House Flags of German Shipping Companies (a) - part 1

Deutsche Reedereiflaggen (a) Teil 1

Last modified: 2013-04-04 by peter hans van den muijzenberg
Keywords: aagaard u heitmann | alexandra | apollo shipping | adler linie | adlerschiffe | afrika linie | ahlmann | aida | alba | albis | albrecht | alpha reefer | alsen | alstertouristik |
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• Aagaard & Heitmann
• Rainer Abicht Elbreederei
• Adler Linie
• Adler-Schiffe
• Afrika Linie
• Ahlmann Schifffahrt
• AIDA Cruises
• Alba Reederei
• Deutsche AG "Albis"
• Reederei Albrecht
• Förderverein Salondampfer Alexandra e.V.
• Alpha Reefer Transport
• O.F.Alsen & Sohn
• Alstertouristik

• House Flags of German Shipping Companies
• House Flags of Shipping Companies
• Germany

Aagaard & Heitmann

Rainer Abicht Elbreederei

This Hamburg-based firm exploits a fleet of almost thirty boats of several sizes, offering harbour and river excursions (dogs allowed!) of all kinds: parties, visits, weddings, etc. It is the largest operator of this kind in Hamburg.

Website: Flag: on a white field is placed a white disk bearing the white initial ‘A’ in script.
Although the disk seems to be sky-blue here, this must be an effect of the light as other photos (vessels’ names on top of page, clickable) show the colour consistent with above flagoid. The reason I'm sending this one is the presence of the fine Hamburg flag serving as jack.
Jan Mertens, 3 Jun 2006

Adler Linie

Adler Linie - One of the founders of the company was Sloman.The company was located in Hamburg. Facing accidents and economic problems, there had been negociations with Norddeutscher Lloyd in Bremen.
When Godeffroy claimed "vital Hamburgian interests" the company finally was overtaken by Hapag on 7 May 1875.
Description of flag: It is a white flag with a completely surrounding red edge. In its centre is a black eagle, sitting on a horizontal bar and facing the hoist.
Source: Arnold KLUDAS: "Die Geschichte der deutschen Passagierschiffahrt (5 vols.)" Hamburg 1986; Reprint Laibach Slovenia-Buch Nr. 03617-8, flagchart; p.223.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 12 June 2007

Adler-Schiffe

Adler-Schiffe - The company was established in 1950, organizing tourist shipping from Nordstrand Island. The first ship had the name ADLER. Since then it is part of the name of all 28 ships of the company. Since 1975 the company in Hörnum/Sylt offered duty free service on its ships, the so called “butter cruising”, since 1985 Hallig cruising (a “Hallig” is a very small island, all of them are located off the Nordfriesland shore). In 1993 an express line was established, connecting the Islands of Nordstrand, Hallig Hooge, Amrum and Sylt.

In 1992 the company opened new branch lines in Mecklenburg-Westpomerania, based at the islands of Usedom and later (?) Rügen. Thus the cessation of “butter cruising” could be compensated for a while. When Poland entered the European Community in 2004, it was the end of duty free business. Since then the number of passengers went down to 50% and some of the ships had to be sold or chartered.
For further information click www.adler-schiffe.de.
Flag of Adler-Schiffe Kurt Paulsen: It is a yellow over red over blue horizontal tricolour (the colours of Nordfriesland). In its centre is a white diamond fimbriated black containing a red eagle, which is flanked by red capitals “K” and “P”.
Source: www.marcollect.de; maintained by Klaus-Peter Bühne.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 8 May 2009

Adler-Schiffe Sven Paulsen #1

Flag of Adler-Schiffe Sven Paulsen #1: It is a yellow over red over blue horizontal tricolour (the colours of Nordfriesland). In its centre is a white diamond fimbriated black containing a red eagle, which is flanked by red capitals “S” and “P”.
Source: www.marcollect.de; maintained by Klaus-Peter Bühne.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 8 May 2009

Adler-Schiffe Sven Paulsen #2

Flag of Adler-Schiffe Sven Paulsen #2: It is a yellow over red over blue horizontal tricolour (the colours of Nordfriesland). In its centre is a white diamond containing a red eagle, which is flanked by red capitals “S” and “P”.
Source: I spotted this flag on 20 December 2009 in Binz and Sellin (both Rügen Island).
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 8 May 2009

Afrika Linie

The flag is divided per saltire into white and green. In the white quarters are black initials "A" (hoist) and "L" (fly).
Source: I spotted stick pins of both flags on 21 May 2012 at Brendler's shop. Brendler is a taylor. His specialities are navy uniforms and clothes for use in the tropics.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 3 Jul 2012

Ahlmann Schifffahrt

AIDA Cruises

image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 21 Mar 2009

image by Klaus-Michael Schneider,

AIDA Cruises - It is a white flag with an inscription of coloured capitals "AIDA" (blue-red-yellow-green) and below in black slightly smaller "CRUISES". Variant shows also the "AIDA-Kiss", red lipps on a greyish lembowed line, symbolizing a prow.
Source: I spotted the flag at the baptism of "AIDA diva" on 20 April 2007 in Hamburg, the kiss variant on 7 May 2012.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 21 Mar 2009

Alba Reederei

Part of the Scherrieble Group, active in recycling, Alba Reederei GmbH & Co. KG is a German inland navigation company specialized in transporting bulk goods. Based at Mannheim, where the Neckar meets the Rhine, the firm was founded about forty years ago, operates a number of barges between 1100 and 1600 metric tonnes and owns a depot next to the River Neckar.

