ORP Gryf was a school and hospital ship of the Polish Navy, a second vessel to bear that name. She was built in German-occupied Denmark as a cargo ship in 1944, shortly before the end of World War II and initially named Irene Oldendorff. Soon after the capitulation of Germany, she was taken by the United Kingdom, passed to the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) and renamed Empire Contees, but in 1946 it was given to the Soviet Union as part of that country's war reparations from Germany. Renamed Omsk (Омск), she served in the Soviet merchant fleet until 1947 when she was sold to Poland. In 1950, she was acquired by the Polish Navy and rebuilt as a school and hospital ship. Initially named ORP Zetempowiec (after the Union of Polish Youth), in 1957 she was renamed Gryf after the notable WWII minelayer. In 1976 she was decommissioned and sold to the Port of Gdynia, where she served as a heating barge. Her role of a school ship was taken by a new . Description The ship was built in 1944 by Burmeister & Wain, Copenhagen. As built, the ship was long, with a beam of and a depth of . She was 1,923 DWT, . The ship was propelled by a compound steam engine which had two cylinders of 16 inches (42 cm) and two cylinders of 35 inches (90 cm) diameter by 35 inches (90 cm) stroke. The engine was built by Burmeister & Wain. It could propel her at a maximum speed of . History Irene Oldendorff was built for E Oldendorff, Lübeck. On 14 September 1944, she was reported to be in a damaged condition at Copenhagen. The ship had been sunk by sabotage. Although repaired, she was again reported as damaged in March 1945. She was seized in May 1945 at Lübeck, passed to the MoWT and renamed Empire Contees. She was placed under the management of the Constantine Steamship Co Ltd. In 1946, Empire Contees was transferred to the Soviet Union and was renamed Omsk. On 13 April 1947, she was sold to Zegluga Polska SA, Poland and was renamed Opole. On 24 November 1950, Opole was transferred to the Polish Navy. She was rebuilt as a training ship and hospital ship at a cost of zł100,000,000. The conversion was undertaken at the Stocznia Gdynia and was completed in 152 days. Opole was