No.18 | June 2015

ISSUE NO. 18 | JUNE 2015
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CORPORATE INFORMATION OF THE F. LAEISZ GROUP
MEETING PRESIDENT OF KIRIBATI
POLARSTERN II
150 YEARS DGZRS
SPMS Partner Meeting
See page 2
Signing Ceremony in Bremerhaven
See page 3
150 th Anniversary of Sea Rescuers
See page 5
YARA INTERNATIONAL AWARDS
REEDEREI F. LAEISZ WITH THE
SHIPMANAGEMENT OF THEIR
NEW BUILDING PROGRAMME
Reederei F. Laeisz has been awarded with the
ship management of Yara’s LPG newbuildings.
Following 25 years of close and successful cooperation between Yara International, being the
global leader in the production and distribution
of mineral fertilizer as well as the biggest trader/
transporter of ammonia, and F. Laeisz, an agreement has been signed for the newbuilding supervision and ship management of Yara’s two 38.000
cbm and three 20.600 cbm LPG – Carriers to be
constructed at Hyundai Mipo Dockyards in Korea.
“The basis for our decision is the quality, the responsiveness, and the knowledge of our systems
that F. Laeisz has demonstrated over the past 25
years, ever since we first chartered LPG Carrier
M/V “Bussewitz” back in 1991”, said Frederik
Schütz, Global Head of Supply Chain Procurement
at Yara.
This contract is an important step for us to increase our industrial service business in shipping
segments with barriers of entry, possibilities of
differentiation and high quality awareness.
EDITORIAL
DEAR FRIENDS OF F. LAEISZ
Summer is coming! Though the
crisis is far from over there are
clear signs of recovery in some
segments that are of importance
to us. Subpanmax containers are
firming, car carrier prospects are
improving and gas carriers hold
stable at satisfactory levels. Only
for bulkers forecasts remain lousy,
which again proves our strategy
correct: Diversify in unrelated segments, it does not make you rich,
but it helps to survive.
Yours truly,
GENERAL ARRANGEMENT
N. H. Schües
BOOK REVIEWS
20,6K BAU NR. 8173/174/175
GENERAL ARRANGEMENT
DER GEFRORENE OZEAN
Published by Peter Lemke/
Stephanie von Neuhoff, 2014
38K BAU NR. 8170/171
More book reviews on page 12
ISSUE NO. 18 | JUNE 2015 | PAGE 2
CORPORATE INFORMATION OF THE F. LAEISZ GROUP
LUNCH WITH HEAD OF STATE OF SAMOA
MR. TUI ATUA TUPUA TAMASESE EFI AND
MEETING WITH KIRIBATI PRESIDENT AND
SPMS PARTNERS IN HAMBURG
His Excellency Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Efi
visited Germany in 2014 and was welcomed
in Schloss Bellevue by H.E. President Joachim Gauck for lunch. Niko Schües participated and extended our appreciation for the
great cooperation.
Earlier this year his Excellency Anote Tong
came to Hamburg for a courtesy visit and
met with South Pacific Marine Service
(SPMS) partners. SPMS presently consists
of six Hamburg based shipping companies
namely: Hamburg Süd, F. Laeisz, Reederei
Nord, Leonhardt & Blumberg, Aug. Bolten
and Fisser & v. Dornum. For almost 50 years
SPMS has now trained and employed seafarers from Kiribati. Right now more than 700
seafarers are on board SPMS vessels while
SPMS Partners
with Kiribati President
from the left:
Kiribati President
Mr. Anote Tong and
Nikolaus W. Schües
from the left:
Mr. Joachim Gauck/
President of Germany,
Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese
Efi/Head of state of
Samoa, Mr. Nikolaus H.
Schües/CEO
Laeisz has a share of around 175 seafarers.
Total employment was well above 1000 some
years ago, but the shipping crisis didn’t stop
in Kiribati. Fortunately in 2015 employment
statistics show a more positive trend, also
because of better and more reliable flight
connections within the Pacific region.
Prior to his visit to Hamburg the Kiribati President followed an invitation
for an audience
with Pope Franziskus in Rome. Beside others, climate
change was one of
the main topics on
the agenda. The
President trusts on
the support and influence of Pope Franziskus to help Kiribati and other small island
nations to reach achievements in UN conferences combatting global warming.
We shall continue to offer support by offering employment and appreciate the daily
efforts of our Kiribati colleagues on board of
our ships.
CORPORATE INFORMATION OF THE F. LAEISZ GROUP
ISSUE NO. 18 | JUNE 2015 | PAGE 3
POLARSTERN II
In summer 2014 Reederei F. Laeisz signed a contract for the building supervision
and the ship management of the new research icebreaker RV ”Polarstern II” as
well as for the Neumayer Station III together with representatives of the Alfred
Wegener Institute in Bremerhaven. The
management contract covers a period of at
least six years after delivery of the vessel,
which is planned to take place in 2019.
