The stamp show the Baltika—not to be confused with the Baltica, for both ships are in service for the U.S.S.R. The Baltika was originally built in 1939 as the Viacheslav Molotov, her name being changed to Baltika after Molotov's fall. Completed in 1940 by the Netherlands Shipbuilding Company, at: Amsterdam, she was assigned to the service Leningrad-Helsingfors-Stockholm¬Copenhagen-London, arriving in the Thames for the first time on May 14, 1940. She has also been on service to the Far East and in the Black Sea. Her gross tonnage is 7,494 (3,565 net) on dimensions 429.2 ft. x 60.2 ft. A turboelectric ship of 7,000 h.p. she has a maximum speed of 22 knots and a cruising speed averaging 18 knots. There are 99 cabins with accommodation for four passengers in the luxury-class, 56 in the first-class, 108 in the second-class, and 140 in the third; she has a crew totaling 133. In 1949 Russia also issued a lr. stamp showing the vessel under her original name. A comparison of the two stamps shows that no changes have been made—at least in the outward appearance of the vessel—in the last 10 years.
SG2331 Sea Breezes May 1960