The ship was built as yard number 614 in 1939 by
Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau AG,
Bremen,
Germany as
Mars for Neptun Line, Bremen. She was launched in August 1939. Her port of registry was
Bremen.
Mars was operated by the Neptun Line. She was requisitioned in 1940 by the
Kriegsmarine, but was returned to Neptun Line later that year. She was requisitioned again in 1942. and converted to a
hospital ship for military use. She assisted in the
evacuation of German citizens from
Königsberg and
Pillau. Between January and April 1945, she carried 20,000 people. In May 1945,
Mars was seized at Copenhagen, Denmark. She was passed to the
Ministry of War Transport and renamed
Empire Forth. She was renamed
Equator (), She measured the depth of the
Mariana Trench at . On 7 November 1960,
Vityaz was reported to have been buzzed in the
Arabian Sea by a
Grumman S-2F Tracker from . The
United States Navy denied that the aircraft was buzzing the ship, but merely establishing her identity. With their introduction in the 1960s,
Vityaz was allocated the
IMO Number 5382609. Scientists on board
Vityaz discovered 1,176 new species of marine plants and animals. During her time as a research ship,
Vityaz visited 49 countries and acted as a goodwill ambassador for the Soviet Union. Notable people who visited her include
Jacques Cousteau and
Thor Heyerdal. ==Species discovered on
Vityaz==