The present research icebreaker RV ”Polarstern” has been in service since December
1982. RV “Polarstern“ has taken people and
material to the Arctic and Antarctic Ocean,
covering more than 1.5 million nautical miles, in over 31 years. That corresponds to a
distance of over 2.7 million kilometres and
thus more than 67 circumnavigations of the
from left: Dr. Uwe Nixdorf/Administration director, Mr.
Roland Pallutz/Commercial Director, Mrs. Karin Lochte/
Managing Director, Nikolaus H. Schües/CEO
globe at the equator. Reederei F. Laeisz took
over the management of RV “Polarstern” on
1 January 1996.
But even before RV “Polarstern II” goes
into operation, Reederei F. Laeisz will play
a special role. In the framework of a Europe-wide public tender procedure, conducted by BMBF, Reederei F. Laeisz was awarded with a contract for consulting services
regarding the shipbuilding design. The experience of our company in operating icebreakers was a key factor for the contract
award. A special Reederei-team led by
Capt. Uwe Pahl, former master of RV “Polarstern” for many years, will contribute
practical experiences from the operating
of the vessel into the design and building
of RV “Polarstern II”.
GL 5 STAR EXCELLENCE
Our shipping company F. Laeisz with offices in Hamburg, Rostock and Bremerhaven
has received the “GL Excellence – 5 Stars”
certificate of Germanischer Lloyd in February 2008 and keeps it till now. It is awarded
for the introduction of high and up-to-date
safety, environment protection and quality
standards. International standards and management systems improve and constantly
monitor safety, environmental compatibility
as well as operation processes of vessels. The
“GL Excellence” certificate of Germanischer
Lloyd documents the implementation of such
standards – both obligatory and voluntary
ones. Consequently, organisations can prove
GL Excellence certificate
their voluntary commitment to better quality,
reliability, safety and social compatibility by
presenting an independent certificate. Companies are entitled to receive the “GL Excellence – 5 Stars” certificate if they meet the
obligatory requirements – amongst others at
least five management systems such as ISO
9001, ISO 14001, Occupational Health &
Safety, Maritime Social Responsibility Standard, the ISM and the ISPS Code. Our company F. Laeisz has received the certificate
for the GL classed fleet of containerships,
gas tankers, car carrier and research vessels.
The management systems ISO 9001 and ISO
14001 as well as the ISM Code, ISPS Codes
and the Occupational Health & Safety have
been implemented successfully on all Laeisz
vessels. In addition, the introduction of an industrial safety management system has been
verified and F. Laeisz has also registered for
the Emergency Response Service of Germanischer Lloyd. Therefore, “GL Excellence”
serves as evidence for reliable ship operation
and documents the compliance of above-average safety and quality standards.
The “GL Excellence – 5 Stars” certification is
verified every three years along with ISM and
ISO audits.
We work for every success in future, and that
we can maintain this high level of standard.
ISSUE NO. 18 | JUNE 2015 | PAGE 4
CORPORATE INFORMATION OF THE F. LAEISZ GROUP
OUR NEW OFFICE IN BREMERHAVEN
Looking for new office premises in Bremerhaven,
we at F. Laeisz took the opportunity to buy the
Schuchmann Villa from BG Verkehr in July 2014.
It is especially important to us and we therefore
take special care to renovate the villa very carefully in order to preserve the authentic character
of the building, not least because it was built for
the Schuchmann family, today related to our owners, the Schües family.
Our colleagues in the Bremerhaven branch office
are very delighted to move into their new offices
and to perform their management service for the
research icebreaker RV „Polarstern“ as well as
for the Neumayer Station III from such a historic
site. We expect to move to the new office in June
of this year.
The villa at the Bartelstraße in Bremerhaven
Geestemünde with the mighty columns to the
right and left of the entrance was built in 1922
by the Schuchmann family. The beautiful villa
located at one of the oldest docks, south of
Geeste, forms together with the former Principal
Customs Office, the historic canal swing bridge
and the headquarters of the „North Sea“ one of
the most visually attractive ensembles in Bremerhaven. On the quay in front of the villa were
not only Schuchmann tugs safely moored, but
also the famous tall ship „Potosi“, one of the famous „Flying P-Liner“.
Foto: OttoWulff BID Gesellschaft mbH
LAEISZHOF IS PART OF THE BID
NIKOLAIQUARTIER
OUR NEW OFFICE IN GRABOW
On 1st April 2014 a reception marked the official
opening of Reederei F. Laeisz G.m.b.H. ´s newest
office in Grabow/Mecklenburg. The historic
building, built in 1787 by the Grand Duke Friedrich Franz I, was acquired by F. Laeisz and now,
after renovation, offers modern office space in
historic ambiance. Grabow, the home town of
BID Nikolai Quartier foundation stone
Laeiszhof, our historic office building in
Hamburg, is part of the BID Nikolaiquartier. In this Business Improvement
District all real estate owners are investing
together in new and wider pedestrian
walks, lighting, chairs and banks to sit on
as well as plants and trees. On 18th March
2015 the works were officially started. All
around Laeiszhof pedestrian walks will be
enlarged, parking zones reduced and quite
a few trees will be planted to give the surroundings the feeling of an almost park-like
large open space rather than simply a
street. We wish the common effort of the
BID Nikolaiquartier every success.
our CFO Annette Schroeder-Smakman, was chosen for being situated conveniently half way between our offices in Hamburg and Rostock. Several shipping and non shipping activities of F.
