''Mironave'' 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 as a

passenger ship A passenger ship is a merchant ship whose primary function is to carry passengers on the sea. The category does not include cargo vessels which have accommodations for limited numbers of passengers, such as the ubiquitous twelve-passenger freig ...

in 1938 by Schiffbau-Gesellschaft Unterweser AG,

Wesermünde Bremerhaven (, , Low German: ''Bremerhoben'') is a city at the seaport of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms a semi-enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the Ri ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

for German owners. In 1940, she was requisitioned by the Kriegsmarine. Seized by the Allies in 1945, she was passed to the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) and renamed ''Empire Concave''. In 1946, she was passed to the Norwegian Government and renamed ''Galtnes''. She was sold into merchant service in 1947 and renamed ''Ila''. In 1952, she was sold to

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

and was renamed ''São Leopoldo''. In 1965, a further sale saw her renamed ''Mironave''. She was still in active service in 1982, when a further sale took place.

Description

The ship was built in 1938 by Schiffbau-Gesellschaft Unterweser AG, Wesermünde. The ship was long, with a beam of and a depth of . She had a gross register tonnage of 1,125 and a

net register tonnage Net register tonnage (NRT, nrt, n.r.t.) is a ship's cargo volume capacity expressed in "register tons", one of which equals to a volume of . It is calculated by subtracting non-revenue-earning spaces i.e. spaces not available for carrying cargo, ...

of 571. The ship was propelled by a 4-stroke single-cycle double-acting

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-cal ...

, which had 12 cylinders of diameter by stroke. The engine was built by Maschinenfabriek Augsburg-Nürnberg AG,

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...

. It drove twin screw propellers.

History

''Luna'' was built for Dampfschiffahrts Gesellschaft Neptun AG (Neptun Line). She had a passenger certificate. Her port of registry was

Bremen Bremen ( Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state cons ...

and 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 ...

DOUV were allocated. In 1940, ''Luna'' was requisitioned by the

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...

. In 1942, she is recorded as no longer holding a passenger certificate. She was seized by the Allies at

Eckernförde Eckernförde ( da, Egernførde, sometimes also , nds, Eckernför, sometimes also ) () is a German town in Schleswig-Holstein, Rendsburg-Eckernförde, on the coast of the Baltic Sea approximately 30 km north-west of Kiel. The population is ...

in May 1945 and passed to the MoWT, renamed ''Empire Concave''. Her port of registry was changed to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. The Code Letters GFKM and United Kingdom Official Number 180650 were allocated. In 1946, ''Empire Concave'' was allocated to Norway, and passed to the Norwegian Government. She was renamed ''Galtnes''. In 1947, she was sold to Per T Lykke,

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, an ...

and renamed ''Ila''. In 1952, she was sold to L Figueiredo Navegação, Brazil and renamed ''São Leopoldo''. She was sold to Casimiro Filho Industria Comercio in 1965 and renamed ''Mironave''. In 1982, she was sold to Petrosul.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mironave 1938 ships Ships built in Bremen (state) Passenger ships of Germany Auxiliary ships of the Kriegsmarine Ministry of War Transport ships Empire ships Merchant ships of the United Kingdom Merchant ships of Norway Merchant ships of Brazil