Type | Shipping |
---|---|
Industry | sea and coastal freight water transport water transport |
Founded | 3 December 1881 |
Defunct | 1980 |
DDG Hansa, short for Deutsche Dampfschiffahrts-Gesellschaft Hansa (German Steamship Company Hansa; in modern orthography, Deutsche Dampfschifffahrts-Gesellschaft Hansa) was a major German shipping company specialising in heavy freight and scheduled traffic between Europe and the Far East. Founded in Bremen in 1881, the company declared bankruptcy in 1980.
DDG Hansa was founded on 3 December 1881 at the "constituent general assembly" in Bremen by a consortium of 17 Bremen and 2 Bremerhaven companies, [1] to provide steamship connections for trade with Asia, the Baltic, and the Mediterranean. The first voyage was by SS Stolzenfels from Newcastle to Singapore in February 1882. [2] Regular service began in 1882 with seven ships. Under its first head, Oltmann Johann Dietrich Ahlers, the company withdrew from the Baltic and limited its Mediterranean activities to the Iberian Peninsula, but its affiliate the Asiatische Linie was able to compete well in trade with India by concentrating on the less well served East Coast ports, [1] and the fleet was expanded with newer ships. The two companies merged in 1894 and by 1899 the company had 40 ships. [1] The routes were also expanded, for example to South America in the 1890s. [1] In 1910 Ahlers was succeeded as Chairman of the Board by Hermann Helms (1868–1942). [3] In 1912, diesel power was introduced; in 1914, the line had 66 steamships and one motor-powered ship, and with a total gross register tonnage of 437,789, was the world's largest freight shipping company and the third largest shipping company in Germany. [2]
In World War I the company lost 81 vessels, a total of 437,489 GRT, [3] all but one ship, [1] the Soneck, with which service to Spain resumed in August 1919. [2] Helms, who remained head of the company until 1940, rebuilt the fleet. Service to India resumed in 1920. [4] With a view to meeting the demand for delivery of railway locomotives to British India, Hansa took delivery in 1929 of SS Lichtenfels, the first modern heavy lift ship, with a crane capable of lifting 120 tonnes. [2] Beginning in 1922, the company also began doing increasing business with Persia and the Arab states around the Persian Gulf. [4] 19 ships had to be laid up during the Great Depression of the early 1930s, [2] but after that DDG Hansa expanded once more, to become the largest heavy freight shipping line in the world. At the start of World War II in 1939, the company were operating several lines to India, a monthly service between the US and the Persian Gulf, and a bimonthly service between the US and southern and East Africa. [2]
After World War II, DDG Hansa had lost all their ships to bombing and seizure by the Allies, and the headquarters building was demolished. [2] [4] [6] From 1943 to 1969, the chairman was Hermann Helms (1898–1983), [7] son of the previous chairman; [8] he was succeeded in turn by his son, also Hermann Helms. [9] In 1948, the company restarted, at first in shipwreck recovery and towing using barges, and then in 1950 resuming freight service to India and Persia with three secondhand ships. [4] [10] In 1956, the company had a fleet of 44 ships, mostly second-hand and new heavy freighters, sailing between Bremen, India, Pakistan, Ceylon, Burma, and the Persian Gulf. [4] The company continued to have a reputation for innovation. [11] [12] The Lichtenfels-series of heavy freighters, beginning in 1954 with MT Lichtenfels, were the first heavy lift ships equipped with the Stülcken derrick. [11] They also had an unusual deck configuration, with the wheelhouse in the bow and the other superstructure aft, leading to the nickname 'Picasso ships'. [11]
Beginning in 1965, the company diversified into platform supply vessels, [13] three years later making this a separate division, Offshore Supply Association (OSA), in partnership with VTG AG of Hamburg. [11] [14] The company also diversified into the container field, including experimentation with floating containers, and Roll-on/roll-off cargo haulage; Mariaeck and Brunneck, commissioned in 1968, could handle up to 800 tonnes of RoRo cargo, [11] and in the 1970s DDG Hansa circumvented congestion problems at Persian Gulf and Red Sea ports by using large RoRo ships and its own terminals. [15] Through subsidiaries, the company also owned and operated incinerator ships burning chemical waste, beginning with the MT Vulcanus. [11] [16] [17] MT Stahleck, built in 1977, operated worldwide carrying especially large and heavy loads and was the model for the John Henry and the Paul Bunyan of American Heavy Lift Shipping Company of Pittsburgh, and Hansa employees trained and assisted their crews. [18] It was the world's largest heavy lift shipping company. [19]