Laeisz group are now managed from Grabow under the leadership of Annette Schroeder-Smakman and Volker Redersborg.
ISSUE NO. 18 | JUNE 2015 | PAGE 5
150 YEARS DGZRS
This year the German Society for Saving Lives from Emergencies at Sea
celebrates it’s 150 th anniversary. Throughout these years F. Laeisz has
always been – and still is – closely linked to the „Sea Rescuers“
CORPORATE INFORMATION OF THE F. LAEISZ GROUP
Mr. Klaus Stüwe in his
„German Society for
Saving Lives from
Emergencies at Sea“
uniform. He is
member since 1990
of the society.
In 1861 F. Laeisz founded the Hamburgische Rettungsverein that became founding member of the German society in 1865. The Hamburg
based representation started in our office building at Trostbrücke 1 and
still is there today. Capt. Ralf Krogmann organizes from here PR and
fundraising and our colleague Mr. Klaus Stüwe, who works together with
Mr. Ralph Leineweber and takes care of our small island Kirr on the
Baltic coast, are among of the voluntary „Sea Rescuer“ for 25 years,
who – in case of need – selflessly risk their own life’s to save others.
Life saving ship „Hamburg I“/photo
probably from the year 1920
Life saving ship from today,
M/V “Hannes Glogner“
ISSUE NO. 18 | JUNE 2015 | PAGE 6
ANNIVERSARIES 2015 | CONGRATULATIONS!
CORPORATE INFORMATION OF THE F. LAEISZ GROUP
45 YEARS ON BOARD
ASHORE
10 years
Carola Titze, Felix Riess, Udo Wolf, Maria Stüwe
25 years
Dagmar Tempel
30 years
Christine Wichmann, Uwe Hauer,
Annett Krüger, Heike Dembeck
40 years
Ruth Ohlrich, Birgit Reimann, Thomas Hundt,
Veronika Topitsch
45 years
Peter Winter
Georg Jasmand
Lutz Klatt
Dieter Klitz
Lothar Gladow
Joachim Luckow
ON BOARD
10 years
Yong Sheng Sun, Kai-­Stephan Böhlen, Michael Maaß,
Henning Westphal, Henrik Stolze, Uwe Wende
25 years
Andreas Sedlak, Fred Klum
30 years
Tom Kohler, Christoph Schröder, Michael Fölster
40 years
Michael Martens, Martin Fleischer, Holger Fallei,
Holger Petrat, Jürgen Schramm, Eckhard Kroesche
45 years
Dieter Klitz, Lothar Gladow, Joachim Luckow,
Lutz Klatt, Georg Jasmand
45 YEARS ASHORE
BIRTHDAYS 2015 | CONGRATULATIONS!
ASHORE
Peter Winter
60 years
Elke Duckstein, Ingrid Taube, Dagmar Degenkolb,
Dorothea Fischer, Stefan Werner, Klaus Stüwe
65 years
Klaus Wunderlich, Manfred Strobach, Renate Panter
ON BOARD
50 years
Igor Reshetov, Sergey Skorokhodov, Sergei Selin, Efren
Natividad Awat, Sergey Kudryashov, Roberto Rodenas
Oblipias, Joseph Arturo Estraza, Aladino Jr. Dalaorao
Alolor, Andrey Kulbakov, Joel Remolacio Ranara, Frank
Wienekamp, Alesandro Olita Yap, Quan Lun Chen,
Laurence Delica Ramos, Joseph Isidro Hipolito, York
Koch, Vladimir Tikhomirov, Joerg Preussner, Andrey
Glebov, Bernardo Jr. Tadios Vendiola
60 years
Ralf-­Dieter Müller-­Homburg, Joerg–Michael Griese,
Martin Froeb, Detlef Landmann, Mario Zumarraga
Fernandez, Detlef Beth, Andreas Deckner, Sergey
Pustotin, Rolf Egon Woesthoff, Joerg Suhnel, Eckhard
Puschmann, Bernd Farysch, Wilfredo Villaco Talaoc
65 years
Werner Hampf, Anatoly Mozhaev, Pedro Nuneza, Heino
Wendt, Nikolay Romanov, Norbert Spilok, Siegfried Forster
A CAREER FOR THE SEA
After more than 40 years with our company, Peter Geitmann
joins Ver.di. When Mr. Geitmann joined Deutsche Seereederei
in September 1973 for sure he did not expect to become a
decisive figure in the present struggle to safeguard German sea
personal also for the future. After almost 20 years at sea he
joined our workers‘council and proved a firm but trustworthy
representative of our seamen’s
interest.
