Caroline and her first job - Rantzau Intranet Login

July/2010
news
The Group’s In-House Magazine
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Caroline and her first job
Aged only 10 she acted as godmother of a new tanker that bears her name
lthough the German soccer
A
team did not make it to the
final, South African hospitality has
Caroline von Rantzau in front of the 8,500-tdw tanker
O
n 12 June 2010 in the port of
Rotterdam, an 8,400-dwt
product/chemical tanker
built in Turkey was christened
“Caroline Essberger”. The godmother was the person the vessel
was named after, Caroline von
Rantzau, 10, the daughter of Managing Owner Dr Eberhart von
Rantzau and his wife Patricia.
The day was absolutely lovely:
clear blue skies, a light breeze and
mild temperatures. The “Caroline
Essberger”, sailing under the Dutch
flag with Dordrecht as her home
port, was moored at the Cruise Terminal near the city centre of Rotterdam. All the staff from Essberg-
Caroline with the crew of Essbergers new flagship
er Tankers came to the christening
with their families plus a large delegation from Hamburg, so around
300 people were there in total.
Caroline von Rantzau’s christening speech went perfectly, the
bottle shattered first throw. As
soon as the champagne bottle
broke on the fore ship, the ship’s
horn was sounded loudly and a fire
boat of the Rotterdam Fire Brigade
pumped a cascade of water from
the port into the air in the background. The newest vessel of Essberger Tankers was now ready for
service. A number of guests at the
christening party went on board
the historical port tug boat “Dock-
yard IV” for a tour of the harbour
and had the opportunity to admire
the tanker from the water. In the
meantime, some of the other
guests went on a guided tour of the
vessel and were told about the
additional technical work that had
to be completed after delivery from
the yard. This was carried out by
Essberger’s Ship Management varios contractors and by the ships
crew, all under the direction of
Leen van der Sluijs, the ships technical Superintendent.
After that, everyone met in the
big hall at the Cruise Centre for a
“walking lunch” consisting of
tomato soup, (continued on page 3)
A Mercedes/DAL
story
Successful to this very day
M
ercedes-Benz (formerly
Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler) is not only one
of Deutsche Afrika-Linien’s most
important customers, but probably also one of its most long-standing. Only four years after DAL was
founded in 1892, Benz & Co – in
those days still based in Mannheim
– sent a “Benz Velo Comfortable”
to the southern hemisphere on
board the Africa liner “Herzog”
(4,933 GRT). (continued on page 2)
In 1896 this Benz Velo Comfortable was shipped by DAL to South Africa
endeared the hearts of the German
people. The World Cup certainly
proved to be a massive success.
Another success is the economic
recovery within the shipping
industry. This applies particularly
to container shipping where cargo
volumes and freight rates are experiencing growth similar to the
boom times before the crisis.
Although the SA trade was not as
badly affected by the crisis as elsewhere, the present upturn in cargo
volumes fills us with optimism and
leaves us with the impression that
it is not only related to the World
Cup. This success is also due to the
dedication of our agencies and the
service provided to our customers,
such as the reefer express service
during the fruit season.
The bulk shipping sector has
also recovered from the low rates.
Only the chemical tanker trade has
experienced difficulty in securing
sufficient cargo volumes. However,
since mid-year are there signs of
improving markets. At this juncture, our new tanker building programme is making positive strides.
An example was the recent christening of the “Caroline Essberger’’
in Rotterdam. In this regard, I was
pleased to note the overwhelming
participation of Essberger Tankers
staff and their families in
Rotterdam.
No one can really say if the
global recovery is sustainable or
whether the current situation is
only temporary. Yet one thing is for
sure: the shipping industry can by
no means say all its difficulties have
been solved, but optimism and
revival signals are evident almost
everywhere. So let us be equally
optimistic and use all the opportunities to further our own activities.
Yours Eberhart von Rantzau
2
How the Pope delayed the takeover
of a tanker
Two additional chemical carriers join the Essberger fleet – two older vessels are sold to Italian and Russian interests
pleased with how the takeover
went. Her final report to Essberger Tankers’ Managing Director
Hugo Finlay discribed a very
good example of what such a ship
handover should be in practice.
Bye bye to Heinrich E
and Dutch Progress
One tanker leaves, one arrives: In Dordrecht the “Dutch Progress” (3,160 dwt) moored alongside the
“Multitank Badenia” (5,800 dwt), taken over from the Ahrenkiel Group and now under service as “Lucy Essberger”
J
ust a few days before the
“Caroline Essberger” (8,400
dwt) was christened Essberger Tankers took over the
tankers “Multitank Britannia” and
“Multitank Badenia”, which previously belonged to the Ahrenkiel
Group. The sister vessels of 5,800
dwt each changed ownership in
Algeciras/Spain and Rotterdam/Holland, respectively, and
were given their new names
“Eduard Essberger” and “Lucy
Essberger”.
