The ship class referred to as the Brandenstein class is a series of three cargo ships of the North German Lloyd (NDL). The three new ships are based on the West Coast South America service operated by the shipping company before the Second World War .
After the extensive loosening of the shipbuilding restrictions of the Potsdam Agreement , North German Lloyd rebuilt its cargo ship fleet from 1950. Starting with the Rheinstein class , the NDL fleet grew again continuously. Almost immediately after the Rheinstein class, North German Lloyd ordered three larger and faster motor ships from Bremer Vulkan for service on the West coast of South America. On November 29, 1952, the shipping company was able to take over the type ship Brandenstein of the three identical cargo ships. Half a year later, on June 27, 1953, the series was complete.
Use at the NDL
As planned, the trio of ships was used for the West Coast South America service, while three sister ships of the "Stuttgart" type of HAPAG were put into the jointly operated service. By 1959, the three Lloyd ships were registered with the Roland-Linie Schiffahrtsgesellschaft and were then incorporated directly into the NDL. Lloyd had revived the Roland line in order to avoid confiscation due to any old debts in the post-war years. When the NDL merged with HAPAG, the ships were jointly owned by the new Hapag-Lloyd , but were still integrated into normal service. Only the Bärenstein was chartered from August 23, 1971 to January 22, 1972 as Pratita to the Indonesian shipping company PT Perusahaan Pelajaran Samudera Indonesia.
Later career
In the summer of 1972, Hapag-Lloyd sold the ships to the Italian shipping company Messina & Co. in Genoa, which the trio renamed Fernandaemme , Robertoemme and Ignazioemme . There the ships remained in service for another eight years and were then broken up in La Spezia until 1980/81 .
technology
The three ships were conventional general cargo ships with superstructures arranged just aft amidships above the propulsion system and versatile cargo facilities. The ships were equipped with 14 conventional loading booms of 3/5 tonnes each and a 50 t heavy lift boom for taking over heavy lifts in hatch 3. In front of the superstructures there were three dry cargo holds, each with an intermediate deck, behind the superstructure. The hatches were closed with MacGregor hatch covers.
