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Hamburg Atlantic Line ( German: ''Hamburg Atlantik Linie'') was an
ocean liner An ocean liner is a type of passenger ship primarily used for transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). The ...
and
cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports of call, where passengers may go on Tourism, tours k ...
operating company established in
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
,
West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
in 1958 by Axel Bitsch Christensen and Vernicos Eugenides, the latter being the adopted son of
Home Lines Home Lines was an Italian passenger shipping company that operated both ocean liners and cruise ships. The company was founded in 1946, and it ceased operations in 1988 when merged into Holland America Line. Although based in Genoa, Home Lines was ...
' founder
Eugen Eugenides Eugen is a masculine given name which may refer to: * Archduke Eugen of Austria (1863–1954), last Habsburg Grandmaster of the Teutonic Order from 1894 to 1923 * Prince Eugen, Duke of Närke (1865–1947), Swedish painter, art collector, and pa ...
. In 1966, the company changed its name to German Atlantic Line (German: ''Deutsche Atlantik Linie''). Liner services were abandoned in 1969, after which the company's ships concentrated solely on cruising. Due to the
1973 oil crisis In October 1973, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) announced that it was implementing a total oil embargo against countries that had supported Israel at any point during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, which began after Eg ...
, German Atlantic Line closed down in December 1973. In 1991 Dirk Moldenhauer, the captain of the last German Atlantic Line ship in service, acquired the rights to the Hamburg/German Atlantic Line logo and established Hanseatic Tours which used the same livery and ship names as the German Atlantic Line. In 1997
Hapag-Lloyd Hapag-Lloyd AG is a German international shipping and container transportation company, the 5th biggest in the world. It was formed in 1970 through a merger of Hamburg-American Line (HAPAG) and Norddeutscher Lloyd. History The company was forme ...
acquired Hanseatic Tours, and their operations were merged to those of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises. The last Hanseatic Tours vessel, MS ''Hanseatic'' retained the Hanseatic Tours livery in Hapag-Lloyd service until 2011.


History


1958–1966: Hamburg Atlantic Line

Hamburg Atlantic Line was the brainchild of Axel Bitsch Christensen, a Dane who had been living in Hamburg since 1952, who wanted to establish a new company to offer liner service from West Germany to
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
. Christensen convinced his friend Vernicos Eugenides, the chairman of
Home Lines Home Lines was an Italian passenger shipping company that operated both ocean liners and cruise ships. The company was founded in 1946, and it ceased operations in 1988 when merged into Holland America Line. Although based in Genoa, Home Lines was ...
, to invest 6 million DM in the new company, making it possible for Christensen to raise enough loan to purchase a ship. Hamburg Atlantic Line acquired their first ship in January 1958 when they purchased the 1930-built RMS ''Empress of Scotland'' from
Canadian Pacific Steamships CP Ships was a large Canadian shipping company established in the 19th century. From the late 1880s until after World War II, the company was Canada's largest operator of Atlantic and Pacific steamships. Many immigrants travelled on CP ships fr ...
. After substantial rebuilding, the ship re-emerged as the first TS ''Hanseatic'' in June 1958, and was placed in service connecting
Cuxhaven Cuxhaven (; ) is a town and seat of the Cuxhaven district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town includes the northernmost point of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the shore of the North Sea at the mouth of the Elbe River. Cuxhaven has a footprint o ...
, Germany to
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
,
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
via
Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...
(
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
),
Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
(
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
) and
Cobh Cobh ( ,), known from 1849 until 1920 as Queenstown, is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. With a population of 14,148 inhabitants at the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, Cobh is on the south si ...
(
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
). During the winter season she was also used for cruising out of New York to the
Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...
. Coinciding with Hamburg Atlantic beginning transatlantic service, Home Lines ceased transatlantic service so that the two companies in which Vernicos Eugenides had large investments would not compete with each other. After a good year in the transatlantic service in 1959, passenger numbers begun to drop due to competition from air traffic. By 1965 the ''Hanseatic'' made only eight round crossings, spending the rest of the year cruising. Already in 1962 Axel Bitsch Christensen had begun planning for a new ship to replace the ''Hanseatic''. He had trouble securing a loan to fund the new building, but was not discouraged and drew up an unusual plan for gathering funds. A new company, German Atlantic Line, was established; shares of the new company were offered to past Hamburg Atlantic passengers, and enough funds for the new ships were gathered using this method. However, before an order could be placed for the new ship, the ''Hanseatic'' caught fire on 6 September 1966 while in New York harbour. There were no casualties, but after the hulk of the ship was towed back to Germany, she was deemed too expensive to repair and was sent to scrappers. An order for the new TS ''Hamburg'' was placed with
Deutsche Werft Deutsche Werft (English: German Shipyard) was a shipbuilding company in Finkenwerder Rüschpark, Hamburg, Germany. It was founded in 1918 by Albert Ballin and with Gutehoffnungshütte (GHH), ''Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft'' (AEG) and ...
during the following month, but the company needed another ship to operate until the new ship would be completed.