This procedure entails immense
practical and official technicalities
and requires a lot of meticulousness from everyone involved. After
two days of hard work, on the afternoon of 11 May, the transfer of ownership of “Eduard Essberger”, now
under Portuguese flag (Madeira
Register), should have been completed. The only thing still missing
was the eminently important Ship
Station License, needed for the
issuance and handover of all the
documents/certificates.
The request was forwarded to the
department concerned, with an
urgent note to the International
Shipping Register of Madeira
(IPTM), Lisbon. Unfortunately
the administration services in
Lisbon had closed for the afternoon – due to Pope Benedict
XVI’s visit to Lisbon. This was the
first time in John T. Essberger’s
history that the Pope delayed the
handover of a ship. Apart from
that, Essberger’s Fleet Manager
Heide-Lore Jahnke was very
Meanwhile two older vessels left
the Essberger Tankers fleet. Dutch
Progress” (3,160 dwt, stainless
steel tanks, built 1983) once
belonged to the Broere Shipping
fleet. She was sold to Italian company Sicilship on 15 June 2010 and
will be deployed in the Mediterranean from now on, transporting
wine, vegetable oils and alcohol.
“Heinrich Essberger” (2,898
dwt, stainless steel tanks) has been
part of the Essberger fleet since
the day she was launched at J.J.
Sietas shipyard in Hamburg in
1986 and also sailed under the
name “Reno” for a while. She went
to Russian owners on 1st July 2010
and will be put into service as a
bunker ship on the Russian Pacific coast along the Kamchatka
Peninsula.
The delivery voyage of the iceclassed vessel will take her either
eastward through the Suez Canal
or westward through the Panama
Canal: in any case, it will be the
longest voyage the ship has ever
made.
DAL Agency now also present in East London
(continued from page 1) The vehi-
cle had a 1-cylinder engine, 1.5
bhp, 20 km/h maximum speed,
pneumatic tyres, and cost 2,200
gold marks. It bore the construction number 386 and left the factory in Mannheim on 26 July 1896
for shipment to Pretoria via Durban. In fact, it was the first car ever
to touch South Africa soil. Its
owner was J.P. Kess.
Mercedes Benz is
DALs oldest customer
On 4 January 1897, the Velo was
presented to the South African
public as well as the President of
the Boer Republic, Paul “Ohm”
Krüger who, however, refused to
go for a test drive.
A company spokesman of Benz
& Co had this to say in the “Mining
Journal” published in Transvaal:
“The motorcar, as we call the horseless cart, will revolutionise the history of driving. Soon, here too, the
common oxen-drawn carts will be
replaced by engine-driven vehicles
built in our factories. Goodbye cattle plague.”
Mercedes-Benz
has
been
Deutsche Afrika-Linien’s single
biggest customer to this very day.
Their South African plant in East
London is an exemplary and major
employer in the Eastern Cape
region.
Deutsche Afrika-Linien opened
a branch office of DAL Agency Ltd
in East London in spring 2010 to
provide customers with more personal contact. On 15 June 2010, the
DAL Agency staff headed by Managing Director Ron Frick jointly
held a reception with the employees
from the East London office, Dave
Kirkman and Debbie Flashman, to
which all the customers were invited. The guests learnt about the history and activities of DAL – and, of
course, the Benz Velo also played a
leading role at this event.
Back row:
Ron Frick, Dave Kirkman, Willie
Basson, Carol Brokensha
Front row:
Jackie Lee, Debby Flashman
3
Carolines day – a true family affair
When Caroline von Rantzau christened her first ship she was backed by her parents, uncle, aunt and cousins
fish and
cheese sandwiches, and fruit and
cake. Dr von Rantzau thanked
everyone involved and especially
his daughter Caroline for her
efforts. As a thank-you gift, Caroline received a bracelet and a Tshirt from Capt. Nicolaas van den
Belt that all the crew members had
signed. She also had a present for
them: a framed portrait of herself
which is to hang in the mess to
remind everyone of the vessel’s
godmother.
When the guests of the christening ceremony left the party in
the late afternoon, the serious side
of life began for the “Caroline Essberger” and her crew. On her first
voyage to the North Sea, she now
has to prove her worth by earning
money for the company and doing
Essberger Tankers proud.
(continued from page 1)
From Dr von Rantzaus
speech:
“The ‘Caroline Essberger’ is
being brought into our fleet at a
time when the shipping industry
is only just beginning to recover
from the deepest depression
ever. Now, however, there are
first signs of a positive change.”
“We have used the past
months to adapt and modify this
new vessel for its future role. In
doing so, a lot of additional
know-how contributed by our
employees came to the fore. All
those who participated in this
engagement
demonstrated
immense professional and personal initiative.”
