SS Olsztyn

For other ships with the same name, see SS Imkenturm.

Olsztyn was a Hansa A Type cargo ship which was built as Imkenturm in 1944 by Werf de Noord, Alblasserdam, Netherlands for DDG Hansa, Bremen, Germany. She was seized as a prize of war in 1945, passing to the Ministry of War Transport and renamed Empire Gantry. She was allocated to the Soviet Union in 1946 and was renamed Feodosia (Russian: Феодосия). Sold to Poland in 1947, she was renamed Olsztyn. She served until 1972, when she was scrapped.

History
Name	Imkenturm (1944–45) Empire Gantry (1945–46) Feodosia (1946–47) Olsztyn (1947–72)
Owner	DDG Hansa (1944–45) Ministry of War Transport (1945–46) Soviet Government (1946–47) Gdynia America Lines (1947–51) Polska Żegluga Morska (1951–72)
Operator	DDG Hansa (1945) Moss Hutchinson Line (1945–46) Soviet Government (1946–47) Gdynia America Lines (1947–51) Polska Żegluga Morska (1951–72)
Port of registry	Bremen (1945) London (1945–46) Soviet Union (1946–47) Gdynia (1947–51) Szczecin (1951–72)
Builder	Werf de Noord / Flensberger
Yard number	604
Laid down	29 March 1943
Launched	2 March 1944
Completed	27 February 1945
Out of service	1972
Identification	call sign DOIJ (1945) UK official number 180638 (1945–46) call sign GJLQ (1945–46) call sign SPAH (1946–72) IMO number: 5662782 ( –1972)
Fate	Scrapped
General characteristics
Class & type	Hansa A type cargo ship
Tonnage	1,925 GRT, 936 NRT, 3,196 DWT
Length	87.68 m (287 ft 8 in)
Beam	13.51 m (44 ft 4 in)
Draught	5.59 m (18 ft 4 in)
Depth	4.80 m (15 ft 9 in)
Installed power	Compound steam engine, 1,200IHP
Propulsion	Single screw propeller
Speed	10.5 knots (19.4 km/h)
Crew	25, plus 8–10 gunners (in wartime)

Description

The ship was 87.68 m (287 ft 8 in) long, with a beam of 13.51 m (44 ft 4 in). She had a depth of 4.80 m (15 ft 9 in), and a draught of 5.59 m (18 ft 4 in).^[1] She was assessed as 1,925 GRT,^[2] 936 NRT, 3,196 DWT.^[3]

The ship was propelled by a compound steam engine, which had two cylinders of 42 cm (16+9⁄16 in) and two cylinders of 90 cm (35+7⁄16 in) diameter by 90 cm (35+7⁄16 in) inches stroke. The engine was built by Rheinmetall-Börsig AG, Tegel, Germany.^[1] Rated at 1,200IHP, it drove a single screw propeller and could propel the ship at 10.5 knots (19.4 km/h).^[3]

The ship had a complement of 25, plus 8-10 gunners during wartime. She was equipped with 1×30-tonne, 1×10-tonne and 10×5-tonne cranes.^[4]

History

Imkenturm was a Hansa A Type cargo ship built in 1944 as yard number 604 by Werf de Noord, Alblasserdam, Netherlands for Deutsche Dampfschifffarts-Gesellschaft Hansa, Bremen, Germany.^[3][2] Her keel was laid on 29 March 1943.^[4] She was launched on 2 March 1944 and completed by Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft, Flensburg, Germany on 27 February 1945.^[3] Her port of registry was Bremen,^[2] and the Code Letters DOIJ were allocated. She participated in the Evacuation of East Prussia and was damaged in an Allied air raid on Flensburg on 1 May 1945.^[4]

On 8 May 1945,^[4] Imkenturm was seized as a prize of war at Flensburg. She was passed to the Ministry of War Transport and was renamed Empire Gantry.^[2] Her UK official number was 180638 and her call sign was GJLQ. She was registered in London and Moss Hutchinson Line Ltd managed her.^[5]

In 1946 Empire Gantry was allocated to the Soviet Union and renamed Feodosia.^[2]

In 1947, Feodosia was sold to Gdynia America Lines, Poland and was renamed Olsztyn.^[2] The Code Letters SPAH were allocated.^[4] In 1951, she was sold to Polska Żegluga Morska, Szczecin.^[2] With their introduction in the 1960s, Olsztyn was allocated the IMO Number 5662782.^[3] She served until 1972,^[2] arriving at Bruges, Belgium on 31 January for scrapping by Gebroeders Van Heygen.^[3][4]