''Saar'' was a

cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. Cargo ships are usu ...

that was built in 1937 by

Stettiner Oderwerke Oderwerke or Stettiner Oderwerke was a German shipbuilding company, located in Stettin. History Oderwerke was founded on January 28, 1903 and built 154 ships prior to World War I. During World War II Oderwerke built two German Type VII submarin ...

AG,

Stettin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin language, Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Po ...

for German owners. She was seized by the Allies at Kolding, Denmark in May 1945, passed to the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) and renamed ''Empire Congleton''. In 1946, she was passed to the Soviet Union and renamed ''Donetz'' (Донец).

Description

The ship was built in 1937 by Stettiner Oderwerke AG, Stettin. The ship was long, with a beam of a depth of . She had a GRT of 1,026 and a NRT of 560. The ship was propelled by a compound steam engine which had two cylinders of and two cylinders of diameter by stroke. The engine was built by Ottensener Maschinenbau GmbH, Altona.

History

''Saar'' was built for R C Gribel. Her port of registry was Stettin and she used the

Code Letters Code letters or ship's call sign (or callsign) Mtide Taurus - IMO 7626853"> SHIPSPOTTING.COM >> Mtide Taurus - IMO 7626853/ref> were a method of identifying ships before the introduction of modern navigation aids and today also. Later, with the i ...

DAYW. In February 1945, ''Saar'' was one of the ship involved in the transportation of refugees from Pillau, Soviet Union to Swinemünde, Germany. In May 1945, ''Saar'' was seized by the Allies at Kolding, Denmark. She was passed to the MoWT and renamed ''Empire Congleton''. Her port of registry was changed to London. She was allocated the Code Letters GNML and the United Kingdom Official Number 180703. In 1946 she was passed to the Soviet Union and renamed ''Donetz''.

References

External links

Photo of ''Donetz''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saar 1937 ships Ships built in Stettin Steamships of Germany Merchant ships of Germany World War II merchant ships of Germany Ministry of War Transport ships Empire ships Steamships of the United Kingdom Merchant ships of the United Kingdom Steamships of the Soviet Union Merchant ships of the Soviet Union Soviet Union–United Kingdom relations Germany–Soviet Union relations