SS Thuringia ( 1922 ) Thuringia was a 11 , 251 GRT ocean liner that was built in 1922 by Howaldtswerke , Kiel , Germany for the Hamburg Amerikanische Paketfahrt AG , Hamburg . In 1930 , she was renamed General San Martin . In 1934 , she was chartered by Hamburg - Südamerikanische Dampfschiffahrts - Gesellschaft and sold to them in 1936 . She was requisitioned by the Kriegsmarine in 1940 and served until 1945 as a barracks ship , and then as passenger ship during the evacuation of civilians from the Baltic . She was seized in May 1945 by the British at Copenhagen , Denmark , passed to the Ministry of War Transport ( MoWT ) and renamed Empire Deben . She served as a troopship until 1949 , when she was scrapped . Description . The ship was built in 1922 by Howaldtswerke , Kiel . She was yard number 610 . The ship was long , with a beam of . She had a depth of . She was assessed at 11 , 251 GRT , 6 , 579 NRT . The ship was propelled by a steam turbine , driving a single screw propeller . The turbine was made by Brown , Boveri & Compagnie , Mannheim . Rated at , it could propel her at . Steam was supplied by five boilers . Her range was History . " Thuringa " was built for the Hamburg Amerikanische Paketfahrt AG , Hamburg ( HAPAG ) . The fourth HAPAG ship of that name , she was launched on 12 August 1922 and completed on 10 January 1923 . She had a crew of 164 , with accommodation for 158 cabin class and 680 third class passengers . Making her maiden voyage on 22 January 1923 , she was used on the Hamburg - New York route . " Thuringia " made her last voyage for HAPAG starting on 9 January 1930 on the Hamburg - Cobh - Halifax - New York route . In 1930 , she was refitted for service on the South American route , and renamed " General San Martin " . Her Code Letters were RDFC . On 14 August 1931 , she ran aground in the Tagus at Lisbon , Portugal . On 26 December 1932 , " General San Martin " ran aground at Cuxhaven , Germany in fog . She was refloated later that day with assistance from a tug . With the changes to Code Letters in 1934 , " General San Martin " was allocated the letters DHIR . On 18 March 1934 , she was chartered by Hamburg - Südamerikanische Dampfschiffahrts - Gesellschaft ( Hamburg Süd ) . " General San Martin " was bought by Hamburg Süd on 30 June 1936 . On 20 January 1940 , " General San Martin " was requisitioned by the Kriegsmarine for use as a barracks ship . She served 7th U - boat Flotilla at Königsberg . From 1 March 1941 she served 3rd U - boat Flotilla at Kiel . From 1 October 1941 she served 8th U - boat Flotilla at Königsberg and then 32nd U - boat Flotilla from August 1944 . From 15 January 1945 , she served 7th U - boat Flotilla at Kiel . She is also said to have seen use as a tender during World War II . From 25 January 1945 , " General San Martin " assisted in the evacuation of civilians from the Baltic . She transported over 30 , 000 people in eleven voyages . From 4 April 1945 , she served as a hospital ship . " General San Martin " was seized by the British in May 1945 at Copenhagen , Denmark . She was passed to the MoWT , which became the Ministry of Transport later that year . On 8 October , she was declared to be a prize of war . The Code Letters GQXY were allocated . Her port of registry was London . She was operated under the management of the Shaw , Savill & Albion Line . In 1946 , she was renamed " Empire Deben " . She was used as a troopship , serving in this role until 1949 . Her departure from Southampton , Hampshire on 14 September 1948 for Gibraltar , Malta and Port Said , Egypt was delayed due to engine defects . One of the apprentices who served on board " Empire Deben " was Dennis Scott - Masson , who was the captain of during the Falklands War . " Empire Deben " was scrapped in March 1949 at Newport , Monmouthshire .