Dedicated page (German only), showing a flagoid: ‘Flagoid’ because the image lacks an important detail, fimbriation. See it in better shape on a Binnenvaart page, concerning the vessel once named ‘Alba 5’ operated by ‘Alba Schiffahrt & Transport GmbH’ at Mannheim, which I take to be a former company name used in 1955, as the text suggests.
A red saltire defining two blue triangles (upper and lower) and two white ones (left and right), on the white triangles blue initials ‘A’ and ‘R’ respectively. The red saltire is fimbriated white where it otherwise would have touched the blue triangles.
See Michael Harms's site for a photo of the flag flying on the German vessel ‘Minerva’, select Gallery / Binnenschiffe / Frachtschiffe / M / Minerva (clickable).

This leaves me with a minor riddle, as the Binnenvaart site also shows a ‘Neckarfracht’ flag which very much resembles the above but for the company name and the colour of the initials which is black. See it here in connection with the vessel ‘Beate’.
Until now I have only found barges named this way, but no company... so Binnenvaart may have made a mistake.
Jan Mertens, 27 Aug 2006

Deutsche AG "Albis"

Flag reported 1897

It is a red flag. In the centre are four white "F"s forming an athletics' cross the same way like usual in German athletics clubs.
Source: "Gratis Beilage zu Deicken und Behrmann's Neuen Monatsheften Neue Ausgabe Sommer 1897"
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 14 Apr 2012

Flag reported ca. 1898

The red flag had white initials "DF". Please note, that the company is mentioned as Dampfschiff AG "Albis" within prior chart (1897). The "F"s appearing on both flags perhaps indicate, that the owner's surname had that initial.
Source: Flaggenkarte, Hrsg.: H. Carly, Hamburg, c.1898
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 21 Jun 2012

Reederei Albrecht

"Reederei Albrecht" operates the paddle steamer "Concordia II" on the river Harle between Carolinensiel and Harlesiel, Eastern Friesland, Lower Saxony. The "Concordia II" is named after a ship of the same name that sailed on the Harle in the 1850s.

The house flag of "Reederei Albrecht", as shown as a graphic on the company website, is horizontally divided black-white-red with a white square diamond outlined in black and charged with a black "A" in the middle.
Ivan Sache, 7 Sep 2008

Förderverein Salondampfer Alexandra e.V.

Cycling towards the Danish-German border, I saw a ship on the Kiel canal belonging to the shipping company Förderverein Salondampfer Alexandra e.V., whose only purpose is to preserve and sail the Salondampfer Alexandra, Flensburg. Its house flag is per saltire yellow over blue.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 27 Aug 2001

Alpha Reefer Transport

Alpha Reefer Transport GmbH., Hamburg - white flag, 1,5 circle; the full circle containing a honeycomb structure, all blue.
Image after Brown's Flags and Funnels Shipping Companies of the World, compiled by J.L. Loughran, Glasgow, 1995 [lgr95]
Jarig Bakker, 4 Dec 2005

I'm wondering if the honeycomb could be a stylized representation of a snowflake - after all the "Reefer" in the company name seems to ring of a refridgerated cargo ship. Any info?
Phil Nelson, 4 Dec 2005

O.F.Alsen & Sohn

In 1863 Otto Friedrich Alsen founded the Alsen'sche Portland-Cement Fabrik. The company expanded very quickly and Alsen needed not only small ships for the transportation of cement but also bigger ones to get timber for the wooden cement-barrels from Norway. So he founded in 1868 the "O.F.Alsen&Sohn" shipping-company. The company used a white flag with black capital letters "OFA" in the centre.
In 1884 the shipping-company was renamed to "Reederei der Alsen'schen Portland-Cement Fabriken".
The last ship was sold in 1902 and finally got lost on 18 March 1910.
The shipping-company was dissolved then. The company used a yellow flag with a black capital "A" in the centre (see below).
(Source: Jürgen Meyer: "Hamburger Segelschiffe von 1795-1945"; ISBN 3-89225-400-1; Hamburg 1999; p.132ff).
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 19 Mar 2007

O.F.Alsen & Sohn (last design)

Alstertouristik

ATG Alstertouristik-GmbH - It is a company running transport of passengers on the River Alster in Hamburg. I spotted this flag at the Außenalster on 3 April 2004.
Description of flag: a red cloth with a white swan swimming upon three white horizontal line facing the hoist. Underneath the lines there is a small white bow at the lower fly.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 19 Mar 2007

ATG-Alstertouristik I know in the company logo the swan is facing the right side (visible) but on the flag ist facing the hoist i.e. the left side (visible).
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 23 Mar 2007

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