“Permit me to thank the
entire crew of the ‘Caroline Essberger’ for their special effort
and in particular, as the representative for all the other colleagues, Len van der Sluijs.”
“The enormous technical
background knowledge which
our organisation has acquired
through both our seagoing staff
and their colleagues ashore is of
great value at this time of renewal and augmentation of our
tanker tonnage.”
“A lot of this practical knowledge and theoretical ideas are
being applied in the design and
construction of our new tanker
currently being built in China.
We are very optimistic that this
new vessel will fully live up to
our expectations.”
The von Rantzau naming party: Georg Maximilian, Philipp, Caroline, Patricia, Eberhart, Annette, Heinrich
and Johann Heinrich von Rantzau with Ethan and David Risch (from left). The gentleman in uniform is captain
Nicolaas van den Belt, master of the new vessel
Ready to go to sea:
“Caroline Essberger’s” Philippine crew
Mr Heinrich von Rantzau Mr Scharner, JTE Fin. dept., Mr Wünschmann,
and Mr Leen van der Sluijs Schiffsbank, Mr Schwen, tax advisor
Georg M und Johann H von Rantzau with their mother Annette von Rantzau
Caroline makes her first speech,
her father watches attentively
Mr & Mrs Jahnke, JTE fleet manager,
Essberger flag flying proudly in the
Hamburg, Mr Nysted, newbuildingsupervisor port of Rotterdam
4
Visiting the
Philipp Essberger
Dr. Eberhart & Patricia
von Rantzau and their
children Caroline and
Philipp paid a visit to the
vessel while it was in
the port of Hamburg for
repairs. They were
welcomed by Andrey
Malenkov, master
of the chemical carrier.
Soccer
Mania
T
oday is Soccer Friday”, writes
Ron Frick from DAL Agency,
Johannesburg. “We had a
small competition for the best
dressed Bafana fan. And the winner was Samantha Wainwright
from Port Elizabeth!” (right). Supporting the Bafana team was only
partially successful though.
Talking Points in Germany
POLITICS: On the domestic front,
the coalition government of
Christian Democrats and Liberals
under Chancellor Angela Merkel
has come under severe pressure.
The massive national debt to cover
the new budget resulting from the
economic and financial crisis has
forced the government to look for
each and every possible means of
saving. Where these cuts are to be
made is an issue the coalition partners are still arguing about – and
the opposition parties have their
own opinions too. Another matter
of much controversy is the financial support for EU partner
Greece, which is on the verge of
national bankruptcy. Fear of other
EU partner countries such as
Spain, Portugal and Ireland following suit has led to a sharp
decline in value of the euro against
the dollar.
uIt came as a big surprise when
the German President Horst Köhler, the official Head of State,
resigned from office. This is the
first time in the history of the German Federal Republic that the
President has handed in his resignation. Köhler, who has a special
affinity for Africa, is not a professional politician but an internationally respected expert on currency-related and financial matters. The reason for his leaving,
said Köhler, was the lack of respect
for him and his position. Köhler
was repeatedly criticised by the
press for apparently not being able
to formulate guidelines such as
one would expect of a Head of
State. His successor is Christian
Wulff, the former Governor of
Lower Saxony. Wulff, 50, belongs
to the moderate wing of the Christian Democrats; he is Catholic and
married to his second wife.
uThe German contingency of ISAF
troops in northern Afghanistan is
experiencing increasing pressure
from the Taliban forces. Several
serious incidents have prompted a
call for heavy equipment to be
brought to Afghanistan, such as
Leopard battle tanks. Since vehicles
of this kind are not suitable for use
in such terrain, they are now only
considering the deployment of
heavy artillery howitzers, which are
capable of shooting with immense
precision at long range. In addition,
a larger contingency of US troops
will be redeployed to the northern
part of the country.
uFor the first time in 400 years,
there will be a court case against
pirates on German soil again. Ten
Somalis who forced their way on
board the Hamburg-based container ship “Taipan” in the Indian
Ocean at Easter 2010 and were
overpowered by Dutch special
forces have been extradited to
Hamburg where they will be put
on trial.
uGermany’s television landscape
is split into state-run and private
broadcasting stations. Anyone
who owns a radio or TV set has to
pay 17.89 euros per month (30
dollars). So far the money was collected by the Gebühren Einzugs
Zentrale (GEZ), although this
method entails a vast amount of
bureaucracy. The government is
therefore planning a lump-sum
fee for every German household –
regardless of whether or not they
have a radio or TV. This has
unleashed a wave of protest and
law suits.
