Rickmers shipping company

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Flag of the Rickmers shipping company

Nucleus of Rickmers Reederei was the 1834 Rickmer Clasen Rickmers in Bremerhaven , founded Rickmers shipyard . The company was later expanded to include a shipping company and various rice mills . The legally completely independent shipping companies, operated by the two brothers Bertram R. C. Rickmers and Erck Rickmers , descendants of the company founder in the fifth generation, were sold to the shipping company Zeaborn in 2016 and 2018 respectively .

history

Rickmers shipyard

Entrance to the Rickmers shipyard (1900)
Rickmers shipyard crane from 1956
View of the longitudinal and transverse helmets in the model of the Rickmers shipyard around 1860 in the Bremerhaven Historical Museum
Rickmers-Lloyd floating dock in Kaiserhafen, Bremerhaven

The company was founded in 1834 by the wooden shipbuilder Rickmer Clasen Rickmers (January 6, 1807 to November 27, 1886) from Heligoland as the Rickmers shipyard . The first shipyard was built directly on the bank of the Geeste in Geestemünde (today Bremerhaven). 1836 was the first Rickmers ship, the 23  gross tons large Kahn Catharina , on behalf of the Geest Dorfer captain Lenthe from the stack . In 1854 the first German clipper , the Ida Ziegler , was launched.

In 1857 shipbuilding moved to the new shipyard on the Geesthelle (area around the penultimate Geesteschleife in front of the mouth in Bremerhaven, 53 ° 32 'north, 8 ° 35' east) for reasons of expansion. The new area with a size of 65,000 m² was completed in 1859. The family lived in a villa in a park on the shipyard site, the workers in their own shipyard apartments, and the employees came from outside. The shipyard developed into a respected shipbuilding company in Europe and one of the leading in the world. The order situation rose steadily, so that it was possible to build for its own account, and Rickmers Clasen Rickmers created its own fleet . As early as 1842, Rickmers saw a promising future in the shipping business.

Until the founder's death in 1886, only wooden ships were built, as R. C. Rickmers refused to build iron ships. He compensated for the resulting decline in orders by manufacturing exclusively for his own account. In 1890 the largest wooden full ship in Germany, the Etha Rickmers (4) , was built.

After the death of the founder RC Rickmers, his sons Andreas Clasen Rickmers (1835–1924), Peter Andreas Rickmers (1838–1902) and Wilhelm Heinrich Rickmers (1844–1891) converted the shipyard to modern iron shipbuilding. The four-masted barque Duchess Sophie Charlotte was the first steel ship; it was built in 1894 as Albert Rickmers for the Rickmers shipping company. Purchased by Norddeutscher Lloyd in 1899 , she became the first sailing training ship in the German merchant fleet .

In 1889, the shipyard was converted into Rickmers Reismühlen, Rhederei and Schiffbau Aktiengesellschaft with branches in Bremen, Bremerhaven and Geestemünde (today Rickmers Reismühle GmbH) in line with its three areas of activity: shipbuilding, shipping company and rice processing . The shares of the original trading company R. C. Rickmers remained in full possession of the family.

The ship RC Rickmers from 1906, a five-masted sailor with a steam engine as an auxiliary drive (" auxiliary sailor ") , became famous from Peter Rickmers time . The most famous ships built by Rickmers during this time include the Peter Rickmers , Maria Rickmers , Rickmer Rickmers and R. C. Rickmers . These sailing ships were also followed by a number of new steamers for the Rickmers Rhederei and two sailing training ships.

After the start of the war in 1914, the shipyard was initially closed; from 1915 she built mine sweepers for the Imperial Navy .

In 1918 there was a financial separation between the shipyard and the shipping company. The shipbuilding business was initially continued under the management of Paul Rickmers (1873-1946) and the name Norddeutsche Werft GmbH . In 1920 the first ship after the end of the war was launched for its own account - the Sophie Rickmers . In 1924 the company was shut down as part of the shipping crisis and only reopened in 1937. The Nazi regime was vigorously arming the Wehrmacht and preparing for a major war. Then she built numerous fish steamers and vehicles for the navy . During the Second World War , the shipyard only built watercraft for the navy.