1966–1973: German Atlantic Line

Hamburg Atlantic Line was without a ship from the loss of the first ''Hanseatic'' until November 1967, when the three-year-old SS ''Shalom'' was purchased from the
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
-based ZIM Lines. By this time the decision was made to abandon the name Hamburg Atlantic Line, and the company began to be marketed as the German Atlantic Line. The former ''Shalom'', that had been renamed TS ''Hanseatic'', set on a crossing from Hamburg to New York on 16 December 1967 with invited guests on board. After the initial crossing she began making cruises out of New York. In 1968 the German Atlantic Line decided to abandon transatlantic service, concentrating solely on cruising. The ''Hanseatic'' did still cross the Atlantic twice a year on repositioning trips between Europe and America. The new TS ''Hamburg'' was delivered to German Atlantic Line on 20 March 1969, entering service on 28 March 1969 with a cruise from Hamburg to
South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...
. She was the first major German-built, German-flagged passenger ship to enter service since 1938. By this time the company was collaborating with
Holland America Line Holland America Line N.V. (HAL) is an American cruise line operating as a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc. Founded in 1873 in Rotterdam, Netherlands as the Netherlands-America Steamship Company (NASM), the company operated regular trans ...
, who acted as German Atlantic's agents in
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
. Around the time of the ''Hamburg''s delivery German Atlantic was faced with bad times financially. 75% of their income was made in
US dollar The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...
s, but during the late 60s and early 70s the
Deutsche Mark The Deutsche Mark (; "German mark (currency), mark"), abbreviated "DM" or "D-Mark" (), was the official currency of West Germany from 1948 until 1990 and later of unified Germany from 1990 until the adoption of the euro in 2002. In English, it ...
gained value heavily compared to the Dollar. At the same time both crew expenses and fuel prices rose dramatically. Due to the raising expenses the company was forced to seek out a joint venture with
Hapag-Lloyd Hapag-Lloyd AG is a German international shipping and container transportation company, the 5th biggest in the world. It was formed in 1970 through a merger of Hamburg-American Line (HAPAG) and Norddeutscher Lloyd. History The company was forme ...
, but nothing came of this. By September 1973 the company's debts were estimated at 50-70 million DM, so when
Home Lines Home Lines was an Italian passenger shipping company that operated both ocean liners and cruise ships. The company was founded in 1946, and it ceased operations in 1988 when merged into Holland America Line. Although based in Genoa, Home Lines was ...
lost their SS ''Homeric'' and expressed interest in buying the ''Hanseatic'' as a replacement, German Atlantic had no choice but to sell the ship or face bankruptcy. On 25 September 1973 the ''Hanseatic'' was sold and renamed SS ''Doric''. On the same date the ''Hamburg'' was in turn renamed ''Hanseatic'', but at the same time plans were being drawn to sell her to Hapag-Lloyd. Negotiations about the sale of the third ''Hanseatic'' continued with Hapag-Lloyd, as well as a potential buyer from
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
, while debts continued to accumulate. On 1 December 1973 German Atlantic Line was forced to cease operations completely. The ''Hanseatic'' was laid up and eventually sold to the Black Sea Shipping Company of the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
(via an American intermediary) in 1974, becoming their TS ''Maxim Gorkiy''. The ''Maxim Gorkiy'' spent most of her subsequent career under charter to various West German (and after
German reunification German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...
, German) tour operators.


1991–1997: Hanseatic Tours

In 1991 Dirk Moldenhauer – the last captain of the third ''Hanseatic'' – purchased the rights to the logo used by Hamburg/German Atlantic Line, as well as the right to use the name "Hanseatic", and founded a new expedition cruise operator Hanseatic Tours. Initially the new company made an agreement to charter the MS ''Renaissance Five'', at the time still under construction, from
Renaissance Cruises Renaissance Cruises was a cruise ship operating company that was founded in 1989 and owned by Fearnley & Eger Rederi in Oslo, Norway. It was purchased by Edward Rudner (founder of Alamo Rent a Car, Alamo Car Rental) as the company faltered during t ...
. Before delivery the ship was renamed MS ''Hanseatic Renaissance'' and entered service in Hanseatic Tours colours in May 1991. The ''Hanseatic Renaissance'' remained in Hanseatic service until 1992, when she was returned to her owners. On 23 March 1993 Hanseatic Tours chartered the 1991-built MS ''Society Adventurer'' and renamed her MS ''Hanseatic''. Although built two years previously, the ship has never seen active service as the company that had ordered her went bankrupt before she was completed, and the ship had been laid up until chartered to Hanseatic Tours. The fourth ''Hanseatic'' entered service on 27 March 1993 when she set on a cruise from Hamburg to
Sevilla Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Seville ...
. Hanseatic Tours continued operations with one ship until 1997, when the company was purchased by
Hapag-Lloyd Hapag-Lloyd AG is a German international shipping and container transportation company, the 5th biggest in the world. It was formed in 1970 through a merger of Hamburg-American Line (HAPAG) and Norddeutscher Lloyd. History The company was forme ...
, with Dirk Moldenhauer becoming one of the chiefs of Hapag-Lloyds cruise operations. Even after entering service with Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, the fourth ''Hanseatic'' retained her name and Hanseatic Tours livery.


Ships


References


External links

*{{Commons category-inline Defunct cruise lines Defunct shipping companies Shipping companies of Germany Defunct companies of Germany Transatlantic shipping companies Companies based in Hamburg Transport companies established in 1958 Transport companies disestablished in 1997 1958 establishments in West Germany Defunct transport companies of Germany German companies established in 1958 German companies disestablished in 1997