ''Charlton Star'' was operated under the management of Chandris (England) Ltd. In 1952, during the

Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, also known as the Second Arab–Israeli War, the Tripartite Aggression in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel, was a British–French–Israeli invasion of Egypt in 1956. Israel invaded on 29 October, having done so w ...

, ''Charlton Star'' was used as an accommodation ship at

Tobruk Tobruk ( ; ; ) is a port city on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near the border with Egypt. It is the capital of the Butnan District (formerly Tobruk District) and has a population of 120,000 (2011 est.)."Tobruk" (history), ''Encyclop� ...

. She served until 1957 when she was laid up at

La Spezia La Spezia (, or ; ; , in the local ) is the capital city of the province of La Spezia and is located at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the southern part of the Liguria region of Italy. La Spezia is the second-largest city in the Liguria ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. In 1958 ''Charlton Star'' was sold to Navigation Maristrella SA,

Monrovia Monrovia () is the administrative capital city, capital and largest city of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast and as of the 2022 census had 1,761,032 residents, home to 33.5% of Liber ...

and renamed ''Maristrella'', operating under the management of AJ & DJ Chandris,

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. She served with Chandris for a couple of years before she was scrapped at

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, arriving for scrapping on 19 January 1960.

Identification details

Official number Official numbers are ship identifier numbers assigned to merchant ships by their flag state, country of registration. Each country developed its own official numbering system, some on a national and some on a port-by-port basis, and the formats hav ...

s were a forerunner to

IMO Numbers The IMO number of the International Maritime Organization is a generic term with two distinct applications: * the IMO ship identification number is a unique ship identifier; or, * the IMO company and registered owner identification number is us ...

. ''Empire Bure'' and ''Charlton Star'' had the United Kingdom

Official Number Official numbers are ship identifier numbers assigned to merchant ships by their flag state, country of registration. Each country developed its own official numbering system, some on a national and some on a port-by-port basis, and the formats hav ...

181651. ''Maristrella'' had the Liberian

1219. ''Elisabethville'' used the

code letters Code letters or ship's call sign (or callsign) Mtide Taurus - IMO 7626853"> SHIPSPOTTING.COM >> Mtide Taurus - IMO 7626853/ref> were a method of identifying ships before the introduction of modern navigation aids. Later, with the introduction of ...

MENV until 1933 and the

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally as ...

OPEA from 1934.

Culture and media

A painting of ''Elisabethville'' on her maiden voyage in May 1921 was made by Belgian artist Eugeen Van Mieghem.

References

External links

Photo of ''Elisabethville''Photo of ''Charlton Star''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elisabethville 1921 ships Cargo liners Ocean liners Steamships of Belgium Merchant ships of Belgium World War II merchant ships of Belgium Empire ships Ministry of War Transport ships Steamships of the United Kingdom Troop ships of the United Kingdom Ocean liners of the United Kingdom Steamships of Liberia Merchant ships of Liberia Ships of the Lamport and Holt Line