ECONOMY: Airbus Industries, the
European plane manufacturer,
celebrated its biggest single transaction in the company’s history
this June. Emirates Airlines in Abu
Dhabi ordered 32 Airbus superjumbo A 380 planes for a price of
11.5 billion dollars. The German
airline Lufthansa has also meanwhile received its first A 380s. The
planes have been put into service
on Lufthansa’s Far East route, and
between German and South
Africa. In fact, the German national football team travelled to Johannesburg on one of their A 380s.
uThe spiritual father of the South
African football stadiums in Durban, Port Elizabeth and Cape
Town is architect Volkwin Marg,
73, who lives in Hamburg in a
humble house on the River Elbe
and loves sailing, flying and
mountaineering. His architectural
practice gmp designs villas, airports, opera houses and even
entire cities (e.g. in China) – and,
of course, football stadiums like in
South Africa, which are considered to be some of the most beautiful in the world.
uIn South Korea, the first of a
series of 16 container ships with a
carrying capacity of 14,000 containers (TEU) was put into service
for a German shipowning company. These container ships are currently the biggest in the world and
at 150,000 dwt more than three
times as big as the “Titanic”. They
are 365 metres long, 51 metres
wide, have a draught of 16 metres
and engine power of 98,000 bhp,
and will predominantly be
deployed in the Europe/East Asia
range. Durban, South Africa’s
most important port, would be
too small for these gigantic vessels.
ALSO IN THE NEWS: For 20 years,
Germany has only made it to the
last places at the ever-popular
Eurovision Song Contest. With
the 18-year-old schoolgirl Lena
Meyer-Landrut from Hanover,
Germany had enormous success at
the contest in Oslo/Norway, which
is broadcast Europe-wide, and her
song “Satellite” soon stormed the
charts in many European countries. Lena’s victory has triggered
such ecstasies of joy on the part
of the media in Germany that it
sometimes seemed rather over the
top, all things considered. It is
mainly the young woman’s fresh,
happy-go-lucky personality that
has earned her so much popularity, rather than the actual quality
of her singing rendition.
uEspecially the Catholic Church
but also several private schools have
had to deal with allegations that
they physically or sexually abused
many children for years on end and
hushed up or repudiated any cases
that came to light. One bishop, who
is also Germany’s highest army
chaplain, was stripped of all his
titles and offices by the Pope. Similar scandals had become public in
the USA and Ireland, leading to resignations of high-ranking members of the Catholic clergy and
resulting in vast amounts of compensation payments being made by
the Church.
uEmmely, a check-out girl in a
supermarket, was given notice by
her employer with immediate
effect after 31 years of service
because she embezzled two bottledeposit slips worth 1.30 euros
(1.60 dollars). In the last instance,
the Federal Labour Court decided
that her dismissal was ineffective
on the grounds that it was a petty
offence.
uEvery summer, around 30,000
motorcyclists meet outside St.
Michael’s Church, the landmark
of the port city of Hamburg, for a
communal service. Of the approx.
300,000 road accidents with injured persons each year, 50,000
involve bikers. Nonetheless, the
number of casualties in Germany
is steadily decreasing, although
more than 4,000 people still die
on the roads each year, 650 of
whom are motorcyclists. Generally, people in Germany only ride
their motorbikes in the summer
months.
5
“Haussa” – a ship with a grim past
At the very end of World War II her crew was sent on a death trip and survived only by disobedience
S
hips are only floating containers that move goods
from A to B and wander off
to the scrap yard one day. Is that
really so? Sometimes ships also
play a role in people’s destinies.
The “Haussa” (2,819 GRT) is
such a case.
Built for Deutsche Afrika-Linien at the Bremer Vulkan shipyard
in 1943, the little cargo vessel (104
metres long, 11 knots fast, with a
crew of 38 men), that bears the
name of Central African people
was taken over by the Kriegsmarine as a supply ship. She was well
armed against air attacks, making
her no easy target.
When the Red Army advanced
towards East Prussia, the German
navy deployed all ships available to
evacuate the refugees and wounded soldiers from the eastern front.
On 18 March 1945, less than two
months before the end of the war,
the “Haussa” was loaded in Hamburg with coal, diesel fuel in barrels, and “Tiger” tanks to supply
the remaining troops still fighting
in East Prussia. Miraculously,
despite constant bombardment,
the “Haussa” did in fact manage
to reach the East Prussian port of
Pillau where she discharged her
cargo. On 7 April, the crew experienced air attacks 16 times, and
succeeded in shooting down four
Russian planes before running out
of ammunition. The crew decided to get hold of ammunition on
their own from abandoned antiaircraft positions ashore. Still
another four weeks to go until the
end of the war.
The ship was then filled to the
brim with refugees. The air raids
went on relentlessly. Despite being
seriously hit several times, leading
to the injury and death of many
people on board, the crew managed to destroy another five Russian aircraft. Once again the “Haussa” reached a safe harbour: the
western port Swinemünde where
the refugees went ashore. Next the
freighter was loaded with ammunition for the troops. However,
this did not include any ammunition for the ship’s own guns.
