Die deutsche Kühlschifffahrt - German Reefer Shipping. Karsten Kunibert Krüger-Kopiske

commodity finds no buyers among the local fruit importers. A young employee of one of these importers, Andrew Woodbury Preston, takes a day off and sells the batch to passers-by with sensational success. Andrew W. Preston later became the first president of the United Fruit Co.

      1873The Australian James Harrison fails with an attempt to transport a load of meat from Melbourne to London.

      1876The Frenchman Charles Tellier equips LE FRIGOFRIQUE with three methyl ether refrigeration machines. Successful journey with a partial load of 25 tons of meat from Rouen to Buenos Aires and 80 tons of Argentine beef back. The transport temperature is 0 degrees Celsius.

      1877The steamer PARAGUAY successfully carries out the first deep-freeze transport. On the voyage from Buenos Aires to Le Havre meat is transported at a temperature of –27 to –30 degrees C without any loss of quality.

      1881Australia-Sloman-Linien-AG, Hamburg, is having refrigeration systems installed on its steamers CATANIA, SORRENTO and MARSALA. They transport frozen meat from Australia and New Zealand to Great Britain.

      1888Elders and Fyffes Ltd. starts importing bananas in Great Britain with its own ships.

      1894The Hamburg shipping company C. Andersen puts the first German refrigerated ship (fully refrigerated ship) into service with the steamer SEVERUS.

      1899Foundation of the United Fruit Company in Boston/USA through the merger of Tropical Trading and Transport Co. and the Boston Fruit Company.

      The USA imports 90,000 tons of fruit on board ships with refrigerated cargo holds.

      1900The fleet of merchant vessels with cold stores comprises 356 units.

      Great Britain imports 360,000 tons of frozen meat: 220,000 tons from Argentina, 95,000 tons from New Zealand and 45,000 tons from Australia.

      Elders and Fyffes Ltd, offer weekly departures with their reefer vessels between the UK and Central America.

      1902Foundation of the Fruchthandel-Gesellschaft mbH in Bremen. 56 Bremen merchants and companies with a capital of 500,000 RM are involved in the foundation. Founders: F.E. Schütte (German-American Petroleum Company, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Dampfschiffahrts-Gesellschaft “Argo”), Alfred Lohmann (Australian representative of North German Lloyd), Senator Hermann Freese (Member of the Supervisory Board of North German Lloyd), H.A. Nolze (Director of the Dampfschiffahrts- Gesellschaft “Neptun” and Member of the Supervisory Board of the Bremer Lagerhaus-Gesellschaft), Alfred Hoffmann (Partner of the company Hoffmann & Leisewitz). The aim of the company is to build up a fresh fruit business which until then had not existed in Bremen and to create cargo for a newly established Mediterranean service of the Dampfschiffahrts-Gesellschaft “Argo”. Gustav Scipio becomes managing director.

      Lloyd’s Register counts 460 seagoing vessels with refrigeration systems.

      The United Fruit Company deploys reefer vessels built in England with passenger facilities in service between the USA and Central America.

      1903/1904 The SIBIRIA and SARNIA, which have been converted into refrigerated ships, transport bananas from the Caribbean to the US East Coast on the Atlas Line, which belongs to HAPAG, on the basis of contracts with the United Fruit Company.

      1910On 23 June, Hamburg fruit importers found the Hamburg Columbien Bananen AG (HCB AG).

      The new company acquires a concession from the Hamburg-based Albingia consortium for 525,000 Marks to purchase land in Colombia. Banana plantations are started in the Gulf of Urabà following the example of the United Fruit Company and the necessary infrastructure measures are implemented.

      1911The F. Laeisz shipping company founds the Afrikanische Frucht-Compagnie A.G.

      1912SARNIA (HAPAG) is unloading the first batch of bananas from the Caribbean in Hamburg.

      KARL SCHURZ and EMIL L. BOAS (HAPAG) are the first German reefer ship newbuildings after the SEVERUS (Reederei C. Andersen), but are also built at English shipyards.

      1913The British merchant fleet comprises 230 ships with refrigerated cargo holds.

      1914The Tecklenborg shipyard in Geestemünde is the first reefer ship built in Germany to deliver the PUNGO and the PIONIER to the F. Laeisz shipping company.

      1935Union Handels- und Schiffahrtsgesellschaft is founded in Bremen under the significant influence of Gustav Scipio by Bremen and Hamburg investors and United Fruit Co., each of which holds one third of the company shares.

      The volume of imports of refrigerated cargo transported on ocean-going vessels reaches one million tons in Great Britain.

      1939Fruchtreederei H. Schuldt & Co., Hamburg, is founded with the participation of W. Bruns, Hamburg.

      1949In November 1949 the BRITISH COLUMBIA EXPRESS (from 1950 QUADRIGA, W. Bruns, Hamburg) discharges a cargo of bananas at the banana pier in Bremerhaven as the first refrigerated ship after the Second World War.

      1950The fruit importer W. Bruns, Hamburg, puts its first refrigerated ship, the QUADRIGA, into service.

      1951F. Laeisz takes over the first post-war refrigerated ship newbuildings PROTEUS and PERSEUS from the German shipyard.

      The H. Schult shipping company receives the newbuilding ANGELBURG.

      1959Hamburg Süd takes over its first post-war refrigerated ship CAP BLANCO (1) from Kiel-based Howaldtswerke.

      The A.F. Harmstorf shipping company has its first refrigerated ship GÜLDENSAND built at the company’s own Schlichting shipyard.

      1962The Deutsche Seereederei, Rostock, buys the reefer vessels FRITZ REUTER (1) and JOHN BRINCKMAN (1).

      1965Under German flag 69 reefer vessels are sailing, 52 of them in the pure banana trade. This makes the Federal Republic of Germany the world leader in the supply of refrigerated cargo space for the transport of bananas, with 18.1 %, ahead of Sweden with 15.1 %.

      Hamburg Süd takes over the fleet of the Heinrich C. Horn shipping company, Hamburg.

      1969The shipping companies OCL and ACT employ new container vessels with Conair reefer berths (326 TEU) in the Europe-Australia service

      1970United Brands Company is the result of the merger of United Fruit Company and AMK, whose owner acquired the majority of UFC’s shares.

      The Intermare/Frigomaris/Ganymed alliance begins to operate with five refrigerated vessels initiated by Maritime Fruit Carriers.

      Hapag-Lloyds SYDNEY EXPRESS transports refrigerated cargo in 120 Conair containers on the Australia Service.

      1971J. Lauritzen and P & O employ their reefer vessels in the newly established Pool Lauritzen-Peninsular Reefers (LPR).

      1973ENCOUNTER BAY (ACT Containers), with a capacity of 326 reefer TEU, is put into service.

      1976Maritime Fruit Carriers, Haifa/Israel, is insolvent.

      1978The fleet of refrigerated ships of the W. Bruns shipping company, Hamburg, is sold.

      1979Rob. M. Sloman, Hamburg, gives up reefer shipping. With interruptions, the shipping company was active in this business segment from 1881 to 1979.

      1981Union Reederei, Bremen, sells the last two reefer vessels to J. Lauritzen, Denmark.

      1982F. Laeisz orders the 290-FEU PURITAN as the first pure reefer-containership worldwide in Japan.

      1983The Alpha Reefer Pool is founded in Hamburg. “ALPHA” stands for the three founding members: A for Alpina, L for Laskarides and HA for Harmstorf.

      1984United