S - H. Vogemann

Ralf Nagel
Just a Few Words
In many ways, it is remarkable that a shipping company which started its professional life
with the barque “Western Chief” and two small cargo steamships 125 years ago, has now
grown into a world-class consortium with a fleet of two million tonnes deadweight.
It is all the more remarkable as the family business started to pitch itself against the big
league players at a very early stage and became used to keeping up in terms of size, speed
and market shares in order to compete. Eighteen eighty-six was the year that saw inauguration
of the Statue of Liberty on the other side of the Atlantic, and also the year that
saw the shipping company being established in Hamburg, as yet exclusively aimed towards
European trade. But this direction quickly turned across the ocean. Since 1886, millions of
immigrants have taken the Grand Lady at the entrance to New York's port to be a symbol
for the start of a better life, and it is in much the same vein that the many and ever larger
vessels put into service since then have also become the embodiment for the wealth of
ideas, creativity and tenacity of the shipping company which exists to this day.
This company is also remarkable because it is still in private hands today. The company
founder's great-great-granddaughter, Christiane von Saldern, christened the “Vogerunner”,
the second-largest ship flying the German flag, just two years ago in Japan. In her
witty and charming christening speech, the Godmother highlighted the close relationship
between the founding family and the present company owners. Whilst representing the German
Ship-owners' Association at the naming ceremony, Dr. Heitmann, the in-house legal
advisor, experienced the loyalty, fidelity and friendship of the present CEO both towards the
company's roots as well as towards all of the partners. Family warmth, Hanseatic merchants
and innovative creative power; such a fusion contributes towards one of the greatest
strengths of the German shipping location. And is the reason why we are especially
delighted by the company's active participation in the Ship-owners' Association.
Shipping is a business field which is dependent upon economic cycles and shaped by tech-
nological advances. The Vogemann shipping company has been successful in mastering
these challenges for more than one-and-a-quarter centuries. As a foundation of its work,
this tradition is something of which to be proud.
Ralf Nagel, Senator (retired)
Executive Member of the Presidium
Association of German Ship-owners
Chapter 1 – History of the H. Vogemann Company 1886 – 1946 5