Peter Geitmann now joined Ver.
di to become secretary for shipping affairs. Though the tasks of
the unions and the ones of our
company may not always be
aligned and the routes may be
different, in the end we share
the same goal: to keep German
seamanship alive in order to
safeguard knowhow for future
generations.
ISSUE NO. 18 | JUNE 2015 | PAGE 7
CORPORATE INFORMATION OF THE F. LAEISZ GROUP
100.000 RUNNING HOURS A SIGNIFICANT MILESTONE
MECKLENBURGER FESTSPIELE
Reederei F. Laeisz GmbH has been sponsoring the Audience Award of the Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, a classic
music festival, for many years now. Every
year young musicians enter the competition
for being voted Best Musician by the audience. On 24th August 2014 the prize was
awarded to the brothers Arthur and Lucas
Jussen for their joint piano performance in
2013. The prize giving ceremony was part
of a concert called Piano Summit that took
place in the picturesque town of Putbus on
the island of Rügen. With Menahem
Pressler (*1923), brothers Hans-Peter
(*1960) and Volker Stenzl and of course
the Jussen Brothers, aged 17 and 19 years,
three generations of fantastic pianists
amazed the audience. The prize was handed over by our Chief Financial Officer Mrs.
Annette Schroeder-Smakman.
from the left: Mr. Harald Schlotfeldt/Technical Director and Mr. Dr. Tilmann Greiner, Head of MAN
Diesel
Five vessels in our fleet have achieved more
than 100.000 running hours on their main
engines. Namely these are M/V „Pusan“,
M/V „Hanjin Mundra” (Penang), M/V „Hanjin
Haiphong” (Peking), M/V “Hanjin San Diego”
(Portland) and M/V „Portugal“. The vessels were built at Hyundai Heavy Industries
(HHI) in Ulsan, Korea in 1997/98. The main
engines are MAN Diesel & Turbo and were
manufactured by HHI Engine Manufacturing Department (HHI EMD). The engine type
is 9K90MC-C MK V delivering an output of
41.040 kilowatt at 104 revolutions per minute. The engine type indicates that it is an
engine with nine cylinder units and a bore of
90 centimetres.
Honouring the 100.000 running hours on the
said vessels Dr. Tilmann Greiner, Head of MAN
Diesel & Turbo, Hamburg handed over brass
plaques of remembrance to Harald Schlotfeldt, Managing Technical Director of Reederei
F. Laeisz. The event took place in the famous
International Maritime Museum in the historic
warehouse district in the port of Hamburg.
Picture from the left: Mrs. Anette
Schroeder-Smakmann, Arthur and
Lucas Jussen
BRIDGES – OUR NEXT PHOTO CONTEST
All readers of Fleet News are invited to join
our next photo contest covering the theme
„Bridges“.
We will expect your photos of Golden Gate
Bridge in San Francisco, Rialto Bridge in Venice
or Köhlbrand-Bridge in Hamburg or any other
bridge you feel you have taken a good picture
of. The best three entries will be announced
in the next edition. As in previous contests
we need your name, address and e-mail
*these picture of the camera is not the price which you will win at our photo contest it is only for promotion purposes
as well as the photo title and the date when
it was taken. All images published will credit
your name. Again only digital entries can be accepted. Closing date is the 31st August 2015.
Please send your photos to ueckert@laeisz.de.
We look forward getting many „bridges“.
1.Price:
Compact Digital Camera
220,- Euro
2.Price:
Smart Phone
120,- Euro
3.Price:
rchaeology of Bridges
A
(German / English)
50,- Euro
CORPORATE INFORMATION OF THE F. LAEISZ GROUP
ISSUE NO. 18 | JUNE 2015 | PAGE 8
from the left: Captain Radito S. Tena, Wolfgang P. Schües, Chief Officer Noel E. Medalla
MY VOYAGE ON M/V „PASSAMA“
WRITTEN BY WOLFGANG P. SCHÜES
The flight from Hamburg via Frankfurt to Bogota and from there to Cartagena was on time
on the 24th January 2015. The taxi driver, however, who was sent by the agent to pick me up
could neither read nor write. Amongst the crowd
in the arrival hall I spotted a man holding a sign
in his hands: “Eva Schulz”. It was obviously not
me whom he was looking for. Somewhat embarrassed I chose another taxi. Upon arrival at the
hotel the agent’s taxi driver came up to me holding his plate with my name on it. “Sorry Sir…”
he simply mixed up the names.
My ship – the M/V “PASSAMA” – was a couple of
days late, because of a delayed departure from
Houston.