In the second half of the 1970s, DDG Hansa invested large amounts of money updating the fleet and diversifying; a bad economic climate and the weakness of the U.S. dollar against the mark then led to financial difficulties. [13] Attempts by the company to reduce high labour costs by "outflagging" ships to the Philippines flag were not sufficient to staunch losses, even though its foreign flag fleet was profitable. Deutsche Bank and two insurance companies came to own 80% of the company; in 1979, its financial assets were sold to Hapag Lloyd; [20] and the loss of business in Iran as a result of the 1979 revolution finally caused the company to file for bankruptcy on 18 August 1980. [13] [15] The company ceased operations by 31 December that year. [15] The ships were taken over by other companies, [21] the lines and the container business by Hapag-Lloyd, [15] [22] the platform service business by VTG, and many of the heavy lift ships were sold to a Greek owner who used the name 'Hansa Heavy Lift' and changed the names of the ships to end in -bels. [15] [23] The brand name DDG Hansa was sold in 1984 to Project Carries and is now owned by Deutsche Seereederei of Rostock, operating as Interhansa AG (previously Reederei Hansa AG). [15]
DDG Hansa gave their ships names ending in -fels, -burg, -eck and -turm (rock, fort, crag, tower). [1] The "-fels" ending was so common, e.g. Freienfels, Goldenfels, Schneefels, Uhenfels, Wachtfels, that they were collectively referred to as the "Fels ships". A harbour basin in Rotterdam was named Felshaven in honour of the line. [2]
Aktien-Gesellschaft „Weser" was one of the major German shipbuilding companies, located at the Weser River in Bremen. Founded in 1872 it was finally closed in 1983. All together, A.G. „Weser" built about 1,400 ships of different types, including many warships. A.G. „Weser" was the leading company in the Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau AG, a cooperation of eight German shipbuilding companies between 1926 and 1945.
Lichtenfels may refer to:
Bremer Vulkan AG was a prominent German shipbuilding company located at the Weser river in Bremen-Vegesack. It was founded in 1893 and closed in 1997 because of financial problems and mismanagement.
Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau Aktiengesellschaft was a cooperation of eight German shipyards in the period 1926 to 1945. The leading company was the shipyard AG Weser in Bremen.
Trondhjems mekaniske Værksted or TMV was a major shipbuilding company in Trondheim, Norway.
USS Pequot (ID-2998) was a German cargo steamship that the US Government seized in 1917 after the US entry into the First World War. She briefly served in the Naval Overseas Transportation Service. In 1923 her original owner, DDG Hansa, chartered her and then bought her back.
A heavy-lift ship is a vessel designed to move very large loads that cannot be handled by normal ships. They are of two types:
SS Uhenfels was a German-built heavy-lift ship that was launched in 1931 for DDG Hansa. She was captured by the Royal Navy in 1939, two months after the start of the Second World War. The UK Ministry of Shipping renamed her Empire Ability and contracted Elder Dempster Lines to operate her. In 1941 a German U-boat sank her by torpedo.
Admiral Ushakov was a 7,838 GRT cargo liner that was built in 1939 as Neidenfels by Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau AG, Bremen, Germany for Deutsche Dampfschiffahrts-Gesellschaft "Hansa", Bremen. She was seized in May 1945 by the British at Eckernförde, Germany, passed to the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) and renamed Empire Dee. In 1946, she was transferred to the Soviet Union and renamed Admiral Ushakov. She served until 1975, when she was scrapped at Split, Yugoslavia.
