SS Memel

Memel was a 1,102 GRT cargo ship that was built in 1925 as Reval by Schiffs-und Dockbauwerft Flender AG, Lübeck, Germany for German owners. A sale in 1934 saw her renamed Memel. She was seized by the Allies in May 1945, passed to the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) and was renamed Empire Constellation. In 1946, she was transferred to the Soviet Union and renamed Ivan Sechenov.

Description

The ship was built in 1925 by Schiffs-und Dockbauwerft Flender AG, Lübeck.

The ship was 220 feet 7 inches (67.23 m) long, with a beam of 34 feet 6 inches (10.52 m) and a depth of 12 feet 5 inches (3.78 m). The ship had a GRT of 1,102 and a NRT of 575.

The ship was propelled by a triple expansion steam engine, which had cylinders of 16 ³⁄₄ inches (43 cm), 27 ⁹⁄₁₆ inches (70.0 cm) and 43 ⁵⁄₁₆ inches (110.0 cm) diameter by 27 ⁹⁄₁₆ inches (70.0 cm) stroke. The engine was built by Waggon-und Maschinenbau AG, Görlitz.

History

Reval was built for Lübeck Linie AG, Lübeck. Her port of registry was Lübeck. The Code Letters PCDL were allocated. In 1929, her captain was Walter Heinrich Giermann, who had previously captained the four-masted schooner Vaterland. In 1934, Reval was sold to Mathies Reederei, Hamburg and was renamed Memel. Her port of registry was changed to Hamburg and the Code Letters DRBK were allocated.