Well, my first obligation was to visit the immigration office in order to get the departure stamp in
my passport. Back at the hotel, well after midnight, I was told to wait. It was 2.00 a.m. on
29th January when the same taxi driver, who had
missed me at the airport some days ago, came
to pick me up.
Hurrah, hurrah, off we go to Cartagena port. One
can hardly believe the hellish taxi drive I was now
in. At night all red traffic lights are systematically
ignored in Cartagena. However, sitting in a little
motorcar speeding at more than 100 km/h, reggae music on full blast, through narrow bumpy
roads – it was the fastest taxi drive I ever experienced. I was thinking of Sebastian Vettel.
My prayers were heard and we finally reached the
port gate. The taxi driver with a smile offloaded
my suit case, went off quickly and left me with a
custom officer who by all means was not amused
to deal with a tourist in the earliest morning hours
or better: in the middle of the night.
The questions he asked me I simply could not answer, obviously due to my very limited knowledge
of the Spanish language. He was, however, kind
enough as to offer me his little plastic chair. Some
time went by when a young rather tired water clerk
arrived and to my surprise a boarder police officer
showed up as well. It must have been great fun
for this young policeman to rifle through my neatly
folded laundry. I asked the water clerk “What is
this all around?” The answer: “Drugs”. A major
problem in Colombia! After passing the control
there she was: M/V “PASSAMA”.
A warm welcome on board was extended to me
by the master, Capt. Tena and his chief mate
Mr. Medalla, the latter led me to my cabin.
Although this was a bit smaller than I had expected. It was a very cosy “state room” after
all. Come to think of it. All you need is a bed,
a sofa, a table and a desk to write on and a
shower of course!
I was fast asleep when we departed at 6.30 a.m.
Master and deck officers were Filipinos whereas
the engine room was in the command of Russians. Without exception extremely nice men,
very friendly and polite. No wonder – I am passenger on a F. LAEISZ vessel!
It was not far to our first port of call Manzanillo,
Panama. Actually we were instructed to go at
anchorage, however, all of a sudden a new order: “Pilot will board any minute from now.” But
shortly thereafter: “Wait.” This wonderful word I
had to learn already on my many trips around the
continent of Africa and China. However, I had almost forgotten over the past years of retirement
living in a punctual world. In South America I
had to get used to do it again. Pilot boarding was
set for midnight and from that moment on I was
really flabbergasted. Remember M/V “PASSAMA” is a huge car carrier and of enormous size,
and to bring such a “monster” safely alongside
its berth by the pilot and the master is an admirable piece of work. The last 8 m to bring the
vessel safely alongside (despite a strong wind)
took almost 45 minutes.
Whilst writing these notes steward Oscar knocks
at my cabin door and brought my laundry washed
and pressed, what top Asiatic service!
It was not worth to went ashore since the loading
was completed within a few hours. Comes midnight, we were off again. Next port was Aruba,
Netherlands Antilles. The ship started rolling
heavily, but I fell asleep like a baby. Next morning: Sunshine, lots of wind again and 30° C.
Time to find a shadow place and to make yourself
ISSUE NO. 18 | JUNE 2015 | PAGE 9
comfortable in a deck chair. Walking on deck was
not that easy because of the wind and constant
movement of the vessel. My dear wife at home
in Hamburg will be glad to read that I was eating
lots of greens and fruit. Very little carbohydrates! I
must not put on weight! (That’s what she told me
when we said good bye.) The master, Capt. Tena,
is of middle size and he is permanently fighting
the excess kilos. Chief mate Mr. Medalla young
and smart. Second and Third Officers are quite
young. All of them are skilfully and are aware of
their responsibilities. They are well mannered,
very kind and always ready to explain things when
being asked. Apart from their duties they were always ready for a joke and laughter. At 6.30 p.m.
2.5 miles off Aruba the pilot was boarding. The
poor man, he became soaking wet by entering
the pilot ladder, well, these guys are used to it. I
missed the departure from Aruba and the arrival
at Willemstad, Curacao, as it was just a short passage during the night.
My WLAN did not work at sea. Chief Andrey
kindly offered me to use his PC in his office.
We were going to stay the entire day in Willemstad, and I shall had sufficient time to go ashore
for a guided sightseeing tour. Captain Tena requested the agent to make arrangements.
No agent in sight. Immigration officers were sitting in master’s office and were quite happy “to
rest” whilst waiting for the agent.
In the morning I asked my new old friend, Steward Oscar, that I would require his help when
“feeding” me. Low calories only! Oscar’s reply:
“Okay, Sir, will make sure you are not becoming fat, Sir. But, Sir, you are in very good shape,
Sir!” Well, dear friends and readers, such a remark can only come from a true friend! Meantime there was again a large fruit basket in my
cabin. In this part of the world fruit is plentiful.