Still ten days left till the end of
the war. With its highly explosive
freight, the completely defenceless
ship was to head east once again,
which would have meant certain
death. Captain Matthiesen, a
highly-decorated officer from
World War I, suddenly had a nervous breakdown and was replaced
by Chief Mate Timmermann.
Instead of sailing to her doom,
Timmermann change course for
neutral Sweden. On the morning
of 30 April 1945, during the final
days of the war, the “Haussa”
dropped anchor in Ystad. The
crew was interned, but amazingly
lucky! Instead of being handed
over to Russia – and thus most
probably being sent to Siberian
death camps – the men were
extradited to Britain from where
they were later sent home.
Back in Germany, they were
charged with refusal to obey
orders and sentenced to many
years’ imprisonment. The sentences were never executed, but it
took 50 years before they were
officially revoked.
In 1946, the “Haussa”went into
British ownership, was then sold
to Atid Nav, Haifa, in 1951 and
renamed “Daniela Borchard”. In
1957 she sailed as “Louise
Lattmann” for shipowner Lattmann, Hamburg, as of 1959 as
“Louise Bock” for Ewald Bock,
Hamburg. Then her home port
became Flensburg, now as “Max
Schnell”, and in 1962 she was
called “Sophia”. Her last owner
was Nikledia Cia. Nav in Piraeus.
In 1974, after 31 years’ service, the
ship went to the scrap yard.
“Haussa” as a warship: Plenty of anti aircraft power made her no easy target
DAL Agency Belgium is based on partnership
Long-standing ties with renowned parent company Van Doosselaere & Achten leads to successful co-operation
D
AL Agency Belgium was
founded in 2008, after its
parent company Van Doosselaere & Achten bvba was appointed to represent Deutsche AfrikaLinien for the Canary Islands/Southern Africa Service, following
the long-standing ties between the
two companies in other activities
and trades.
Van Doosselaere & Achten bvba
was established in 1939 by two
Antwerp families with a traditional
Belgian maritime background.
Over the years, and in fact over
three family generations, the company developed to become one of
the main Belgian liner agents representing regular break bulk and container lines to worldwide destinations.
Through the establishment of
new enterprises, mergers and
takeovers, Van Doosselaere & Achten grew to become a whole group of
companies specialised in all aspects
of commerce and transportation.
DAL Agency with their steadily
growing customer base handle all
export commodities from Belgium
and Luxembourg to its African destinations: chemicals, food products
(frozen or dry), machinery, automotive parts, iron and steel, paper,
petroleum products etc. – only the
world renowned diamonds are
missing from the manifests!
The main imports handled from
South Africa and the Indian Ocean
Islands are raw materials, wine and
refrigerated fruits and vegetables,
for which Antwerp serves as hub
for the Benelux countries, North-
Baroness Eliane Achten, grand-daughter of one
of the founders of the agency and present partner of
Deutsche Afrika-Linien
ern France and the German hinterland.
The team is multilingual and
looking forward to receiving your
freight enquiries and bookings in
either English, French, Dutch or
German – thus reflecting the
diverse and rich culture of their
home country.
The team (l.t.r.) (standing) Ivette Roels, Philippe Kegels,
Christoph Thys; (front) Bart Bodart, Pascal van den Bossche,
Nirriana Meersman; (absent) Rita Bostelaar
6
Whereabouts
July 2010
Ship’s name
Master
First Mate
Chief Engineer
Annette Essberger
Boko Zarko
Alberto Cabrera
Vitaliy Kolesnyk