Lowland was a 1,923 GRT cargo ship that was built in 1944 as Kattenturm by Deutsche Werft, Hamburg, Germany for Deutsche Dampfschiffahrts-Gesellschaft Hansa, Bremen. She was seized as a prize of war in 1945, passed to the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) and renamed Empire Eden. In 1947, she was sold into merchant service and renamed Lowland. A sale to a Bermudan owner in 1959 saw her renamed Mary Enid. She was sold to a Greek owner in 1963 and renamed Stelianos and then Marynik following another sale in 1964. In 1967, she was sold to Hong Kong and renamed Euphipides, serving until she was scrapped in 1969.
Eleni was a 6,112 GRT cargo ship that was built in 1947 by Lübecker Flenderwerke AG, Lübeck, Germany. She had been laid down as Greifswald for Norddeutscher Lloyd. She was captured uncompleted in May 1945 and passed to the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT), being completed in 1948 as Empire Ely. In 1954, she was sold to a Liberian company and renamed Maribella. A sale in 1955 to West Germany saw her renamed Ganges. In 1959, she was sold to Greece and renamed Eleni, serving until she was involved in a collision in 1971. She was declared to be beyond economic and scrapped in April 1972.
SS Wairuna, originally called D/S Schneefels, then SS Gibraltar and SS Polescar, was a cargo steamship that was launched in Germany in 1913. She had a varied career spanning three decades under successive German, British and New Zealand owners before being scuttled in the North Atlantic in 1945.
SS Lichtenfels was an early example of a modern heavy-lift ship. She was launched in 1929 in Germany for DDG Hansa. She was equipped with a 120 t boom crane capable of lifting fully assembled railway locomotives, which were shipped to India.
SS Karsik was a German-built cargo steamship. Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau (Deschimag) built her as Soneck for Deutsche Dampfschifffahrts-Gesellschaft "Hansa" in 1938.
Pagenturm was a Hansa A Type cargo ship which was built as Schauenberg in 1944 by Deutsche Werft, Hamburg, Germany for H Schuldt, Hamburg. She was seized as a prize of war in 1945, passing to the Ministry of War Transport and renamed Empire Galway. She was allocated to Belgium in 1946 and was renamed Kinshasha. She was sold to Norway in 1951 and renamed Anne Reed. Sold to West Germany in 1956, she was rebuilt and renamed Pagenturm. She served until 1964, when she was scrapped.
Aghia Thallassini was a Hansa A Type cargo ship which was built as Brünhilde in 1943 by C. Van der Giessen & Zonen's Scheepswerfen NV, Krimpen aan den IJssel, Netherlands for Hamburg-Südamerikanische Dampfschifffahrts-Gesellschaft, Hamburg, Germany. She was seized as a prize of war in 1945, passing to the Ministry of War Transport and renamed Empire Game. She was sold in 1947 and was renamed Canford. Sold to West Germany in 1956, she was rebuilt and renamed Fangturm. She was sold to the Lebanon in 1961 and was renamed Panaghia Lourion. She was sold in 1967 to Greece and was renamed Aghia Thassalini. Sold to Cyprus in 1970, she served until 1973, when she was scrapped.
Olsztyn was a Hansa A Type cargo ship which was built as Imkenturm in 1944 by Werf de Noord, Alblasserdam, Netherlands for DDG Hansa, Bremen, Germany. She was seized as a prize of war in 1945, passing to the Ministry of War Transport and renamed Empire Gantry. She was allocated to the Soviet Union in 1946 and was renamed Feodosia. Sold to Poland in 1947, she was renamed Olsztyn. She served until 1972, when she was scrapped.
Arsterturm was a Hansa A Type cargo ship which was built in 1944 Deutsche Dampfschiffahrts-Gesellschaft Hansa, Bremen. She was bombed and sunk on 26 February 1945.
SS Bärenfels was a German steam cargo liner that was launched in 1921 for DDG Hansa. In 1940, she took part in the German invasion of Norway and was sunk by Fleet Air Arm dive bombers. Her wreck was raised, and in 1941, she was returned to service. In 1944, a Royal Navy midget submarine sank her, killing 11 of her complement. In 1947, her wreck was raised to be scrapped, but while under tow she sank a third time.