Jean Marie was a 964 GRT coaster that was built in 1922 by F Schichau GmbH, Elbing, Germany as Tertia for German owners.

She was seized by the Allies in May 1945, passed to the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) and was renamed Empire Contour.

She was placed under the management of William Coombs & Sons Ltd.[8] On 5 May 1947,[3] Empire Contour was transferred to the Belgian Government and was renamed Jean Marie.

[1][9] On 10 May, she made her maiden voyage under the Belgian Flag, departing Antwerp for Copenhagen, Denmark.

Her crew of 20 were rescued by the Soviet cargo ship Imandra, which was on a voyage from Leningrad to Amsterdam, Netherlands.

[3][10] The Swedish minesweeper HMS Landsort also responded, but arrived after Jean Marie had sunk.