The SS Eleni was a cargo steamship originally laid down during World War II in Nazi Germany as Greifswald for Norddeutscher Lloyd (NDL). Construction was halted due to Germany's surrender in 1945, and the vessel was seized by the UK as part of war reparations. She was launched in 1947 and completed in 1948 under the British Ministry of Transport, initially named Empire Ely. The ship measured a registered length of 454.5 feet (138.5 meters), with a beam of 60.7 feet (18.5 meters), a depth of 26 feet (7.9 meters), and a draft of approximately 25 feet 4.5 inches (7.73 meters). Her tonnage was 6,113 GRT, 3,537 NRT, and she had a deadweight tonnage of 9,650 DWT. Propulsion was provided by a four-cylinder compound steam engine, refurbished by Flender-Werke, and an exhaust turbine driven through a Föttinger fluid coupling and double reduction gearing. These engines, rated at 646 NHP, powered her to a speed of about 12.5 knots. Initially managed by the UK Ministry of Transport and registered in London, she underwent several management changes and was considered for sale multiple times. Notably, in 1952, she suffered engine failure near Indonesia and was towed to Singapore. In 1954, the vessel was sold to a Liberian company, renamed Maribella, and registered under the Liberian flag of convenience. Subsequently, she changed ownership and names — Ganges under a West German company in 1955 and Eleni under a Greek company in 1959. Her service included a collision in 1971 with the Norwegian ferry Prinsesse Ragnhild in the Bay of Kiel, which led to her being declared beyond economic repair. She was eventually scrapped in Santander, Spain, in 1972. Throughout her career, the SS Eleni served as a versatile cargo vessel, reflecting post-war maritime reorganization and the shifting ownership patterns typical of mid-20th-century merchant shipping.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.