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Of pride and glory

The story of “Frigate Deutschland”, the first-ever ship made in Chattogram
Hoping to get a good catch, a fisherman throws in his net in the Karnaphuli river, while a storm brews in the distance﻿. Even though fish population has seen a significant decline in the river over the last few years due to pollution, the persistent fishers still keep at their task, seeing if fate has something good in store for them. This photo was taken in the south bank of the river recently.
PHOTO: RAJIB RAIHAN
Did you know the first-ever ship made in Chattogram was built in 1818?
In recent years, Chattogram has gained quite a reputation for its shipyards, where old ships from across the globe are brought for dismantling and turning into smaller sized ships.
FM MIZANUR RAHAMAN
According to historian and researcher Shamsul Haque, Chattogram’s shipbuilding business developed on the banks of Karnaphuli, where merchants from across the world used to come to purchase ships and later sail them across the sea, loaded with their goods.
But it all started in 1818, with “Frigate Deutschland” – the first-ever ship made in Chattogram’s Sadarghat area, which sailed across seas for nearly 40 years afterwards.
Its name went into oblivion until it came up in a book titled “Bandar Shohor Chattogram” by historian Abdul Haque Chowdhury.
However, Frigate Deutschland was not the name that it was given after its inception. The three-mast ship was initially named Alfred by its maker James MacRae, who built the ship in his yard on the banks of Karnaphuli, after being commissioned by Freaser Living and Co.
The story of Alfred becoming Frigate Deutschland is not an ordinary one. It is also a story of a merchant ship’s transition into a battle fleet. According to “Uponibesh Chattogram” written by Haroon Rashid, Freaser handed over the ship to J Flint of London in 1828, who operated the vessel in different seas for 17 years.
In 1845, when Alfred was plying the waters of South America, it attracted the attention of JC Godeffroz & Sons, a German company, that had around 150 ships and vessels all over the world at that time.
JC Godeffroz & Sons bought the vessel and changed its name to Cesar Godeffroz.
In about three years, Germany and Denmark found themselves faced with the Schleswig-Holstein War over conquering two border-adjacent towns. The German side was left in a perilous situation when it came to face Denmark’s navy, which was stronger than theirs. To deal with this crisis, the German government sought assistance from its citizens. German businessmen responded. JC Godeffroz & Sons was one such company to play its part by handing over Alfred to the German forces.
According to Haroon Rashid’s book, following the handover, Alfred was renovated and turned into a battle fleet. It was then renamed “Frigate Deutschland”. Thirty-two cannons were installed on the ship.
But the transition was not a smooth one. The vessel lost its previous capacity. Several technical issues came to light when it sailed against Denmark. The German forces later started to use it as a training vessel.
In 1852, when the war was over, Deutschland was once again handed over to a new owner. This time, it was bought by Roessing & Mummz and turned into a coal cargo ship to ply on the England-China sea route. Deutschland plied the seas carrying coal till 1858.
In 1858, the vessel was relocated to the German Maritime Museum.
“I knew nothing about the ship other than its name while writing my book. I started looking for more information and tried to contact relevant individuals and organisations in Germany as well,” said writer Haroon Rashid.
“I got to know about its relocation to the museum through the German Tourism Board. The museum had the remains of the ship stored for about a hundred years. Now it has a small replica of the ship on display,” he added.
Deutschland went on to sail for 40 years, which was very rare in that era as most ships were not very well-equipped to deal with the natural calamities on the seas. And that’s how Frigate Deutschland created history.