BERLIN passenger ship NDL 1925

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The “Millennium Collection” stamp of 46c issued by Canada depict some emigrants on Pier 21 at Halifax with in the background a passenger ship, which is identified as the BERLIN built in 1925.

In the past century, some 1.5 million immigrants, refugees and displaced persons arrived on the shores at Halifax’s Pier 21, which served as a symbol of hope, dreams and opportunity for newcomers to Canada

Built as a passenger-cargo vessel under yard No 614 by Bremer Vulkan, Vegesack, Germany for the Norddeutscher Lloyd (NDL), Bremen.
24 March 1925 launched as BERLIN (3)
Tonnage 15,236 gross, dim. 174.30 x 20.98 x 9.04m (draught)
Powered by two 4-cyl. triple expansion steam engines, 12,000 hp, twin shafts, speed 16.5 knots.
Passenger accommodation for 301 first class, 284 second and 515 third class.
When her tweendeck was used for passengers in total she could carry 1478 passengers.
17 September 1925 completed.

26 September 1925 set sail for her maiden voyage from Bremerhaven and via Southampton to New York.
13 November 1928 rescued 23 persons from the sunken British passenger steamer VESTRIS (Lampert & Holt).
Fall 1929 her accommodation was changed to cabin 403 and tourist 287, third class 357.
1923 Passenger accommodation again altered to 257 cabin, tourist 261 and 361 third class.
13 September 1938 sailed for the last time from New York and after her arrival in Germany she was laid up in Bremerhaven on 19 December 1938.
19 December 1938 sailed from Germany and made a voyage to Australia with Jews emigrants.
May 1939 she made two Kraft durch Freude cruises.
17 July 1939 chartered by the German Navy, got a boiler explosion off Swinemünde in which 17 persons were killed.
Repaired by Blohm & Voss in Hamburg.
Conversion to a hospital ship during the repair.
23 August 1939 became hospital ship ”A”.
12 November 1939 laid up at Danzig.
14 April 1940 at Copenhagen during the invasion of Denmark and Norway.
She served also in Norwegian waters during the war.
1944 Dormitory ship in Gdynia.
31 January 1945 hit a mine off Swinemünde; after she was taken in tow the same day she hit an other mine and sank with the loss of 1 man. She sank in position 54 03N 14 – 19E in shallow waters.
5 February 1945 after all equipment was salvaged she was abandoned.
27 February 1946 assigned to the USSR.
1948 Refloated, towed to Warnow Werft in Rostock, where she was rebuilt from 03 September 1951 till 2 May 1957.
The kingpost before the bridge were removed. Passenger accommodation for 870 passengers.
Tonnage increased to 17,053 grt, 8,496 nrt, 3,850 dwt.
Renamed in ADMIRAL NAKHIMOV.
May 1957 delivered to the Soviet State Black Sea Shipping Co., with homeport Odessa, and used in the service between Odessa and Batum, and used for cruise voyages in the Black Sea.
During the Soviet build-up at Cuba and the withdrawals after the missile crisis was she the largest vessel used for the transport of Russian personnel.

31 August 1986 at 22.00 she sailed from Novorossiysk bound for Sochi under command of Captain Vadem Markov with on board 888 passengers and a crew of 346. The sea was calm and it was a clear night.

When just outside the port the Soviet bulker PYOTR VASYOV was sighted which was on a collision course, despite several messages given via the VHF between the two ships and some altering of the course by the ADMIRAL NAKHIMOV at 22.11 she was struck amidships on the starboard side by the PYOTR VASYOV a large hole was ripped in the passenger ship of around 80 m² between the engine and boiler room.. Water flooded through the big gash at 20.000 cubic meters a minute and the ADMIRAL NAKHIMOV sank in 7 minutes. When the impact took place all the lights went out till the emergency diesel generator started, but only for two minutes there was emergency lights then again the ship was put in darkness and people below deck got lost in the darkness.in the heavily listed ship
There was not any time to launch the lifeboats; people dove over the side clinging to lifebelts and all debris what was drifting free.
Many ships and helicopters were coming to the rescue and 836 people were rescued from the water.
359 Passengers lost there live and 64 of the crew.
In the inquiry after the disaster at Odessa in 1987 both captains were found that they had violated the navigational safety rules and both were found guilty of criminal negligence and sentence to 15 years in prison.
Both were released in 1992.
The wreck of the ADMIRAL NAKHIMOV lies on her starboard side in 45 meter of water off Novorossiysk.

Canada 2000 46c sg?, scott?

Source: North Atlantic Seaway by Bonsor. Norddeutscher Lloyd Bremen by Edwin Drechsel. Soviet Passenger ships 1917 – 1977 by Wilson. Modern Shipping Disasters 1963-1987 by Norman Hooke.
Some internet sides under which Wikipedia.

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You will notice on the stamp (Canada SG MS1971) there is an oval immigration stamp of Halifax with the date August 12 1951. At that date I do not think that the liner Berlin would have been in Halifax. From the description of the liner you will notice that in 1946 she was assigned to the USSR and was later towed to Warnow Werft in Rostok to be rebuilt.

Possibly a little bit of artistic licence and the family shown in the forground did not travel to Halifax in 1951 aboard the Berlin.

Stewart Wilson