When container shipping services gathered momentum on the trade routes of the world in the early 1970s, several German owners seized the opportunity to build vessels purely for the purpose of chartering out.
Many of them were geared, multi-purpose type vessels that could only accommodate several hundred teu. Today, chartered container ships carry anything up to 14,000teu.
On the local scene, the Offen, Oltmann, Rickmers and Schulte interests have been represented here in recent years by chartered-out vessels. And smaller German companies feature among them also.
Another that was to make its debut here was Reedereri F. A. Vinnen. Its Merkur Sky had been listed to call here next week on charter to Mediterranean Shipping. Schedules are often subject to change, and the visit by this interesting vessel, unfortunately, has been cancelled.
The company itself is the oldest active shipping company in Bremen. It can trace its history back to 1819 when it started up importing and exporting tobacco.
Later, it was the proud owner of some notable sailing ships. Among the last to be built for it was the 3476gt Magdalene Vinnen. Completed by the Krupp yard at Kiel in September 1921, the four-masted barque had the added luxury of being fitted with a diesel auxiliary engine.
Even in those days of steam and the early motor ships, Magdalene Vinnen seldom failed to find a cargo. And on the voyage from Sydney to Falmouth, via Cape Horn, it carried 16,000 bales of wool, a record shipment for a sailing ship.
Vinnens sold the vessel in 1936 to Norddeutscher Lloyd, also of Bremen, and it was renamed Kommodore Johnsen and employed as a cargo-carrying, sail training vessel.
In May 1945, the vessel was handed over to the Soviet Union as part of war-damage reparations. Since then, it has carried the name Sedov and is now owned by the Murmansk State Technical University.
The present Vinnen fleet of about nine vessels would have been built with names including the prefix Merkur (Mercury). But today more than half of them are operating under different charterer's names.
The 28,662gt Merkur Sky was the last of a class of eight vessels 2604teu built from 1994-97 at Flensburg by FlensburgerSchiffbau for different owners. Three that have joined the MSC fleet since 2001 have been seen here (2007-09) as MSC's Canberra, Eleonora and Lara.
Merkur Sky was laid down on February 24, 1997, launched on June 26, and delivered in September. The ship entered service under that name, and earlier this year reverted to that name.
Since 1998 it had served in succession on charter as Zim Piraeus, MSC's Gauteng, Sicily, California, and until more recently, as CMA CGM Ylang.
In 1982, two vessels built for Vinnens were launched from the Neptun yard at Rostock as Merkur Delta and Merkur Beach. However, they were sold to Trikora Lloyd of Jakarta and entered service, the former as Bimantara Dua and the sister as Bimantara Satu.
These 9354gt, 428teu sisters are the only Indonesian-flag ships to have called here.
They were employed on the New Zealand Orient Line service, whose calls here were inaugurated by Bimantara Dua on December 21, 1993. Her sister ship followed on January 14, 1994.
After making 10 visits between them, they were replaced by other vessels that year.