Roland Essberger
Dariusz Swierkosz
Michal Kruszewski
Dmitry Bondarev
Liselotte Essberger
Herbert Eisenberg
Antonio Ocampo
Oliver Dietrich
John Augustus Essberger
Stefan Grabowski
Evgeny Buzyrev
Jose Gomes
Patricia Essberger
Hans-Jürgen Schmidt
Michael Gross
Reinhard Bloedorn
Christian Essberger
Werner Wetzke
Stephan Koeber
Ewald Bendin
Georg Essberger
Marcin Dalak
Jacek Sawicki
Leonid Volkov
Philipp Essberger
Andrey Malenkov
Rafal Garbacz
Krzysztof Barczynski
Heinrich Essberger
Robert Szmaj
Piotr Bes
Saturnino Yuson
Eberhart Essberger
Paulo Santos
Virgilio Viegas
Fernando Campos
Eduard Essberger
Boguslaw Gajdowski
Enrique Lopez
Heinz Dieter Triemer
DAL Kalahari
Uwe Teichmann
Alexey Slavgorodsky
Manfred Ziegner
Sanaga
Song Yun
Ying Yu Gang
Liu Yun Jian
SAG Bulk Australia
Chen Hua Tong
Wu Fa Dong
Wang Feng
Swakop
Tong Shao Peng
Cao Li bin
Hu Chang Bao
Pelita Andalas
Reno Yu
Sukma Hadiyanto
Dony Merwoto
Dalia
Lorymer Hamoy
Anatoliy Denysenko
Julius Flemke
Elbia
Elvis Forson-Sappeh
Danilo Bacalla
Viktor Chibisov
Floria
Sergiy Demchenko
Yuriy Poglod
Igor Grygoryuk
Invicta
Domni Sajo
Antonio Baco
Wolfgang Greger
Koralia
Eduardo Anin
Win Thein
Carlito Mariano
Valbella
Neil Brown
Jose Jr. Subradil
Volodymyr Berezovsky
Dutch Mate
M. N. W. Boshuijzen
H. J. van den Elst
D. I. Roele
Dutch Navigator
A. C. J. Nagel
M. L. Roosendaal
A. H. Klein
Jacobus Broere
A. R. Buren
S. de Bos
C. Verbaan
Bastiaan Broere
A. J. A. Linthorst
P. Gerrits
M. Bosma
Dutch Spirit
J. van der Form
A. W. J. Konijn
T. F. Oskam
Dutch Faith
H. F. Meulenberg
B. B. C. Dooper
G. J. Tijink
Dutch Aquamarine
S. W. T. Frerichs
N. Sandifort
H. G. F. van Meersbergen
Dutch Emerald
K. C. van der Klooster
N. N. P. Burger
D. E. Jannink
Dutch Engineer
T. Keizer
G. P. van Dijk
G. Sap
Dutch Mariner
C. Lodder
J. de Koster
S. C. Kluijfhout
Dutch Progress
H. Wirenga
A. van der Knijff
H. van Schoonhoven
Caroline Essberger
N. van den Belt
H. R. Nienhuis
H. Berg
Ardea
P. R. Troost
B. N. de Sterre Roberts
M. J. W. Schut
Alcedo
L. A. van der Net
K. Gbegan
Q. H. M. Warmenhoven
Lucy Essberger
T. M. Kijzers
O. Smit
J. Lodder
Workers council elected
Gotthard Igla stays Chairman for another term
O
Taking care of the employees, the new workers council elected on
April 28: Nico von Binzer, Antje Lohmann, Ulrich Eggert, Gotthard Igla,
Linus Kuberling, Christel Krüger and Manfred Orzechowski
n 28 April this year a new
works council was elected
for the Deutsche AfrikaLinien/John T. Essberger Group.
In its constituent meeting, the
committee decided to appoint Mr
Igla as the Chairman for another
term and Ms Lindner as his
deputy. Also a member of the
works council is the Youth and
Trainee Representative Mr
Küberling. All the decisions taken
by the works council are made
democratically.
Generally, any member of the
works council can be a contact
person for the staff when it
comes to questions and problems. As a rule, all the members
of the works council are bound
to professional discretion. Follow-up meetings with superiors
are only held if explicitly requested by the employee.
Unfortunately, Ms Linder was
ill and is therefore missing on
the group photo shown on the
left.
7
HSH Nordbank
Run: cheerful
D
AL/JTE sent a team to the
annual HSH Nordbank Run
for company members in
Hamburg’s Hafencity district.
More than 18,000 competitors finished the four-kilometre distance,
among them a cheerful DAL/JTE
team. For each member and each
team, the German bank donates
money to help “Children help
Children” welfare fund.
One day in their school life,
German pupils gain an insight into
working life. For Philipp von
Rantzau it was the JTE office.
