This Ship was Packed Into Boxes! The Insane True Story of the Liemba

Editorial Summary

The creator details the history of the MV Liemba, a 107 year old vessel currently operating on Lake Tanganyika. Originally built in Germany as the SS Graf Von Gertzen, the ship was designed to serve the German East Africa colony. Because the local port of Kigoma lacked the infrastructure for large scale shipbuilding, the vessel was constructed in Germany, disassembled into 5,000 individual components, and shipped in crates to East Africa for reassembly. The creator explains how a team of engineers and local workers reconstructed the ship using rivets. During World War I, the vessel became a significant naval asset, serving as an auxiliary cruiser for the German Navy. This led to an intense naval conflict on the lake, involving an improbable British plan to transport small motorboats across thousands of miles of land and water to challenge German control. Following Germany's defeat, the ship was scuttled to prevent enemy use but was eventually raised and repaired by the British. Now known as the MV Liemba, the vessel continues to serve as a vital passenger and cargo link across the lake, standing as one of the oldest serving passenger ships in the world.

Written by TripBacon from this video's transcript.