From 1945 Bremerhaven was occupied by British troops . The Potsdam Agreement contained building restrictions for the German shipyards. The Rickmers shipyard initially stayed afloat with repair orders for the United States Navy . In addition, there were a series of coasters - such as the Greundiek  - and, above all, fishing vessels such as side catchers . In 1952 the shipyard was able to book its first foreign order, the Alpina-Reederei AG (Basel, Switzerland) had the general cargo ship Maloja built by Rickmers. The Rickmers-Werft developed the fishing vessels into stern trawlers and later into factory ships in the 1950s . The first German rear catcher ever was Heinrich Meins, delivered by Rickmers in 1957 . In addition, she mainly built conventional cargo ships and ferries .

In 1967 the repair business was outsourced to the fishing port of Bremerhaven . In addition to repair work, conversions such as the Otto Hahn or the research ship Sonne also took place here, as well as equipping new buildings. In 1972 Rickmers stationed a floating dock there .

Until 1986 worked Rickmers Shipyard in Bremerhaven, then went after a failed attempt in comparison bankruptcy and its doors closed forever. The Britta Thien , a multi-purpose container freighter, was the last new build to be launched. A slipway - gantry crane , the entrance to the shipyard, the "Achgelisbrücke" including a track residue, which was also used to 1921 than initially only access to the port of Bremerhaven, and some minor objects are the only thing that many of the more than 150 years working shipyard is left. The Bremerhaven location of the Federal Employment Agency is now behind the old entrance gate . Part of the former factory site is now wasteland; another part was used for residential purposes ("captain's quarter").

Today there is still a successor company to the shipyard, German Dry Docks , which u. a. emerged from the Rickmers-Lloyd dock operations, a joint venture between Rickmers and Lloyd Werft . The company, which belongs to the Petram Group, is now active as a repair yard.

The shipyard built or developed the following ships, among others: RW-29 , RW-39 and RW-49 class ships . In addition, the Rickmers shipyard made a name for itself as a special shipyard for the construction of fishing vessels and ferries. The railway ferry Railship I and the factory fishing ship Sonne are particularly well-known .

Rickmers Reederei / Rickmers-Linie

In 1842, RC Rickmers entered shipping for the first time as a partner shipping company. In 1848 the Brigg Bassermann was the first to be a ship on its own account. The ships were initially used in free travel , later mainly in travel .

The shipping company flag still bears the main colors of Heligoland's green-red-white and a white "R".

In 1896 the Rickmers shipping company started a regular liner service to East Asia. Previously, the ships at Rickmers were only used in free travel.

Between the years 1910 and 1913, the shipping company met all tall ships except the unsaleable five-masted auxiliar - Bark R. C. Rickmers off to the Rickmers-Linie according to the shipbuilding development in steamships switch.

During the First World War , after irreconcilable differences of opinion about the future direction of the company, there was a generation change: The third generation, Paul Henry Rickmers (1873-1946), took over the majority of shares in Rickmers Rhederei und Schiffbau AG from his brothers. Rickmers Rhederei AG and Rickmers-Linie were founded in 1917 , the company headquarters were relocated to Hamburg and almost the entire fleet was sold. Due to the latter, the war losses of Rickmers were extremely low compared to other German shipping companies .

In 1921 the Rickmers Line resumed the East Asia liner service established in 1913. In the 1920s and 1930s the fleet was expanded more and more.

Paul Rickmers died on October 31, 1946 in Clarens near Lausanne. His three sons Peter Rickmers Clasen Rickmers (1914–1974), Bertram Rickmer Johann Rickmers (1917–1971) and Claus Wilhelm Rickmers (1920–1991) jointly took over the management.

The Second World War resulted in a total loss of the shipping fleet. In 1951 the traditional East Asia liner service was to be resumed with the used ship Mai Rickmers ; However, this only succeeded in 1955.