I watched the deck crew fight the rust by using
a sandblaster. It is hard and dirty work. The ship
is pico bello clean and in good shape, one has
the feeling that M/V ”PASSAMA” is their home,
which has to be kept clean and tidy at all times.
We had to wait again before departing as two
cruise ships were to be berthed first. They enjoy
priority at all times! The passages are so tight
and narrow that only one vessel can be attended
to at a time. Finally the pilot boarded at 3.00
a.m. a smart, good looking young former Navy
Captain. We came to talk and he explained the
political and social situation of Curacao. Out of
the 155,000 inhabitants 85 % are working for
the tourist industry and are poorly paid.
Again the passage was very narrow. One had the
feeling that we had 20 m space each side only.
Once we were in the open sea the ship started rolling and it was already 4.30 a.m. when I
closed my eyes and went to sleep immediately.
Again a sunny morning with blue skies, lots of
wind and wonderful temperature. What more can
you expect? There always was a sheltered place
for me on deck (protected against the wind) to
read my e-book. I must not forget to mention that
we had a small swimming pool on board to cool
off from time to time and it was of perfect size.
CORPORATE INFORMATION OF THE F. LAEISZ GROUP
It was advisable, however, not to use it when the
ship was rolling! It can be quite painful if you bang
against the iron walls. My poor feet (which suffer
from osteoarthritis) hurt like hell when climbing
the iron rungs which were round and not flat. Oh,
thank God, the ship started rolling again.
During the long passage from the Caribbean to
the next port of call it was time for “drills”. The
crew had to exercise all steps to be taken in case
of fire, ship in distress, man over board etc. The
Master was kind enough as to let me stay on the
bridge and to watch the scenery from above. After
the successful drill Master and Chief Mate were
all smiles and obviously satisfied with the crew.
Vitoria in Brazil was our next destination. We
were steaming against the wind and current,
therefore, 12 to 13 knots speed only. All of a
sudden, we were hit by, although foreseen on
the radar, a tropical shower of such an intensity
which one can hardly imagine. Visibility less than
20 m but we were warm and cosy in the safety
of the bridge. On Sunday, 8th February 2015, at
7.20 a.m., we crossed the Equator. Here, the
ocean is 3,647 m deep! For all readers who may
not know: The UNESCO invested a lot of money
for a satellite control enlightened band, 50 m
wide and quite easy to see from the knock. All
ships are requested to slow-down and to cross
the line at “dead slow” speed in order not to
damage this precious investment. A very impressive moment!
After nine days at sea we were heading for Vitoria. Most of the time we enjoyed wonderful
weather with lots of sunshine. I was grateful
the permanent swell which brought the ship in
a rocking chair position did not affect me and
which when walking on deck it looked and felt
like being drunk. By the way, I had my last glass
of beer more than a week ago …
Twice we watched dolphin school escorting the
ship. Up to 70 dolphins, amongst the crowd little
ones, keeping up with us. They were not curious
only, but looked for fish they might catch which
were usually been pushed up by the ship’s speed.
An incident which took me more than a week to
explain to the Officers on board was that every
day I heard a knock on my cabin door: “Tak, tak,
tak”. When I answered “Yes, please, come in!”
Nobody there. It turned out to be the fridge in my
cabin and whilst the Officers were amused they
admitted that they have had the same experience.
One observation I made was that it takes a lot
of time and patience when entering the various
ports of call may it be Vitoria, Santos, Paranagua – always the same procedure. Anchoring
and waiting to come alongside. The wind was
blowing strongly, tropical rain showers with an
enormous intensity. Powerful lightening’s on
top. We left the Brazilian ports behind us and
proceeded to Montevideo, Uruguay. Just a few
cars in and out and off we went again. Destination Zarate, Argentina. Thereafter a long passage
across the delta of Rio de la Plata. The narrow
seaway is 116 m wide and 117 km long. To the
left and right of the buoys the depth is less than
7 m! We passed the skyline of Buenos Aires and
went up the Rio Parana de Las Palmas versus
Zarate. The river was flowing in zick-zack turns.
We passed small weekend cottages which can
only be reached by boat. A water taxi is collecting people in the morning and brings them back
at night. No alligators, but millions of mosquitos!
The passage to and from Zarate lasted 24 hours
on the river.
At night we saw a sunset we cannot forget! A big
round globe of pure gold.
After two days at Zarate we set sail for our long
way back to Cartagena. On quiet evenings Captain Tena ordered barbeque which for the crew
was a highlight after a hard day’s work. Tender
Argentina beef at its best! Music of all kind, accompanied by a crew member’s guitar and lots
of laughter from happy sailors.
“PASSAMA barbeque party”.
On our way back we witnessed a jubilee. The
pilot who brought us into the port of Vitoria came
on board again to take us out. It was his 1.010
piloting job and this fact made him a “full pilot”.
In order to obtain this qualification a pilot has to
perform these many trips. Great joy for him and
myself: We exchanged caps – my FL-cap for his
Navy cap.
