According to official sources this stamp depicts the U.S.S.R. vessels Lena and Ob in the Arctic and was issued to commemorate the Russian Expedition in that area; a map of the region, with the expedition's bases marked on it, is shown above the two vessels. The U.S.S.R. has two vessels named Ob and two named Lena and it seems probable that the later vessels will supersede the former ships of the name. The first Ob was built in 1917 by the NV. Werf Gusto at Schiedam and was originally the Wassenaar, one of four similar ships built by them. Her owners were Gebr. van Uden and she was registered at Rotterdam. A 3-island type of ship, her dimensions are 267ft. x 42.3ft. x 18.2ft., with a gross tonnage of 2,198. In 1934 the Wassenaar was bought by the Sovtorgflot and renamed Oh, with Leningrad as her port of registry.
First Lena was built in 1917 as the Kralingen by L. Smit and Zoon at Kinderdyk, also for Gebr. van Uden, the two ships being used mainly for timber cargoes from Riga. Like the Wassenaar, the Kralingen was also acquired by the Sovtorgflot in 1934 and renamed Lena, to be registered at Archangel. Her details are: Length 237.9ft, breadth 36ft, depth 16.7ft., for a gross tonnage of 1,459. The Lena was fitted with triple-expansion engines of 850 i.h.p. and two Scotch-type boilers. She had two masts and eight cargo winches, each capable of handling 3k-ton lifts.
The modern Ob and Lena are sisters, and were both built at Flushing in 1954 by Konink. Maats "De Schelde". They are considerably larger than the earlier vessels of the names, having a gross tonnage of 7,503 on dimensions 427ft. x 61.11ft. x 26.91/2 ft. They are driven by four oil engines connected to electric motors and screw shafts The latest pair of ships is shown on the stamp.
SG2026 Sea Breezes 4/57