In the 1960s, the shipping company entered into a cooperation with the two shipping companies Delmas-Vieljeux and DDG "Hansa" .

In 1966 the company was renamed Rickmers Rhederei GmbH, Rickmers Werft Bremerhaven .

However, the cooperation did not lead to the desired economic result. In 1974 Hapag-Lloyd AG joined Rickmers-Linie . In 1988, Hapag-Lloyd bought the entire Rickmers line . In the years that followed, Rickmers-Linie specialized in heavy lift and project cargo . At the beginning of February 2017, the Bremen shipping company Zeaborn , which belongs to the Zech Group, took over the Rickmers-Linie.

Rickmers rice mills

Due to the American Civil War 1861–1865, rice exports to Europe ceased; therefore, rice importers were now buying rice elsewhere, particularly in Asia. At this time, R. C. Rickmers began using his ships to import rice. In 1872 he bought a rice mill in Bremen for processing the paddy rice , which was called Reismühle Ichon & Rickmers . This was followed by the founding of subsidiaries in Bangkok , Trieste , Hamburg, Hannoversch-Münden and Außenig . In 1883 R. C. Rickmers founded a rice starch factory in Hannoversch Münden. The connection to the transhipment port of Bremen was carried out by two tugs and twelve developed on the Rickmers Shipyard barges .

In 1901 the rice trade was spun off from the Rickmers family company. It was transferred to the newly founded Reis- und Handels-Aktiengesellschaft , an association of numerous north German rice mills founded under the leadership of Andreas Rickmers. The AG had its seat in Bremen. When Andreas Rickmers left the management of Reis- und Handels-AG in 1910, all ties to the parent company were broken. With the renaming to Rickmers Rhederei und Schiffbau A.-G. In 1913 the term 'rice trade' also disappeared from the company name. The Rickmers GmbH rice mills existed under the direction of Robert Rickmers as a company on - initially under the umbrella of rice and trade-AG , following its dissolution as an independent company.
In 1963 the company was taken over by Kellogg's; since 1988 it has been an independent company again.

Entrance gate to the former Rickmers shipyard in Bremerhaven

Portal of the Rickmers shipyard

The preserved portal of the Rickmers shipyard on Paul-Halthof-Platz / Grimsbystraße in Bremerhaven-Lehe in front of the former shipyard on the Geesthelle was built in the age of Romanticism in the neo-Gothic style in 1857 . In 1982 the portal was placed under monument protection.

Separate shipping groups from Rickmers' descendants

Rickmers Group / Rickmers Holding AG

In 1982, in the fifth generation, Bertram RC Rickmers founded the nucleus of today's Rickmers Group with MCC Marine Consulting & Contracting . In 2000 he acquired the Rickmers-Linie from Hapag-Lloyd and made it part of the Rickmers Group.

In 2003, the Rickmers-Linie established the “Round-the-World Pearl String Service” for the first time, a global liner service for project cargoes.

In 2006 the Rickmers Group opened a head office in Singapore; it is the second main branch next to Hamburg. Rickmers Maritime was founded in 2007; the company has been listed on the 'SGX Mainboard' of the Singapore Stock Exchange since May 2007 .

The Rickmers Holding AG is the parent company of the "Rickmers Group"; who manages around 120 chartered ships. The management consists of Bertram RC Rickmers (Chairman of the Supervisory Board), Ignace Van Meenen (Chief Executive Officer) and Mark-Ken Erdmann (Chief Financial Officer).

In 2015 Rickmers Holding GmbH & Cie. KG , parent company of the Rickmers Group, changed the legal form ; since then it has operated as Rickmers Holding AG . In August 2016, the merger negotiations with ER Schiffahrt , headed by Erck Rickmers, were broken off. On February 9, 2017, Rickmers Holding parted ways with Rickmers-Linie .