Here he got instructions from Mrs
Jahnke and Martin Krause
Personeelsmutaties, Dordrecht
Persons joining
the company
22.03.10 Ihaab al Najam
3rd Officer
26.03.10 Piotr Filutowicz
3rd Engineer
30.03.10 Miguel dos Santos
Cook
01.04.10 Arie Verkaik
Operator
01.04.10 Koen Rampelberg
3rd Officer
06.04.10 Stefan Kramer
Apprentice Sea
14.04.10 Brian de Sterre Roberts
Chief Officer
01.05.10 Koen van Gogh
Holiday worker Sea
Promotions
01.01.10 Simon de Waard
from Mechanic A
to Head Workshop
01.05.10 Bas van Groenestijn
from Chief Officer
to Master
01.05.10 Menno-Jan Slemmer
from Rating Engineroom
to 3rd Officer
01.06.10 Pieter Willem Mars
from 3rd Engineer
to 2nd Engineer
01.06.10 Dirk de Reus
from Sr. Superintendent
to Fleet Manager
Marriages
21.05.10 Henri Kat & Heleen
Klinkers
Births
06.04.10 Saphira,
daughter of Kees Zuidam &
Grace Soekhoe
06.06.10 Dawid,
son of Slawek Narloch &
Agniszka Sawa
Retirements
01.04.10 Bas Mooijen
Chief Engineer
01.05.10 Jans Mulder
Master
Anniversaries
07.05.10 Ben van Kleij
Superintendent IT 25 years
01.06.10 Leen van der Sluijs
Sr. Superintendent 12,5 years
Aus der Reederei-Familie, Hamburg
Jubiläen
40 Jahre
Herr Henning Bosum
DALSA Bremen, Liner Agency
01.08.2010
25 Jahre
Frau Claudia Klein
DAL, Trades
01.08.2010
Herr Dierk Herrmann
DAL, SSHEQ
01.10.2010
10 Jahre
Herr Lars Krugmann
JTE, IT
01.08.2010
Herr Sönke Boekholt
JTE, Shipmanagement
01.08.2010
Herr Rainer Sadlowski
DAL, Facility Management
16.08.2010
Besondere Geburtstage
90 Jahre
Frau Lisa Rebien
02.09.2010
Frau Ineborg Schmidt
25.10.2010
85 Jahre
Frau Marga Pahl
26.09.2010
75 Jahre
Herr Heinrich Settgast
21.08.2010
Herr Gerhard Röhl
29.09.2010
Frau Helga Hollstein
06.10.2010
Herr Kurt Groth
24.10.2010
70 Jahre
Herr Ludwig Dornberger
01.08.2010
Herr Lorenz Springmann
05.08.2010
Frau Erika Möller
15.08.2010
Herr Rolf Muhlack
01.09.2010
Frau Anke Schmidt-Eisner
22.10.2010
65 Jahre
Herr Drago Sudaric
29.09.2010
60 Jahre
Herr John Putter
JTE, HR Sea – 26.08.2010
50 Jahre
Herr Marcelo Borbon
2nd Officer – 04.09.2010
Hochzeit
Ole & Priya Radünzel
03.04.2010
Wir gratulieren
zur Geburt eines Kindes
Herrn Dr. Alvarez Ricardo –
DAL, Controlling
Emilian Theodor – 20.04.2010
Frau Katharina Lippens –
JTE, Shipmanagement
Lara Ida – 20.05.2010
Neue Mitarbeiter an Land
Frau Kirsten Kahl
DAL, Facility Management
Judith Stoll
JTE, Shipmanagement
Ausgelernte Azubis
Frau Judith Stoll,
DAL, Linienfahrt
Dietrich Schwarz,
JTE Trampfahrt
Lisa Behrens,
Hammonia Reisebüro
Wir gedenken
Herrn Rolf Brand (88 Jahre)
12.03.2010
Herrn Heinz-Günter
Wohlgemuth (66 Jahre)
26.03.2010
Herrn Karl-Heinz von Eitzen
(84 Jahre)
09.04.2010
Herrn Fritz Schulz (74 Jahre)
19.04.2010
Herrn Otto Scheel (90 Jahre)
01.06.2010
8
“Master is still a job with a future”
John Putter, head of the DAL/JTE Crewing department, on the prospects of going to sea
DAL/JTE NEWS: How many seafar-
ing people do you employ?
JOHN PUTTER: The total number of
seafarers we employ is almost 900.
These seafarers are handled by the
Singapore, Dordrecht and Hamburg offices. They are employed
on our own vessels as well as 3rd
party management vessels. The
fleet where they are employed consists of cement carriers, dry cargo
ships, container vessels and chemical tankers.
DAL/JTE NEWS: Crewing is a multi-
national task. What are the main
nationalities in our company
(JTE) and how many different
nations are allowed in a crew on
board anyway?
JOHN PUTTER: The main nationalities of the officers are Polish, German, Portuguese, Belgian and
Dutch. There are no regulations
with respect to the number of
nationalities of officers which are
allowed on board of the vessels.
But the past has shown that it is not
wise to have too many nationalities
in these officer’s ranks. We strive
to have some kind of homogeneity in the officer’s ranks. 95 per cent
of the ratings come from the
Philippines, as has been the case
for many decades. We still have two
vessels manned with Iberians.
DAL/JTE NEWS: Where do you find
your seafarers? Crewing agencies?
Personal contacts? From the shipping companies “family”?
JOHN PUTTER: Approximately two
years ago there was a shortage in
the officers ranks and the economical crisis helped us to overcome
this shortage. But when the crisis
is over there will be again a demand for tonnage again, meaning
that the laid up vessels will sail
again meaning that the shortage
will be back again. Therefore we
have to start to hire junior officers
and cadets in such a way that we
can overcome this shortage. Also
we have to have a competitive
package of labour conditions at
least comparative to our competitors. In both Germany as well as in
the Netherlands we were the first to
start with a one-on-one-off system, meaning on the Hamburg
managed chemical tankers the officers sail mainly on a two- monthon-two-month-off system, whilst
in Dordrecht they sail six weeks on
six weeks off. Unfortunately most
of our competitors are offering
these kinds of schemes as well at
the moment. We try to hire the
junior officers and cadets from the
European region the moment they
leave school and with respect to the
Philippines there is a programme
where they are able to be promoted to junior officer if they obtain
the respective certificates. Last but
not least we have some agencies
where we can hire officers in cases
of emergency, but we rather
employ them directly.