TO SUM UP:
What makes such a trip so interesting and desirable for any passenger?
Firstly, it is always the weather, i.e. temperature above 27° C at all times, almost constant
sunshine, a cooling breeze and the visit to the
various ports of call.
It is really exciting to watch the work of the highly
professional and skilful master, officers and pilots to safely berth a vessel of this size; sometimes under most difficult conditions may it be
strong winds or narrow passages or even both.
Once the vessel is safely secured alongside you
will be surprised to see the huge parking areas
packed with seemingly endless array of motor
cars.
The next interesting step then is the fast loading or discharging of the cargo (motor cars):
there are always 2 teams involved, one team
drives the cars up to the vessel’s ramp from
where the next team takes over to drive the cars
into the vessels belly, everything happening at
an enormous speed.
Upon completion of this operation these teams
are being transported back by mini buses to
their original positions.
Well, I thoroughly enjoyed having been a passenger for 6 weeks on this comfortable and
well-maintained vessel, last but not least due
to the openness and friendliness of the Filipino/
Russian officers and the Filipino crew, never
forgetting the master of the vessel, Captain Radito S. Tena a wonderful seaman with enormous
experience.
It really was a great enjoyment to sail on board
the M/V “PASSAMA” up and down the east
coast of South America, whereby the ship contributed a lot towards this unforgettable seavoyage.
ISSUE NO. 18 | JUNE 2015 | PAGE 10
CORPORATE INFORMATION OF THE F. LAEISZ GROUP
Stark für
F. LAEISZ
Stark
für Unternehmer
ISSUE NO. 18 | JUNE 2015 | PAGE 11
CORPORATE INFORMATION OF THE F. LAEISZ GROUP
COMPANY HISTORY
REMINISCENCES OF AN OLD HAMBURG CITIZEN – PART 8
Having worked as a journeyman for nearly
two years, I felt I had enough training to
make my way to Leipzig and Berlin, the
leading towns in the bookbinders‘ trade.
I wandered, therefore, to Leipzig, via Magdeburg, but was not able to find suitable work
there, so I went to Dresden and Breslau.
Eventually I reached Berlin in the summer of
1821.
Although there were many book-binding
journeymen looking for work there, I soon
found a privileged job in a business which
employed about twenty journeymen and
which was run more like a factory. I earned
five to eight „Taler“ weekly. Here I also
learnt how to make different kinds of fancy
goods, and when silk hats came into fashion, we also opened up in this branch of
business and therein I became very skilled.
This proved extremely useful to me later on.
Although I was earning a good wage now, I
did not save any money; I spent it on
amusements and clothes in the Berlin fashion, i. e. elegant to the eye, but with shabby
underwear, or, as the Hamburg people say:
„Buten bunt, binnen Schund!“ (On top
natty, underneath ratty).
I did not think it necessary at that time to
deprive myself of anything for thrifty reasons for I did not believe it possible to get
rich by saving „Groschen“ and „Taler“ – I
wanted to enjoy life. But this was a mistake, and my own experience soon converted me to another way of thinking.
The Crown Prince, later King Friedrich Wilhelm IV, was celebrating his wedding in
Berlin during my stay there and I was
standing amidst a crowd of spectators on
the Palace Bridge as it collapsed under the
weight of us all and many people were
killed.
An intrigue of my master put an end to my
working in his business. He was an immoral
man who wanted a divorce from his wife
and so tried to get me involved in a scandal. I did not fall into the trap though. I quit
the business and took on an even better job
with one of his competitors.
After two years in Berlin, I received a letter
from my mother asking me to return to
Hamburg to help her in the business which
she show mainly ran alone in the stead of
my ageing father. As I wanted to get an impression of the commercial towns along the
Baltic Sea coast, I made my way to Hamburg via Rostock, Wismar and Lübeck, and
reached my home town on the 24th March,
1824, after five years’ absence. My parents
now lived at 105, Kurze Mühren Street and
I moved into an attic room there.
As business was bad in my parents ‘shop, I
started up on my own making silk hats. As
soon as two dozen were ready, I put an advertisement in the „Hamburger Nachrichten“ (Hamburg News). A hatter named
DITTMER answered the advert. and bought
up my whole stock for 10 Marks each, a
price which brought me a considerable
profit. Encouraged by this, I ordered from
„Velpel“, a famous hat maker in Berlin, and
started working so much that, in the course
of the first year, I only had about ten Sundays off, apart from having a minimum of
sleep. I worked so hard, firstly because, according to general opinion, such hats would
soon go out of fashion and, secondly, because I could not find a capable assistant.
My mother and sister helped me to trim the
hats and so earned themselves quite a sum
of money from which my sister, at a later
date, bought her trousseau. I gradually had
so many customers that it displeased the
Hatters’ Guild and they tried to hinder me
in carrying out my business as it interfered
with their privileges. However, the charge
brought against me, mainly by their Elderman CREUTZBURG, my future father-inlaw, was dismissed.
