Caterpillar Marine - Marine Engines Caterpillar

MV “Thies” (1) was the first ship of the shipping company build
in Germany
And so the youngster gradually
became acquainted with the company‘s
business – „learning by doing“, as
we would say today. Armin Klingenberg
had to do everything that had to
be done in the small firm, such as drawing
up clearing and provisions lists, and
he had to go everywhere, for example
to the customs and the port authority –
naturally on foot! If, for instance, a ship
berthed on the Rethe had to be cleared,
that meant a walk of two and a half
hours from Altona through the Elbe
tunnel and, of course, trudging for the
same time back, naturally in all kinds
of weather. That not only toughened
the spirit of the young Armin but also
gave the budding shipbroker a wealth
of experience from which he admits
he still benefits today. At that time, the
company Hauschild continued to focus
on grain and feed cargoes.
Armin Klingenberg completed his
training in 1959. He must have really
satisfied his superior, who praised his
performance and capabilities: „Klingenberg
always performed well
during his training; as far
as can now be determined,
Klingenberg has the capability
to be a shipbroker for
coasters.“
Klingenberg then very
quickly succeeded in
acquiring his own regular
clientele by providing customers
with a highly personal
service, as he recalls.
When the coasters came
to him as shipbroker, they
were first served fresh rolls
and coffee and even given
the mass tabloid „Bild“ to
glance at before getting
down to business. „That
was what it was like at
that time, and it is in various respects
a shame that so much has been lost
of these very personal contacts.“ This
personal approach proved so successful
that quite soon, in 1964, Klingenberg
became a partner in the company
Albert Hauschild, which gradually
expanded its business over the North
Sea and Baltic: Seville, Casablanca or
Archangelsk then became destinations.
This met with a lack of understanding
in the traditional world of coaster shipping.
Voyages involving seven or more
days at sea were undertaken. „But you
just don‘t do that,“ it was frequently
murmured. But Armin Klingenberg did
do it, and was successful, which was
probably also a reason why he was
transferred further shares in the company.
Time for a rethink
A turning point not only for German
coaster shipping but also for Armin Klingenberg‘s
strategy was prompted by
MV “Nadja” with a container capacity of 672 TEU
Shipping line profile
MV “Thies” (2), able to carry 580 TEU
the scrappings required by the federal
government in 1967-68. To promote
fleet renewal, bonuses were paid for
older and smaller ships handed over for
breaking up. But precisely those were
the vessels that had been brokered by
Hauschild, and with their withdrawal
a substantial part of this business was
lost. A rethink was required, and in this
situation it meant that the company had
to acquire its own tonnage. So in 1969
Hauschild ordered its first newbuilding,
the 1,150 tdw „Ines“, which could also
carry 52 TEU, in the Netherlands. Further
newbuildings of up to 2,000 tdw
from Dutch yards followed. Klingenberg
pursued a basically sound newbuilding
strategy that has been retained up to
the present day. He explains: „I didn‘t, of
course, have any money from the scrappings
as start-up capital. I financed everything,
up to today, with the money I
earned with my company.“ The ships
were deployed mainly for transporting
timber between Scandinavia as well as
the White Sea and England.
However, Klingenberg
definitely also had confidence
in German shipbuilding,
which he duly
demonstrated with an
initial order placed with
Sietas Shipyard in 1974.
This was for the 1,500 tdw
MS „Thies“, which could
load up to 2,500 cbm of
packaged timber. As the
agreed construction sum
of DM4.4m did not quite
correspond to Klingenberg‘s
available means, the
head of Sietas at that time,
Johann Jakob, naturally
helped out with a contribution,
which was later
repaid. The parties came
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