HC Horn
The HC Horn company , founded in 1864 as a match factory, opened a shipping company in Schleswig in 1879 , which was relocated to Flensburg in 1921 and to Hamburg in 1933. After the Second World War, Heinz Horn re-founded the shipping company based in Hamburg in 1956 , which existed until 1969. It was mainly active in the refrigerated cargo shipping, where until the beginning of 1970 small loads of refrigerated goods were transported either by liner freighters with a few refrigerated rooms or by very small refrigerated ships. The refrigerated containers then took over this cargo segment.
In 1949 Erich Müller-Stinnes founded the Horn Line , in whose predecessor, the West Indian Shipping Office, Heinz Horn owned shares.
history
Heinrich Christian Horn was born in Kiel in 1837 and came to Schleswig in 1860. In 1864 he bought his house here with a factory building for making matches. In that year Schleswig came from Denmark to Prussia. One of the reasons that he started general trading. From 1869 he also traded in coal and coke. The coal came from England and so he became increasingly interested in shipping .
Founding of the shipping company by Heinrich Christian Horn in 1879
In 1879 he took over the Schleischifffahrt with three small ships that carried goods and passengers on the Schlei . A good addition, as the grinding season took place in summer and the coal trade in winter. In 1871 Horn became a Swedish-Norwegian consul. In 1881 he also got into the maritime industry, founded the first shipping company in Schleswig and looked for partners to finance the first ship. 190 parts of 1,000 marks each were distributed among 87 draftsmen and Horn, as the correspondent ship owner, ordered a freighter with 600 t load capacity and 240 hp propulsion from Ulrichs in Vegesack for a price of 185,000 marks. The ship was launched on August 21, 1883, was christened Stadt Schleswig , and when the ship arrived on November 7, all of Schleswig was on its feet to inspect the ship with a load of coal from Scotland . The second ship, the Therese Horn with 603 GRT, was delivered in 1888 for 183,000 marks by the Rostocker Actiengesellschaft für Schiff- und Maschinenbau. It was financed with 180 parts from 32 partners. With 117 parts, Horn owned the majority in this ship. With a 14 to 20% return, the ships were very successful and with the participation of partners, the third ship, the Minna Horn , measuring 699 GRT , was also delivered by Rostocker Actiengesellschaft für Schiff- und Maschinenbau.
Heinrich Christian Horn died in 1899 at the age of 61 and the widow Therese Horn took over the shipping company from 1899 to 1903, which was then continued by the older son Henry Horn.
The ships for HC Horn, Schleswig until 1904
| Ship name | Shipyard / construction no. | Measurement of BRT / TDW | delivery | Whereabouts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| City of Schleswig | HF Ulrichs / 104 | 536/600 | 1883 | missing |
| Therese Horn | Rostocker Actiengesellschaft for shipbuilding and mechanical engineering / 97 | 604 / | 1888 | Sunk in 1922 |
| Minna Horn | Rostocker Actiengesellschaft für Schiff- und Maschinenbau / 114 | 699 / | 1890 | Sunk in 1915 |
| Marie Horn | AG Neptune / 155 | 1217 / | 1896 | Sunk in 1918 after being hit by a torpedo |
| Franz Horn | AG Neptune / 172 | 1509/2300 | 1898 | Stranded in 1956 |
| Henry Horn | AG Neptune / 171 | 1508/2100 | 1898 | Sunk in 1940 after a collision |
| Herbert Horn | Henry Koch / 105 | 2315/2900 | 1898 | Wrecked at B&V in 1923 |
| Luise Horn | Henry Koch / 112 | 1326/2100 | 1899 | Missed in 1907 |
| Frida Horn | AG Neptune / 185 | 2370/3300 | 1900 | Sunk in the hurricane in 1903 |
| Helene Horn | Cembeltown Shipping GB / 40 | 1825/2800 | 1900 | Wrecked in 1933 |
| Hilda Horn | AG Neptune / 193 | 1410/2200 | 1900 | Sunk in 1941 |
| Heinrich Horn | Henry Koch / 124 | 1360/1390 | 1900 | Stranded in 1917 |
| Ingrid Horn | AG Neptune / 203 | 2040/3030 | 1902 | Sunk in 1917 |
| City of Schleswig (2) | Schömer & Jensen / 39 | 1100/1550 | 1902 | Wrecked in 1932 |
| Irmgard Horn | AG Neptune / 209 | 1485/2500 | 1902 | Sunk in 1939 |
| Minna Horn (2) | Schömer & Jensen / 54 | 1040/1500 | 1904 | Wrecked in Sweden in 1932 |
In 1902, Franz Horn founded the steamship shipping company "Horn" AG in Lübeck
The younger brother Franz Horn remained a partner, but founded the steamship shipping company "Horn" AG in Lübeck in 1901/02 and Fruchtdampfer AG in Lübeck in 1904. From 1902 a branch of the Schleswig shipping company was operated from Lübeck. A total of seven fruit steamers were put into service for Fruchtdampfer AG, which were used for the fruit transport from the Canary Islands and from Mediterranean ports to England and Hamburg. The ships sailing with the same flag and chimney brand could be distinguished by their names . The Schleswig steamers drove with the family name (Horn in the back) and the Lübeckers began with Horn.
