The Oldest Ship in The World is in Tanzania

The MV Liemba is the oldest ship in the world that is still running and was originally named Graf Von Goetzen. It was built in Germany in 1913 and the ship arrived in Kigoma in pieces, shipped from
Dar Es Salaam by railway just before the outbreak of the First World War. During the early months of the war it carried some 700 soldiers to Kasanga, though it was done away with by the Germans in the mouth of River Malagarasi, to be certain that it would not fall into the hands of enemies.

 In 1927 however it was salvaged by the British and Belgians, who ruled the area after WWI.

It was then renamed MV Liemba, as, according to Dr. Livingstone, Liemba was the local name for Lake Tanganyika.

An often repeated story says that the MV Liemba has been the inspiration for the novel The African Queen and that it has even been used in the film version, though whether that is true or not it is still a fascinating ship.

The ship is now being used as main ferry on Lake Tanganyika. It makes a weekly round trip from Kigoma to Mpulungu in Zambia and back to Kigoma.

The ferry also goes to the Mahale Mountains and numerous lakeshore villages, though to get off in smaller villages one has to take a smaller boat to reach the coast.