Lake Tanganyika Ship Control British

The German steamship, the Graf von Geotzen - has a long and unusual history, despite having spent much of its life underwater or in pieces. Built in Germany in 1913, the steamer was soon dismantled and sent by ship to Dar Es Salaam in order to strengthen Germany's naval muscle in its bid to dominate rising European military tensions in East Africa.

Arrival at Lake Tanganyika - After being transported by train to the port of Kigoma, the various bits of the von Goetzen were reassembled and the ship fitted with a four-inch gun. The 800-ton steamer then sailed to Lake Tanganyika where it joined the small team of tugs and barges that dominated the inland waters. The Germans had sunk the only Allied boat on the lake in August 1914, and now, with war declared, were enjoying absolute control of Lake Tanganyika.

Not so the Allies, who, without secure access to the lake, had to travel huge additional distances to supply outposts and to move men to conflict hotspots. As well as ferrying troops and supplies around uninterrupted, the Graf von Goetzen was also used to launch a number of successful lightning raids on British, South African and Belgian troops. Pretty soon, regaining control of the lake became a strategic priority for the Allies.

The arrival of Mimi and Toutou - In June 1916, in another military manoeuvre that virtually defies belief, two four-ton British boats, the Mimi and Toutou were dragged several hundred kilometres through dense Congo jungle by traction engines and quietly launched on Lake Tanganyika's shores. From here they staged a surprise attack on the German gunboat Kingani, which they successfully captured and then used to strengthen the attack on the Graf von Goetzen.

...and now

Onto the lake bed…and off again - It was the von Groetzen's Captain however who finally put the ship under, scuttling the steamer before the Allied forces could get their hands on her. The ship lay on the lake floor until 1924 when the British, now firmly in control of Tanganyika refloated her and named her the Liemba. Thanks to the wonders of 'vorsprung durch tecnik' and the purity of Lake Tanganyika's waters, despite six years underwater, the steamer's engines were still in perfect working condition. With only three overhauls since it resurfaced, the Liemba has gone on to star in The African Queen and now ferries cargo and passengers and links communities up and down Lake Tanganyika, the world's second deepest lake. Following the cessation of hostilities in the Congo in 1997 the Liemba was also used to ferry over 75,000 refugees from camps in Tanzania's Kigoma region back to the Congo.

Still plying the lake - Some 90 years after its initial construction, the passenger ship-cum military gunboat-cum UN ferry is still alive and well. If you are staying at Greystoke Camp in Mahale you'll here her go past in the middle of the night, on Wednesdays going south and Sundays going north - it's worth getting up to watch her lights go past in the night far out on the lake and thinking of her extraordinary role in Tanzania's recent history.

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