TSMV Glengarry

Glengarry in Trincomalee, 1970

photo and story from George Clark

Built 1940 by Burmeister & Wain, Maskin-og-Skibsbyggeri, Copenhagen, Denmark. 9,144gt, 483 feet.

One of the Glenearn class vessels which was to modernise the Glen Line fleet. Advanced for their time the ships were twin screw motor ships with a speed of 18 knots.

The main engines were B&W double acting two strokes.

Latterly spares were unavailable so old liners and pistons were retained for future use. On start up clouds of smoke filled the engine room until the engines warmed up and the heat took the smoke away through the skylights.

One interesting feature was that the pipework originally was exposed copper, two cleaners were employed to do nothing but burnish the copper.

Glengarry was seized by the Germans at the invasion of Denmark. Operated as a submarine depot ship and named Meersberg, then converted to a commerce raider in 1942 and named Hansa but never operated as such.

Returned to Glen Line in 1946