On May 31, 2017, Rickmers Holding announced in an ad hoc announcement that HSH Nordbank had rejected the shipping company's loan applications and refused to approve a restructuring concept. On June 1, 2017, Rickmers Holding filed for bankruptcy. In September 2017, the majority Bremen-based entrepreneur Kurt Zech, the shipping company Zeaborn, took over global ship management, the core business of the widely ramified Rickmers Group. Zech had already taken over the heavy lift company Rickmers Linie in February 2017 .

Nordcapital Group / ER Schiffahrt

In 1992, Bertram RC Rickmers and his brother Erck Rickmers founded the issuing house Nordcapital. In 1996 they separated because of different views on the strategic direction. Since then, Erck Rickmers has been running the Nordcapital group of companies independently of his brother , which is active in the areas of shipping, real estate and private equity , among other things . In 1998 ER Schiffahrt GmbH & Cie. KG - in 2016 one of the largest charter shipping companies in the world for container ships - started its business operations as a sister company of Nordcapital . The shipping company and ship management company was initially focused on container shipping, in 2006 it diversified into offshore and bulk shipping. As of January 2008, ER Schiffahrt was a company that operated independently of the Nordcapital Group.

In December 2011, ER Schiffahrt announced that it would merge with competitor Komrowski to form a new shipping company called Blue Star Holding . This created the largest German shipping group in 2012 (more than 160 ships). The majority of the capital in Blue Star Holding was held by ER Capital Holding , the holding company of the ER Schiffahrt Group. In February 2018 ER Schiffahrt was taken over by Zeaborn .

The Rickmers sailing ship fleet

  • Bassermann (1848), wooden brig , according to other sources, Bark, 1848–1852
  • Oldenburg (1851) → Genova (1865), wooden barque , 1851–1885
  • Creole (1857), wooden barque, 1857–186 ...
  • Willy (1859), wooden full ship , 1859–1868
  • Etha Rickmers (I) (1859), wooden barque, 1859–1864
  • Energie (1860), wooden barque, 1860–1867
  • Helgoland (1860), wooden full ship, 1860–1863
  • Dodo (1861), wooden barque, 1861–1868
  • Grandfather , wooden barque, 1862–1867
  • Rudolph (1862) → Ida (1868), wooden full ship, 1862–1865
  • Sophie and Helene , wooden barque, 1863–1869
  • Andreas (1864), wooden full ship, 1864
  • Ernst and Maria (1864), wooden barque, 1864–1872
  • Doctor Petermann (1866), wooden barque, 1866–1873
  • Etha Rickmers (II) (1866), wooden full ship, 1866–1870
  • Robert Rickmers (1866), wooden barque, 1866–1871
  • Peter Rickmers (I) (1867) → Widja , wooden barque , 1867–1884
  • Ellen Rickmers (I) (1868), wooden barque, 1868–1875
  • Laurita (1868), wooden schooner bark , 1868–1873
  • Maria Rickmers (I) (1868), → Gratia , wooden barque, 1868–1889
  • RC Rickmers (I) (1868), wooden full ship, 1868–1882
  • Willy Rickmers (I) (1868) → Godthaab , wooden barque, 1868–1889
  • Sophie Rickmers (1870), wooden barque, 1870–1871
  • Etha Rickmers (III) (1870) → Rubia , wooden full ship, 1871–1889
  • Deike Rickmers (I) (1872) → CR Bischop , wooden barque, 1872–1873
  • Andreas Rickmers (1873), wooden full ship, 1873–1879
  • Deike Rickmers (II) (1874), wooden full ship, 1874–1884
  • Alice Rickmers (1875) → Hansa , wooden barque, 1875–1896
  • Paul Rickmers (I) (1876), wooden barque, 1876–1895
  • Elisabeth Rickmers (1876), wooden barque, 1877–1894
  • Madeleine Rickmers (1879), wooden barque, 1879–1898
  • Richard Rickmers (1881) → Dora , wooden barque, 1881–1899
  • Erwin Rickmers (1882) → Brema , wooden barque, 1882–1898
  • Ellen Rickmers (II) (1884), wooden barque, 1884–1891
  • Andrée Rickmers (1886), wooden barque, 1886–1896
  • Renée Rickmers (1887) → Åland , four-masted iron barque , 1887–1913
  • RC Rickmers (1888) → Teresa , wooden full ship, 1888–1901
  • Robert Rickmers (II) (1888), four-masted iron barque, 1888–1904
  • Peter Rickmers (II) (1889), four-masted full steel ship, 1889–1908
  • Etha Rickmers (IV) (1890) → St. Amalia , wooden full ship, 1890–1904
  • Maria Rickmers (II) (1891), steel five-mast auxiliary barque, 1891–1892
  • Albert Rickmers (I) (1894) → Duchess Sophie Charlotte , four-masted steel barque, 1894–1900
  • Willy Rickmers (II) (1895), four-masted steel barque, 1895–1912
  • Rickmer Rickmers (1896) → Max (1912) → Flores (1916) → Sagres (I) (1924) → Santo André (1961) → Rickmer Rickmers (1983), Vollschiff (1904 Bark), 1896–1912
  • Erik Rickmers (1897), full steel ship, 1897–1899
  • Paul Rickmers (II) (1892), ex Windermere , four-masted steel barque, 1897–1902
  • Mabel Rickmers (1898) → Winterhude , full steel ship, 1898–1912
  • Albert Rickmers (II) (1905) → Penang , four-masted steel barque, 1905–1911
  • RC Rickmers (III) (1906) → Neath , Stahl-Fünfmastauxiliarbark, 1906–1914