The fruit transport of Fruchtdampfer AG with its own ships was ended by 1912 and the shipping company was later deleted from the commercial register. In 1905 Franz Horn took a stake in the Roland-Linie AG, newly founded by Norddeutscher Lloyd (NDL), on the west coast of South America. The Lübeck engagement was reduced from 1917 onwards, because the son Herbert, who had been designated as successor by Franz Horn, had died in Flanders. The NDL increasingly bought shares from its South American competition and in 1921 owned the majority of shares. In 1926, the steamship shipping company "Horn" AG with its 12 steamers and around 20,000 GRT in the NDL. In 1930 Franz Horn died and the importance of the Lübeck location for the Horn family ended.
Henry Horn leads the shipping company in Schleswig from 1903
In 1905 there were already 21 steamers with around 33,000 GRT in service for the shipping company in Schleswig. In 1906 there were a total of 38 steamers with 77,500 GRT. Their acquisition value was 19 million marks and the average age was three years. The Horn shipping companies were among the largest freight steamer fleets in Germany and number one in German tramping . In 1914, the shipping company had grown to become the most important German Baltic shipping company with a total load capacity of around 120,000. The First World War ended the further rise.
New beginning and changes after the First World War (1920)
After the end of the war ten ships had to be delivered, only 19-year-old Irmgard Horn remained . In 1920 she was sent to the Caribbean to explore the establishment of a liner service. The test was successful and resulted in a liner service between the continent and the Caribbean. In 1921, the company headquarters of Schleswig's only shipping company was relocated to the important port city of Flensburg , at that time the headquarters of many shipping companies, due to lower taxes . The Schleischiffahrt had already been given up. The new beginning was difficult, since the shipping company severance payment agreement passed in 1921 did not provide for full compensation for the war damage. Heinz Horn was the only son of Henry Horn, he was a shipping agent and had worked as a volunteer at AP Möller . He received power of attorney in 1923, traveled to Central America and set up an agency network for the new liner service. Hitchhiking was reduced and the more expensive but space-saving diesel engine was to replace the boiler and steam engine. The reason for this was personnel savings in diesel operation and the cheaper oil in the bunker port of Willemstad on Curacao compared to coal. One of the reasons that this port was also used as a fulcrum by Horn's feeder ships from the Caribbean. As a result, 12 motor ships from 1924 to 1932 with home port Hamburg were built at various shipyards without the participation of partners, as the technical inspection and the booking offices were located in Hamburg. The motor ships had a measurement of 3,000 to 4,000 GRT and were equipped with generous passenger facilities. In 1927 the established West India Conference accepted the shipping company HC Horn as a member, which enabled higher rates and alleviated competition. In 1931 a pool community was set up with HAPAG and in 1933 the shipping company moved to Hamburg at the request of the banks.
Heinz Horn (1933)
Henry Horn only stayed in Hamburg for a short time; he passed the management on to his son Heinz and died in 1937 on his Glücksburg property. The limited partner Erich Müller-Stinnes, who joined in 1933, supported Heinz Horn during these difficult years. The first post-war newbuildings were sold as early as 1934 and conditions in the maritime sector slowly improved. In that year the Westindische Schiffahrtkontor GMbH was founded as a correspondent shipping company for several Hornschiffe, it was owned half by Müller-Stinnes and Horn.
It was not until 1939 that an expansion of the fleet became necessary and the planned new buildings were no longer realized due to the Second World War. Heinz Horn took over two 7,800 GRT ships from shipowner Arnold Bernstein . The Second World War and its aftermath meant the end for the shipping company, both for the ships and the offices, as the office building fell victim to the bombs.
