Swiss Towing Association

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Bernoulli silo

The Schweizerische Schleppschiffahrtsgenossenschaft (SSG) , Basel , was founded on February 12, 1919 in Bern . In inland shipping , the ships were only called the Red Swiss because of their coloring . The cantons of Basel-Stadt, Basel-Land, 14 other cantons, the Swiss Federal Railways and around 75 companies joined the cooperative. The first president was Paul Speiser , a lawyer, politician and national councilor . At first, the cooperative only dealt with inland shipping; By the end of 1919, around 250,000 tons of freight had already been transported on foreign ships. The first ocean-going ship was bought in 1935. In 1923 the shipping company had the Bernoulli silo built in Basel , which opened in 1926 and which also housed the administration.

Coupling bandage Alpina with Leichter Vela

Further development

The director of the Basler Gaswerke, Rudolph Miescher, hired the economist Nicolas Jaquet. Jaquet was appointed director of SSG in 1925 and remained in this position until 1966. In 1938, SSG was converted into a stock corporation and operated under the name Schweizerische Reederei AG, Basel (SRAG). In 1975 the SRAG merged with the shipping company Neptun and was henceforth called Schweizerische Reederei und Neptun AG (SRN). The last major shareholder in SRN, the Migros Cooperative Association, parted with its stake in February 2000. The SRN was taken over by the German Rhenus Group .

Development of inland shipping

At first, shipping was only operated with rented vehicles. In 1919 the SSG bought a new rear-wheel tractor from the Breslauer Caesar Wollheim and named it Switzerland . It was the first ship on the Rhine to fly the Swiss flag. The first barge was bought in the Netherlands and named Aare . Since Swiss industry suffered from a lack of work after the First World War, the SSG awarded Buss AG in Pratteln the order for eight barges. These were built together with Escher Wyss AG in a shipyard in Augst , where the Zurich turbine wheel tractor was also built. Other ships were bought from abroad. When the German shipping companies refused to continue towing services for the SSG in 1922, the shipping company had the steam-wheel tugs Bern and Lucerne built. In 1923, when the Rhine had not yet been canalized, transport was moved to the Rhine-Rhône Canal . In addition, 12 peniches were bought, which were still grained with mules that belonged to the SSG. The journey from Strasbourg to Basel took eight days. Later, rails for electric tow locomotives were laid along the canal , and travel times were cut in half.

Motor tug Unterwalden

In the 1920s, the diesel engine found its way into inland shipping, and general cargo traffic increased. In May 1932, the Kembs lock was opened to bypass the Istein thresholds . This had a positive effect on the course of business at SSG. In 1935 a dividend could be paid out to the members of the cooperative for the first time. In 1934 a forwarding agency was founded in Buchs. Tankreederei AG was founded in 1935 as an independent company. In 1937, SSG had Sulzer engines installed in the barges, and a year later the 1,300-ton barges Rhone and Ticino were each equipped with two engines and two propellers. The paddle steam tug Zurich was also converted to Sulzer diesel engines. In Belgium , the Jos. Boel et Fils, Tamise, commissioned three diesel tugs. These tugs, Uri (1939), Schwyz (1948) and Unterwalden (1949) , were for a long time the strongest ships on the Rhine. At the beginning of the Second World War, shipping on the Upper Rhine was blocked until March 1941. However, the shipping company had already relocated its ships downhill in August. This enabled traffic between the seaports and Mannheim to be maintained. From the spring of 1941 until the autumn of 1944, SRAG supplied Switzerland with coal and transported iron ore from Liechtenstein to the Ruhr area on the downhill run .

As a result of the effects of the war, navigation on the Rhine was stopped in October 1944 and the ships were ordered to Basel. From May 1945 the Rhine had to be cleared of sunken ships and destroyed bridges. In April 1946 shipping could be resumed. Shortly before the start of the war, SRAG ordered 14 Rhine barges. These barges were converted into motor ships with Sulzer engines and equipped with towing winches. As the demand for liquid fuels increased sharply, the shipping company bought eight former German bunker boats from the British Royal Navy, which went under the names Cisalpina 1 to 8 . In Belgium 12 modern tankers were built with double screws that could also tow a tank barge.

Fleet expansion

By increasing the share capital from six to twelve million Swiss francs, it became possible to greatly enlarge the fleet. Ten motorized goods ships of the electricity class with 1650 tons of deadweight and two times 600 HP propulsion power were built, these could tow two barges. Six small, fast general cargo ships with 720 tons and other ships followed. From 1963 the ships of the Strom class were equipped with push horns and 12 push tow lights were built. These barges could load 1000 tons and had a Schottel navigator with which they could be hauled in port .

In 1961 there were attempts with coupling associations. For this purpose, the Edelweiss 10 and Edelweiss 15 were shortened by around 20 meters, converted into barges and renamed Tristan und Isolde . However, the trials as a coupling bandage were unsatisfactory and were discontinued.

In 1956, two motor freight ships sailing under the Austrian flag, the Austria 1 and the Austria 2 , were transferred to the Rhine. These ships belonged to the SRAG subsidiary Rohner, Gehring & Cie AG in Vienna . Another six ships were later added and Austrian cabin boys were hired.

Passenger shipping

As early as the 1930s, passengers could ride on the tugs. Among other things, the Uri motor tug was equipped with passenger cabins. After 1945, the motor cargo ship Bosco , which was damaged by the effects of the war, received cabins for 16 passengers. In 1955 the steam tug Bern was converted into a passenger cargo ship and converted to diesel drive. For years the ship sailed the Rhine under the name Basilea . In 1964, SRAG bought the Schwabenland river cruise ship and renamed it Ursula ; this is the name of the patron saint of shipping.

Apprenticeship training

Until the Second World War, predominantly German, Belgian and Dutch crews sailed on the Swiss ships. Due to the war the staff became scarce, so that the shipping company had to train local staff. A canal ship was converted into the Leventina residential and training ship . The sailor training lasted a total of three years, of which the basic training on the ship four months. School rules were initially strict and the cabin boys wore uniforms. In addition to practical and theoretical training, subjects included gymnastics, swimming, cooking, French and Dutch. In the 1970s, the shipping company bought the Lai da Tuma motor tug and used it as a training ship.

Maritime shipping

In 1935 and 1936, respectively, two Dutch coasters , the Bernina and the Albula , were bought by the Schellen Scheepvaart & Befrachting N.V. (Alpina Rotterdam) branch. Both ships sailed under the Dutch flag. In 1936 the Bernina drove from London to Basel with a load of sugar. In 1940, at the instigation of the Swiss gas industry, the deep-sea steamers Calanda and Majola sailing under the Panamanian flag were bought. After the Swiss Maritime Law was passed in 1941, these were the first two ships in the Swiss shipping register. At the beginning of 1942 the Albula and three ships of the International Red Cross were taken over, the Caritas 1 , the Caritas 2 and the Henry Dunant , as well as the Lugano of the Nautilus A. G. Glarus. During the Second World War, the ships were subordinated to the KTA (Kriegs-Transport-Amt Bern) and transported grain and other essential goods from the USA to Lisbon and Genoa. From there they reached Switzerland by land.

After the war, the shipping company bought the Eiger steamer from the KTA and put it into service under the name Cristallina . It was sold in January of the following year. Two newbuildings, the Carona and the Cristallina , were ordered in England . In West Germany, the Basilea was built for the subsidiary Alpina Reederei Basel . All other ships were also managed by Alpina. Only the Rigi and the Regina were owned by Aquila Reederei AG, Basel, and Regina Schiffahrt AG, Basel. These two shipping companies belonged to the Bührle and Göhner groups . The seagoing ships Anunciada and Allbrogia were in the management of the subsidiary of Alpina Transports et Affrètements SA in Antwerp, founded in 1947, from 1948 and 1952 respectively. In the 1970s, the tasks of the Alpina Antwerp were moved to Basel. Alpina Maritima S.à rl has opened offices in Buenos Aires , Rio de Janeiro and Genoa.

In 1962 Ernst Göhner and Dieter Bührle each took over 25% of the Alpina Reederei and increased their stakes to 49.25% each by 1971. The shipping company owned up to ten seagoing vessels under the Swiss flag and with mostly Swiss crews. At the beginning of 1987 the Alpina Reederei ceased operations. The two last ships flying the Swiss flag, the reefer vessels Basilea and Turicia , were taken over by Air Sea Broker AG / Panalpina in February 1987 and registered in Cyprus. In 1996 both ships were sold abroad. Below is a tabular overview of the ships and shipping companies of the ships registered under the Swiss flag in chronological order.

Beginning of the change of flag in the Swiss shipping register
 Place of
change of flag		 Ship name Shipping company / owner
April 19, 1941 Savona Calanda Schweizerische Reederei AG
WWII KTA (War Transport Office Bern)
1941 Majola Schweizerische Reederei AG
WWII KTA (War Transport Office Bern)
1942 Albula Schweizerische Reederei AG
WWII KTA (War Transport Office Bern)
1942 Caritas 1 International Red Cross
1942 Caritas 2 International Red Cross
1942 Henry Dunant International Red Cross
1942 Lugano Schweizerische Reederei AG
WWII KTA (War Transport Office Bern)

Subsidiaries and branches

Storage and transshipment facilities were built in the Basel ports, subsidiaries were established along the Rhine and connections were established with friendly companies. After just five years, the cooperative was represented in Strasbourg, Kehl, Mannheim, Duisburg, Rotterdam and Antwerp; Agencies were set up in Dordrecht, Lobith, Emmerich and Sankt Goar. The subsidiaries listed below had their own shipping space, which was operated under the respective national flags.

  • Société Franco-Suisse de Navigation SA, Strasbourg (October 10, 1923)
  • NV Nederlandsch-Zwitsersche Scheepvaart Maatschappij, Rotterdam (July 1, 1924), from 1953 N.V. Alpina Scheepvaart Maatschappij, Rotterdam
  • Les Chargeurs Belgo-Suisses S. A., Antwerp (March 15, 1929)
  • Navalsa S.à rl, Strasbourg (September 14, 1932)
  • Badisch-Schweizerisches Schiffahrtkontor GmbH, Kehl (September 14, 1932)
  • Naphta, Société de Transports à rl, Strasbourg (January 22, 1935)
  • Vinotra S. A., Paris (March 29, 1935)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Former training ship Lai da Tuma
  2. ^ Training ship Leventina
  3. ↑ Helmut Stalder in Neue Zürcher Zeitung , April 2, 2017 The Swiss fleet is in trouble
  4. ^ History of the Schweizerische Reederei AG