MV Liemba: Sailing through history with floating museum

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I had just recently returned from South Shields Maritime College in UK where I had completed a Radar Observer and Electronic Navigation Aids course. My bosses at Tanzania Railways Corporation (TRC) decided to transfer me from Mwanza to Kigoma to work on the MV Liemba as the second navigation officer.

When the name Liemba was suggested to the Secretary of State by the Governor in his dispatch dated January 8, 1926, the Secretary of State Lt Col Amery replied that instead of Liemba, the ship be named Cameroon after the Governor himself, since he had extensive career in Africa, from West Africa and then in East Africa. However, the Governor was too modest as he insisted on the name Liemba and hence the ship was registered in London as MV Liemba. This clearly shows that the “Liemba” (ship) and the “Liemba Lya Mfipa” (lake) are really destined for each other. With a name, the MV Liemba owned by Tanganyika Railways and Port Services was launched on May 16, 1927, by Mrs. Mary Katherine Scott, the wife of Sir John Scott, who was the Chief Secretary and acting governor of Tanganyika. So on that day of January 1982, as I joined the Liemba as her Second Mate, I was cognisicant of the fact that I was privileged to be part of its history.

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MV Liemba: Sailing through history with floating museum

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