Postwar History
In Kiel at the end of the war, Togo was seized as war booty and transferred first to Britain on 13 August 1945, then to the US Navy on 15 January 1946, and used to repatriate Polish ex-prisoners of war. Handed over to the Royal Norwegian Navy on 14 March (and renamed KNM Svalbard in December 1946), she was then used as a fleet auxiliary to transport occupation troops to Germany. By this time her passenger capacity had been increased to 900, and between December 1947 and December 1949 she was chartered by the International Refugee Organisation for transport of Displaced Persons from Europe to North America and Australia. As part of the "Fifth Fleet", Svalbard undertook six voyages between June 1948 and October 1949, carrying a total of 5242 DPs for resettlement in Australia.
There were several further changes of ownership in 1954-56 which saw her briefly renamed as MS Tilthorn (April 1954) and later MS Stella Marina (July 1954), she was then re-purchased by her original owners, the Woermann-Deutsche Afrika line in November 1956. Refurbished and with her original name Togo restored, she sailed the Africa run for another twelve years.
In March 1968, she was sold again, to Taboga Enterprises Inc. of Panama, and renamed Lacasielle. She was later sold again to Caribbean Real Estate SA, Panama, on 8 April 1976, becoming Topeka. It was under that name that she was last sold in 1984 to Lineas Agromar Ltda.
It was as the tramp steamer, MS Topeka that she finally ended her days, by running aground after being blown from her anchorage by strong winds 8 mi (7.0 nmi; 13 km) off Coatzacoalcos, Mexico (18°10′12″N 94°18′36″W / 18.17°N 94.31°W / 18.17; -94.31Coordinates: 18°10′12″N 94°18′36″W / 18.17°N 94.31°W / 18.17; -94.31) on 21 November 1984, with the death of two men out of her crew of 27.
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