Elisabethville was an 8,851 GRT ocean liner which was built in 1921 for Compagnie Belge Maritime du Congo.

She served the Antwerp - Matadi route, connecting Belgium to Belgian Congo.

She briefly returned to merchant service in 1946 before being requisitioned again in 1947 for further troopship duties, and rechristened the Empire Bure.

Elisabethville was built by J Cockerill SA, Hoboken Belgium for Compagnie Belge Maritime du Congo.

The engines were fed by six 215 lbf/in2 single-ended boilers with a total heating surface of 14,100 square feet (1,310 m2).

[4] In 1940 she was requisitioned by the MoWT for use as a troopship under the management of Lamport & Holt Line,[1] entering service on 16 December 1940.

On 18 March Elisabethville was requisitioned by the Ministry of Transport and renamed Empire Bure.

[8] A painting of Elisabethville on her maiden voyage in May 1921 was made by Belgian artist Eugeen Van Mieghem.