Once I had a large order to finish quickly
and, having slept very little the nights before, I tried to keep myself awake by drinking a bottle of champagne. However, the
effect was just the opposite and when my
customers came to collect their orders the
next morning, they found me fast asleep.
The only amusement I occasionally had,
was a visit to the theatre (in the gallery, of
course), a pastime, which I had actively
cultivated in Berlin. My everlasting love for
the theatre had a favourable influence on
my education which had been rather neglected under sad conditions of my early
youth.
When my sister and faithful assistant AUGUSTE was married to the merchant NOLTE, he became a good friend and I was
able to sell a large quantity of hats at a
good profit to various business connections which he had produced for me in
Bremen. I endeavoured to expand my business and employed several assistants,
whom, however, I first had to train. In
1825, I asked a friend of mine, a captain,
if he could take a parcel of hats overseas
to Buenos Aires and try to sell them there.
This venture was so successful that I soon
considered establishing business abroad
as this promised to be more profitable. I
extended my activities to include everything to do with the hat-trade and became,
on the 26th May, 1826, as master-hatter, a
citizen of Hamburg.
In the meantime, I had been thinking of setting up my own home. During an evening
stroll I nearly got engaged to a pretty girl,
the daughter of a family we were acquainted
with, but we were disturbed by a dog barking, who then, in turn, called all the neighbours’ attention to us. This girl became very
ill a little later and so the friendship came to
an end. Later I became acquainted with the
twenty-year-old daughter of the Eldermanhatter CREUTZBURG and I liked her even
more than her predecessor. After we had
known each other for a short time, she consented to marry me. Her parents were very
strict, however, and had brought their
daughter up to work very hard and did not
want to part with her just yet. I had to court
her for nearly a year until we could marry.
We got married at last on the 04th June,
1826, and that was the beginning of a long
and happy union with my faithful partner of
life. On the Jungfernstieg, (it was not elegant avenue it is now), we rented a house
with little furniture as my wife’s dowry was
very small. But my wife’s diligent, thrifty
disposition and her tireless activity and dexterity were much more valuable for me than
the most magnificent dowry. She was soon
my best co-worker in the business. The
birth of our only son on the 29 th April, 1828
crowned our domestic life.
To be continued in Fleetnews no. 19
CORPORATE INFORMATION OF THE F. LAEISZ GROUP
ISSUE NO. 18 | JUNE 2015 | PAGE 12
BIMCO ELECTS NEW EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
On the 3rd of June 2015 the AGM of BIMCO - the world’s most trusted
authority of the industry, empowered by expertise – elected Phillippe
Luis-Dreyfus as the new President for a term of two years. Among oth-
ers Niko Schües was co-opted to become a member of the Executive
Board. Our Peter Eckhardt represents Germany on the Documentary
Committee.
Philippe Luis-Dreyfus (centre) – the new President and his Executive Committee
BOOK REVIEWS
BOOK REVIEWS
DER GEFRORENE OZEAN
FASZINATION NORDSEE
Author Peter Lemke, Stephanie von Neuhoff
Title „Der gefrorene Ozean“
Published by Koehlers Verlagsgesellschaft
ISBN978-3-7822-1210-6
Author Photograph Martin Elsen
Title „Faszination Nordsee“
Published by MCE-Verlag (Medien Contor Elbe)
ISBN978-3-938097359
This book takes the reader on a breath-taking
Antarctic expedition and
shows the prettiness of
the frozen ocean and gives us an in depth look
into the polar research
and the day on board of
a research vessel.
For the winter expedition the researcher
choose the route from
Capetown in the south direction to the Antarctic and from there to North West to
the peak of the Antarctic peninsulas. Operated by Capt. Uwe
Pahl and his crew, the international expedition team came safely through the Polar Sea and reached after over 9 weeks port
Punta Arenas.
The North Sea is one of the fascinating oceans and an important economical region for Germany with the
ports Bremerhaven/Bremen, Wilhelmshaven and Hamburg. With her
wonderful mudflat she belongs to
the World Cultural Heritage and international significant natural region.
In the foreground of this picture book are the North Sea and parts of
North Sea isles with also details from the public beach St. Peter Ording, the mudflat and sandbanks in all their colours. The book shows
the whole area of the North Sea coast from the Netherlandic until
the Danish frontier with the isles, but also the Elbe and Weser river
from Bremerhaven until Hamburg. All introduction texts and picture
descriptions has been also translated into English language.
This book shows in pictures together with exciting texts the fascination and power of the frozen ocean.
PUBLISHED BY:
Reederei F. Laeisz G.m.b.H. · Phone: +49 40 36808-229 · Fax: +49 40 36808-257
E-Mail: gebhardt@laeisz.de · www.laeisz.de · Design & Layout: www.matrix-design.com