MV Liemba
Photo: Emi454, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The MV Liemba is a freight and passenger ferry that runs along the eastern side of Lake Tanganyika. The route goes from Kigoma in Tanzania to Mpulungu in Zambia, with many stops between. Built for the Imperial German Navy, she is the only one of their vessels still in service and the oldest passenger ferry still sailing.
English speakers may recognise her from the film The African Queen; MV Liemba was the inspiration for the German vessel Königin Luisa in that film. Humphrey Bogart plays a Canadian riverboat captain — rough-and-ready, very cynical and a heavy drinker. Katherine Hepburn plays an English missionary — prim, proper, idealistic and teetotal. Thrown together by circumstance, they scheme to sink the Luisa during the First World War. The film is also a fine love story and earned Bogart his only Oscar.
UnderstandThe ship was built in 1913 in Papenburg, Germany. She was then dismantled and shipped to Kigoma in German East Africa in 5,000 wooden crates.
ScheduleThe ship has been undergoing refit works since 2023 and is scheduled to resume services in September 2026.
ContactEmail Abel Giliard at the Liemba office in English or Swahili (preferred):
Tickets and pricesPrices are listed on the official homepage, but may vary a bit compared to the price list in board. It is recommended to have this price available printed or on your phone when boarding and paying to avoid overcharging.
ItinerariesA round trip starting from and ending in Kigoma on the MV Liemba takes about 5 days (plus the delay). Typical itineraries include the following (and vice versa):
EatUgali is a common dish in the region, basically a cornmeal mush but often with other grains as well.
Drink
Cope
Sources and licences
- Guide text adapted from the Wikivoyage article "MV Liemba" by its contributors, available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read on Wikivoyage · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo: Emi454, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons