Oldendorff Centenary Book - Flipbook - Page 220
The fleet expanded further still.
At about the same time the Bremer
Vulkan shipyard completed two
bulk carriers, the BERNHARD
OLDENDORFF and the HARMEN
OLDENDORFF, each of 52,660
tdw, duly followed in 1969/70 by
two 67,925 tdw sisterships, the
EMMA OLDENDORFF and ECKERT
OLDENDORFF. This brought the
number of the Oldendorff bulker
fleet to 13, ranging from 15,000
tdw to Panamax size, i.e. the
largest type of ship that can pass
the Panama Canal in a fully laden
condition. Panamax vessels found
increasing favour, such as with grain
shippers who resorted to writing
grain contracts from the US Gulf to
Far East destinations in Panamaxsize lots, and when the ore and coal
trades followed suit that added to
the versatility of these ships.
Bulk shipping continued as a major
field of activities. The smaller
Oldendorff ships would in addition
The new office building at No. 1
Fünfhausen in Lübeck, ready for
occupation in August 1967
cater for such commodities as steel,
timber, and bagged cargo. Thus,
with the Oldendorff fleet ranging
from 4,400 tdw at the lower end
up to 68,000 tdw the company
was in the business of carrying all
manner of dry bulk and semi-bulk
commodities worldwide.
Meanwhile the first batch of postwar liner vessels had become a little
obsolete. Ships in the 10/15,000 tdw
bracket still traded profitably on
most routes as the Liberties began
departing from the scene, for the
following reasons: these steamers,
once built to last for a short lifespan
and completed by their builders in
remarkably short time – average
completion time stands at 62 days,
with the ss ROBERT E. PEARY holding
the record at four and one half
days – became a common sight in
ports the world over. The majority
of them had survived the war. A
number was allocated to allied and
friendly nations such as Norway
and Greece which had suffered ship
losses during the war, another part
was immobilised as the US Reserve
Fleet and the largest number were
sold, not least to liner operators in
search for tonnage with which to
resume operations. Purchased at
a reasonable price, fully geared,
with a tweendeck and a rugged
triple-expansion steam engine
of 2,500 HP, the ships for a period
became the backbone of deepsea
shipping, gradually shifting
from liner to tramp work, sturdy
workhorses of the seven seas.
Their numbers decreased in time
due to losses and scrapping, and
their death knell rang when in 1967
the insurance world introduced the
15-year age limit. Higher insurance
premiums made the ships
uneconomical to run. Shipyards hit
by empty orderbooks in the midSixties rose to the challenge and
offered what soon became known
as ‘Liberty Replacements’.
Bulk shipping continued as
a major field of activities.
The smaller Oldendorff ships
would in addition cater for
such commodities as steel,
timber, and bagged cargo.
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