literature

  • Melanie Leonhard : The entrepreneur family Rickmers 1834–1918 - shipbuilding, shipping, trade . German Maritime Studies, Volume VIII, Bremen 2009, ISBN 978-3-89757-452-6 .
  • Jörn Lindner: Shipping and shipbuilding in one hand - The Rickmers family companies 1918–2000 . German Maritime Studies, Volume IX, Bremen 2009, ISBN 978-3-89757-453-3 .
  • Melanie Leonhard, Jörn Lindner (Eds.): 175 years of Rickmers . Hoffmann & Campe, Hamburg 2009, ISBN 978-3-455-50111-7 .
  • Arnold Kludas : Rickmers, 150 years of shipbuilding and shipping . Koehlers Verlagsgesellschaft, Herford 1984, ISBN 3-7822-0343-7 .

Web links

Commons : Rickmers Reederei  - Collection of images

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Harry Gabcke: Bremerhaven in two centuries ; Volume I, p. 71. Nordwestdeutsche Verlagsgesellschaft, Bremerhaven 1989, ISBN 3-927857-00-9 .
  2. ↑ http://www.bremerhaven.de/meer-erleben/service-infos/stadtgeschichte/rickmers-werft.24405.html
  3. ↑ Jürgen Hinrichs, Stefan Lakeband: Zeaborn takes over Rickmers-Linie. Weser-Kurier, February 9, 2017, accessed on February 14, 2017 .
  4. ↑ www.rickmers-maritime.com
  5. ↑ sgx.com
  6. ↑ What we do . As of December 2015, viewed on May 1, 2016
  7. ↑ Back to the rough reality. in: Handelsblatt, August 31, 2016
  8. ^ Wolfhart Fabarius: Sale via Luxembourg company . In: Daily port report of April 21, 2017, p. 13
  9. ↑ Board of HSH Nordbank AG has surprisingly denied approval of the term sheet regarding the financial restructuring of the Rickmers Group
  10. ^ Spiegel.de: Shipping company Rickmers announces bankruptcy
  11. ↑ FAZ.net
  12. ^ A b Christian Müßgens: Contractor swallows Rickmers' core business. Investors around Zech take over the ship management. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung of September 8, 2017, p. 25.
  13. ^ NDR Hamburg , December 14, 2011: Giant shipping group is created in Hamburg ( memento from February 1, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) .
  14. ↑ Rickmers and ER Schiffahrt are history · Zeaborn bundles ship management under a new name . In: Hansa , issue 9/2018, p. 154

Coordinates: 53 ° 32 '  N , 8 ° 35'  E