Well, I had to get round to her sooner or later, didn't I?
BEREZINA/EFORIE (5097979), NAVROM, Romania, 3542gt.
March 1918: launched as WAR HIGHWAY, yard no. 246, by J. Blumer & Co. Ltd., Sunderland; May 1918: completed and operated under ownership of The Shipping Controller, London, management with F. and W. Ritson, Sunderland; 1919: sold to The Hartlepool Seatonia S.S. Co. Ltd., West Hartlepool, and renamed SEATONIA; 1927: managing owners, Hessler & Co., became bankrupt; sold to J.E. Murrell S.S. Co. Ltd. (J.E. Murrell & Sons, managers), West Hartlepool, and renamed BRACONDALE; 1933: after loading timber from the Kara Sea area of Russia, for three days stood by another vessel severely holed by collision; shortly afterwards stopped by a Russian destroyer and searched for stowaways; 1934: sold to Sovtorgflot, Russia and renamed; new name transliterated as BERESINA; 1936: ownership recorded as U.S.S.R.; 1950: transferred to Sovromtransport, Romania; 1959: transferred to NAVROM Romanian Maritime and Fluvial Navigation, Romania; name re-translated as BEREZINA; the vessel was rebuilt around this time; I then saw the BEREZINA there for myself on 14 February 1961 during my first ever ship interest visit to the Tyne.
1962: renamed EFORIE by NAVROM;
On 1 August 1970 I came across her again in Hull as the EFORIE. Ever since this has been one of my favourite ships, not least because she survived almost 60 years in service. These are my photos from that sighting - I had only a fixed lens camera then and, to my great disappointment, could not fit the full ship in my viewfinder. I was still determined to record her and I did - in various bits!! However I did not give up completely. After taking my bits and pieces I went round the far side of Alexandra Dock and, despite the lack of telephoto equipment (I had to wait another 10 years!) I did get a full shot of the EFORIE - well sort of! From this, the EFORIE itself enlarges reasonably well: 6 June 1975: last reported movement, passing Istanbul; laid-up, presumably at Constantza, Romania; April 1978: reported due to be broken up at Constantza.
And, that I thought, was that! But, no, I subsequently learned she had not been broken up but laid up on Macin channel on Danube (somewhere near Braila port). There she rusted away until eventually broken up circa 2003.
Fuller details are given in my article SIXTY YEARS AFLOAT in SEA BREEZES of June 1978.
Ron