Potsdam ship
Potsdam ship or Potsdam freighter , sometimes also Potsdam program ships, refers to a group of new German ships built after the Second World War that had to comply with certain conditions due to the provisions of the Potsdam Agreement . So-called Potsdam fish steamer were also built according to these regulations .
history
conference of Potsdam
In the final communiqué of the Potsdam Conference of August 2, 1945, it said, among other things: "With the aim of destroying the German war potential, the production of weapons, war equipment and war means, as well as the manufacture of all types of aircraft and seagoing ships, is to be prohibited and prevented." . Together with the provisions of the resulting Directive No. 37, it should only be possible to operate a coastal fleet.
According to the Potsdam Agreement , Germany was only allowed to keep 130 ships of 80,000 GRT of the roughly 1.6 million gross tonnes of shipping space that survived the Second World War unscathed. However, these ships were only allowed to travel between German ports. The realization that Germany could not adequately supply Germany with this fleet led to the release of 99,000 GRT of the X-ships , so called because of their identification required by the Allies. They could also be chartered.
Directive number 37
On the basis of directive number 37 issued by the Allied Control Authority in Potsdam on September 26, 1946, on the construction of new ships in the occupation zones they controlled, only new ships with the following key data were permitted. The provisions were repeatedly supplemented by simplifications and were finally repealed in April 1951.
- Maximum ship size: 1500 gross tons
- Maximum speed: 12 knots
- Maximum radius of action: 2000 nautical miles
- Maximum load of the loading gear : 3 tons
- Maximum number of passengers: 24 people
- The only propulsion engine permitted for all ships over 33.49 meters (110 feet) in length between the perpendiculars: coal-fired piston steam engine
In 1946 only 30 fishing boats were allowed to be built, in 1947 the Allies released the Baltic Sea and 34 small fishing boats were allowed to be built. In 1948 the first three new merchant ships for the reparations account, four fish steamers and 74 fishing cutters were built. In order to be able to reconnect with international shipping, the Association of German Shipowners went public in 1948 with the demand for a shipbuilding program. “A reconstruction of the German economy without taking the merchant fleet into account is unthinkable , explained Professor Dr. Stödter from the Association of German Shipowners in front of the Hamburg Administration Academy. In order to ease the serious situation, " as the" Neue Zeitung "continues to report from Hamburg, the leasing of a larger number of Liberty ships on a charter basis and the lifting of the dollar clause are necessary. At the same time, all restrictions had to be lifted to which the reconstruction of a German merchant fleet was subject by the Potsdam resolutions. The lifting of larger German shipwrecks is also desirable. The credit requirements of the 60 German shipping companies still operating today were estimated by Dr. Stödter to around 20 million Deutschmarks. For German coastal shipping, a tonnage of 400,000 is required instead of the outdated 160,000 GRT of today's remaining fleet. "
Washington Agreement
The Washington Agreement of April 1949 indirectly made it possible to expand the construction possibilities up to 2,700 GRT, which included tolerating the construction of ocean-going vessels up to 7,200 GRT if the maximum speed of twelve knots was not exceeded. It was also possible to purchase 300,000 GRT cargo ship tonnage and 100,000 GRT tanker tonnage abroad, whereby the tankers were allowed to have a volume of up to 10,700 GRT and a speed of 14 knots. In July 1949, the previous limitation of the travel area was lifted.
The Potsdam program
Also in July 1949, the Economic Committee of the Provincial Council of the then Western Zones decided on the first post-war reconstruction program. It was called the Königsteiner Program because the conference took place in Königstein (Taunus). However, the shipowners referred to it as the Potsdam program . The reason was that the ships built as part of the program had to correspond to the type of ship specified by the Allied Control Council in the Potsdam Agreement. These ships were only allowed to be powered with outdated steam engines. With the help of the Potsdam shipbuilding program , 49 ships with a total of 79,791 GRT were built. The costs amounted to 88.6 million marks. In addition, 63 ships were repaired. The Brook of the Hamburg shipping company HM Gehrckens was the first ship to be launched in the course of this program on November 26, 1949. In 1949 a total of 10 seagoing vessels and 47 fishing vessels were built.
Petersberg Agreement
The Petersberg Agreement of November 22, 1949 opened up further opportunities for acquisition and new construction, whereupon a construction program of 57 general cargo ships, one tanker and 21 coasters was launched. As early as 1950, 182 merchant ships with 130,637 gross tons were built. From 1951, the agreement allowed the construction of initially six reefer ships, the speed of which was not limited to 12 knots. The first German reefer ship was the Proteus , delivered on July 7, 1951 , to the Laeisz shipping company. The lifting of the restrictions of the Allied Commission allowed from April 2, 1951 a normal seagoing shipbuilding, provided that the ships built had to be unsuitable for use as auxiliary cruisers . This was also the end of the new buildings known as Potsdam ships .
With the founding of the Federal Republic of Germany, further shipbuilding programs were launched in the following years.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c The new construction of the German merchant fleet in seaman's calendar 1952 , August Friedrich Velmede Verlag, Hamburg, 1952.
- ↑ Excerpt from the "Neue Zeitung" ( Memento of the original from January 12, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
literature
- Boie, Cai: Shipbuilding in Germany 1945–1952 . The forbidden industry. 1st edition. Publishing house Gert Uwe Detlefsen, Bad Segeberg and Cuxhaven 1993, ISBN 3-928473-11-5 .
- Fritz E. Giese: Small history of the German merchant shipping . From the Hanseatic ship to Europe. Haude & Spenersche Verlagbuchhandlung, Berlin 1967.
- Fritz E. Giese: Small history of German shipbuilding . From the Hanse cog to the nuclear ship. Haude & Spenersche Verlagbuchhandlung, Berlin 1969.
- Alfred Dudszus, Alfred Köpcke: The big book of ship types . Weltbild Verlag, Augsburg 1995, ISBN 3-89350-831-7 (licensed edition by transpress, Berlin).
- Hans-Joachim Rook: Sailors and steamers on the Havel and Spree . 1st edition. Brandenburgisches Verlagshaus, Berlin 1993, ISBN 3-89488-032-5 , p. 89 .
- 50 years ago - German shipbuilding was opened again . In: Hans Jürgen Witthöft (ed.): Köhler's fleet calendar . Koehlers Verlagsgesellschaft, Hamburg 2001, ISBN 3-7822-0781-5 , p. 195-196 .
- Black, red and gold are the colors of the flag . In: Hans Jürgen Witthöft (ed.): Köhler's fleet calendar . Koehlers Verlagsgesellschaft, Hamburg 2001, ISBN 3-7822-0781-5 , p. 199 .