Shipping companies Horn-Linie (1949) and HCHorn (1956)
Due to mortgage payments not transferred from Berlin to the United Kingdom before the Second World War , there were problems with the old shipping company after the end of the war. As a general partner, Heinz Horn was personally liable for the mortgages and therefore there was a risk that one could chain his ships abroad. This debt issue was not settled until the mid-1950s.
Horn Line (1949)
Ernst Müller-Stinnes started the Horn line alone in 1949, as Heinz Horn transferred his shares in Westindische Schiffahrtkontor GmbH to him.
HC Horn (1956)
Heinz Horn started his shipping company in 1956 under the name "HC Horn". The idea of occupying a niche with very small reefer ships for worldwide travel was initially very successful. The first ships, such as Consul Horn, Therese Horn, Henry Horn , were delivered in 1957 by the JJ Sietas shipyards in Hamburg and Mimi Horn , Waltraud Horn and Klaus Horn were delivered by the Schlichting shipyard in Travemünde. From 1957 to 1961 a total of 18 ships with 880 m³ ( Consul Horn ) up to max. 1,710 m³ ( Ursula Horn ) delivered. Due to their worldwide voyage, these ships were mostly operated in three-watch duty, they were affectionately referred to as "croissants" by the crews. Like many shipping companies, the HC Horn shipping company ran into difficulties in the mid-1960s and was taken over by the Hamburg Süd shipping company .
The reefer ships for HC Horn from the JJ Sietas shipyard
| Ship name | Construction no. | IMO number | Measurement of GRT / tdw |
delivery | Whereabouts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Consul Horn | 416 | 5507898 | 428/576 | 1957 | stranded at Cape Juby (Morocco) on December 18, 1963 |
| Therese Horn | 417 | 5358634 | 428/576 | 1957 | Sold in 1965, scrapped in 1988 |
| Ingrid Horn | 422 | 5161433 | 560/900 | 1958 | Sold in 1967, deleted from Lloyd's Register in 2008 |
| Hilde Horn | 436 | 5150587 | 1137/915 | 1959 | Sold in 1969, deleted from Lloyd's Register in 1991 |
| Dora Horn | 443 | 5092711 | 428/576 | 1958 | Sold in 1971, deleted from Lloyd's Register in 2001 |
| City of Schleswig | 444 | 5337800 | 428/576 | 1958 | Sold in 1971, deleted from Lloyd's Register in 1999 |
| Heinz Horn | 450 | 5146005 | 1114/900 | 1958 | Sold in 1970 |
| Marie Horn | 451 | 5224041 | 1140/915 | 1959 | Sold in 1969, badly damaged by fire and explosion off Puerto Limón on July 1, 1972, sunk as an artificial reef near Miami in October 1976 |
| Irmgard Horn | 455 | 5163431 | 852/853 | 1958 | Sold in 1975 |
| Ursula Horn | 456 | 5374406 | 1360/1425 | 1959 | Sold in 1969, scrapped in San Esteban de Pravia (Spain) in August 1989 |
| Harald Horn | 468 | 5142645 | 1360/1390 | 1960 | Sold in 1968, converted to the research vessel Tangaroa in New Zealand in 1972 , scrapped in Auckland in November 1984 |
| Caroline Horn | 469 | 5064805 | 1360/1390 | 1960 | Sold in 1968, scrapped in Perama (Greece) in January 1987 |
| Luise Horn | 470 | 5214537 | 1360/1365 | 1961 | Sold in 1970, hit a reef off Elba (Egypt) on November 22, 1978 and written off as a total loss |
| Consul Horn (II) | 599 | 6713934 | 875/714 | 1966 | Sold in 1967, sunk on March 13, 1995 in the Gulf of Mexico at position 24.05N, 93.14W |
See also
literature
- Karl-Heinz Hochhaus: German refrigerated shipping (1902-1995). Verlag HM Hausschild, Bremen 1996, ISBN 3-931785-11-4
- Gert Uwe Detlefsen, Friedrich-Wilhelm Kunze: Horn line. The chronicle of a traditional shipping company. DF-Verlag, Bad Segeberg 1990
Web links
- Early documents and newspaper articles on HC Horn in the 20th century press kit of the ZBW - Leibniz Information Center for Economics .
Individual evidence
- ↑ The Horn Line: On the move across the world's seas , Schleswiger Nachrichten , August 15, 2011.