JOHN PUTTER: In our company we
have a promotion committee which
meets on a regular basis. This group
of persons discuss the ranks of officers’rank, especially for the tankers,
the capabilities of the top five in the
ranks and if they are fit for promotion. If they are not yet ready for
promotion it will be discussed with
the persons involved where they
need to improve in the future. If
they are ready, they will be informed as well. They can then be
promoted to a higher position.
DAL/JTE NEWS: German captains
and officers have become a rare
species as it seems. Is it easier to
find these ranks in Holland?
JOHN PUTTER: During the previous
crisis in the late eighties and early
nineties owners decided not to sail
with German officers or at least
fewer of them on board of German-owned vessels. As a result, the
need for junior officers was
reduced to almost zero. The effect
of that decision and need was that
schools were closed. Now there is a
change in policy in German shipping; flagging in vessels. Because
of this subsidy-driven decision
there is an increased need for officers but the need for officers does
not meet the output of the schools
at the moment, meaning there is a
shortage in German officers.
DAL/JTE NEWS: To be master and
crew of a chemical tanker is quite
a different job from a containership. What extra knowledge and
qualifications do they need? How
do you train you captains/crews
for this task?
JOHN PUTTER: On board of a chemical tanker there is, as you said,
already a special knowledge wanted by our customers. They need to
have knowledge with respect to
chemicals and also with respect to
the loading and discharging of
these cargoes. Also the cleaning of
the tanks demands experience.
Almost every cargo demands its
own procedure, therefore it is
John Putter,
head of the crewing department
impossible to transfer an officer
from a container vessel to a chemical tanker. Working on board a
chemical tanker requires on-thejob training. Therefore we prefer to
get our deck officers and engineers
straight from school and then promote them through all the steps to
their final rank of either chief engineer or captain. The captain and
chief mate need to have 5 years’
experience in their respective ranks
otherwise some of our customers
do not accept the vessel.
DAL/JTE NEWS: What would be the
ideal qualities for the master of a
chemical tanker? What about
female seafarers?
JOHN PUTTER: He/she must be a
people manager plus the extra
demands I already mentioned. I
have got a saying in this respect :
A good chief officer does not necessarily make a good captain. This
also works the other way round:
not a good matedoes not mean
Someone who is not a good chief
officer can still become a good
captain. We welcome female officers and have quite a few.
DAL/JTE NEWS: Who decides about
promotion from mate to master?
DAL/JTE NEWS: What is the watchsystem for captains/officers and
crews?
JOHN PUTTER: Crews from the
chemical tankers who do come
from Europe more or less all sail on
a roster two months on/off or six
weeks on/off. The crews who come
from Asia still want to sail between
four to six months and then have
their leave, but this will change as
well to shorter periods on board,
but, as I said, they have currently
spend six months on board.
DAL/JTE NEWS: Are wives/families
allowed on board?
JOHN PUTTER: Yes the officers can
have their wives on board if the
trade of the vessel allows it. Nowadays you don’t see it that often
anymore.
DAL/JTE NEWS: Would you give
your son/daughter the advice to go
to sea and become a captain? Is it
a job with a future?
JOHN PUTTER: You can always give
such advice but experience has
taught me that nowadays they have
already decided themselves what
they want to do. They must really
whole-heartedly want a career at
sea. It must run in the family as
well. It is definitely a job with a
future, because, as I said, there is a
shortage and, as far as I can see the
output from the schools is not
meeting the industry’s demand. So
there is always a future. The negative thing with respect to a seagoing career in comparison to the
past is if you want to see a bit of
the world there is no need to go to
sea, as it is cheaper nowadays to
take an airplane.
For more information on the DAL/John T. Essberger Group please contact the German head office Deutsche Afrika-Linien HAMBURG, Palmaille 45, D-22767 Hamburg,
Tel: +49 (40) 380 16 392, Fax: +49 (40) 380 16 255, E-mail: michael.davies@rantzau.de or DAL Agency DURBAN, Sharaf House, 1st Floor La Lucia Ridge Office Estate,
Umhlanga/Durban 4051, Tel: +27 (31) 582 9400, Fax: +27 (31) 582 9401 or JOHN T. ESSBERGER HAMBURG, Palmaille 45, D-22767 Hamburg, Tel. +49 (40) 380 16 - 0,
Fax: +49 (40) 380 16 579, E-mail: chartering@essberger.biz or JOHN T. ESSBERGER B.V. Wieldrechtseweg 50, NL-3316 BG Dordrecht, E-mail: chartering@essberger.biz