Woermann-Linie
The Woermann Line was a shipping company in Hamburg. It consisted 1885-1941 and was one of the most important shipping companies to their time in the Africa trip. It had its headquarters in 1899 in the so-called Africa House in the Great Reichenstraße.
History
The roots of the shipping company can be traced back to 1849 in which the trading company Woermann sent the first sailing ship to West Africa. Five years later, Woermann opened the first West African branch.
The shipping company African Steamship Actiengesellschaft Woermann Line was finally established on 15 June 1885 by Adolph Woermann. The company started with two new ships a passenger and cargo airline service to the German colonies build. 1890, the German East Africa line was established to expand the trading area to other parts of Africa. The same year, German South-West Africa was a German protectorate, after which the Woermann fleet was expanded.
During and after the revolt of the Herero and Nama in German South West Africa, now Namibia, used their fleet of 65,000 GRT doubled the Woermann line in 1904, within three years to around 130,000 tonnes. The line wrapped with its own and chartered ships from the market to support the controversial military action. 1906 began the Hamburg- Bremen Africa Line ( HBAL ) build the Hamburg company Menzell & Co. a rival line. Alone could not maintain the HBAL, but it was taken before their imminent collapse of the North German Lloyd. Woermann then went to a response to an offer Albert Ballin, to close a joint operation with the Hapag. This was from 1907 a quarter of the transport component of the West Africa trip and took over eight supernumerary Woermann Steamship. Also the German East Africa Line joined the community service and the Hamburg- Bremen Africa Line closed in 1908, the community service in freight transport to West Africa.
After the death of Adolph Woermann in 1911 Eduard Woermann took over his successor. In 1916 he sold the Woermann Line and the German East Africa line to a consortium of Hapag, North German Lloyd and Hugo Stinnes. The Stinnes shares were acquired in 1921 by Hapag and NDL. In 1927 we continued the German Africa service Treaty of 1907 by a further 20 years, and came in the following years for a short time in calmer waters.
One year after the seizure of power by the Nazis in 1934 a reorganization of the German shipping was carried out in which the major shipping companies were divided. The Hapag and North German Lloyd had to sell their shares at the Woermann line to the German Reich. 1941 sold the shares in this kingdom the cigarette manufacturer Philipp F. Reemtsma. In turn sold it to the shipowner John T. Essberger, who continued in the postwar period, only the German Afrika-Linien, the Woermann line but not operational.