This year’s African Night, followed by the summer party, had the

purpose of thanking our custom-ers and employees for their loyalty and dedication. Both evenings were full of fun. There was, moreover, another reason to celebrate. Shortly before the start of the African Night, a contract for the acquisition of the United Africa Feeder Line Group (UAFL) was signed. This is a vital step towards the strate-gic expansion of DAL’s activities in Africa.

The major East-West routes, our expertise and knowhow and espe-cially the many years of personal customer care have given us an excellent reputation. The emphasis of our activities continues to be the African continent with its real economic growth, raw materials potential and a growing purchasing power, amongst others. The pur-chase of UAFL is yet a further step in our strategy towards recognition as a leading Africa specialist, and, in doing so, expand into other sec-tors of the logistics market.

The four individual operating divisions of UAFL, namely con-tainer transport, port operations, ships agency and trading activities, all complement one another. As a consequence UAFL has been able to develop niche markets in the Indian Ocean and East Africa, which have been only partly or not serviced at all by the bigger container lines.

Our container volumes will almost double and the possibility exists for operating our own vessels as a result of advantageous prices for second-hand tonnage.

DAL’s activities in these sectors are relevant, because an analysis of cargo flows shows that African trade is shifting from Europe towards Asia. This is positive for both UAFL and DAL be cause of its specialised position in Africa. Yours, Eberhart von Rantzau

July/2011

newsThe Group’s In-House Magazine www.rantzau.de

On 16 June 2011 a contract was signed in Hamburg with which Deutsche Afrika-

Linien bought the United African Feeder Line (UAFL) group.

The privately owned company, based in Mauritius, has focused its activities on the Indian Ocean, the Middle East/Indian subcontinent and East Africa, and will thus enable DAL to gain a much stronger foot-hold in this growing shipping mar-kets. Previously, DAL had only been active in this area with a Europe - Indian Ocean Island service togeth-er with their partner MSC.

The UAFL group is comprised of four companies that are closely connected as far as their business fields are concerned.

UAFL is a shipowning company with a fleet of seven vessels up to a size of 1700 TEU, consisting of purely chartered tonnage so far. The trade routes include: the Mid-dle East Express with its three 1700 TEU ships “Marcampania”, “Posi-tano” (formerly sailing as “DAL East London”) and “Trave Trader”. Departures every 12 days calling at Karachi, Jebel Ali, Zanzibar, Mut-samudu, Tanga, Mombasa and then back to Karachi; the Island Express Service with the 1700 TEU vessel “UAFL Mauritius” provid-ing monthly sailings and calling at Durban, Tulear, Ehoala, Tamatave, Port Louis, Reunion, Seychelles, Diego, Longoni, Mutsamudu, Tulear, Durban; the Moroni Shuttle

every five days from Mutsamudu, Longoni, Moroni to Mutsamudu, and the Mocimboa Shuttle every seven days between Mutsamudu and Mocimboa with MV “Thor Hanne” (125 TEU); and the Que-limane Shuttle every 14 days from Mutsamudu, Nosy Be, Mahajanga, Quelimane, Pemba and back to Mutsamudu with MV “Athens” (600 TEU).

The agency Spanfreight Ship-ping provides back-office activities for UAFL and is based in Momba-sa/Kenya; Eastbourne Maritime, a trading company which buys and sells commodities – mainly rice and cement – is located on Sey-chelles; and Anjouan Stevedoring Company,

“Johann Essberger” christened in Hamburg …(continued on page 2)

DAL purchases UAFL GroupContract signed in Hamburg/Mauritius-based company serves Indian Ocean destinations

After successful signing of UAFL purchase contract: Dr Dag-Sven Dieckmann, Mr Tushar Pujara, Mr Hartmut Luehr, Mr Heinrich von Rantzau, Mr David Mitchell, Mr Denis Sek Sum, Dr Eberhart von Rantzau, Mr Matthew Luckhurst, Mr Nicholas Horvath

Johann von Rantzau, whom the ship was named after, and godmother Kristiina Murtomaeki of Borealis Polymer OY in front of the tanker

Starting with the chemical tanker “Johann Essberger” (5,300dwt), the first in a

series of 3 sister ships from the Turkish Eregli yard, was christened in Hamburg on 28th June. The crew under Master Zarko Boko had got the ship shipshape and Bristol fash-ion for the naming ceremony and berthed at the Hamburg Cruise Center Altona, virtually a stone’s throw from the headquarters of Essberger

…by Kristiina Murtomaeki

of Borealis Polymer OY

(continued on page 5)

2 2332

Taking over UAFL Four individual companies complement each other

an associ-ated group company, is a terminal operator on the Comoros island Anjouan, its headquarters located on Mauritius.

UAFL moves about 75,000 con-tainers a year and has a pool of around 10,000 containers.

Via AnjouanThe four individual companies complement each other. For example, the trading company Eastbourne Maritime generates container shipments from Paki-stan to the Indian Ocean islands to achieve high utilisation of the ships. Via the terminal in Anj-ouan, the containers are tran-shipped in order to reach the draught-restricted ports of the islands.

UAFL is run by a highly-moti-vated, experienced and well-coordinated management team consisting of: Chris Barnes, COO Mauritius, Tushar Pujara, CFO Mombasa, Matthew Luckhurst, Commercial/Line Manager, Wil-liam Bland, Terminal Manager and Michael McKeown, Trading Manager. The former Managing Owner of UAFL, David Mitchell,

A day packed with information in Hamburg

Essberger Tanker’s “Anneliese Essberger” is the former “UCT Espen” Essberger Tankers’ “Amalie Essberger” is the former “UCT Elwood”

Velile during her impressive performance on stage

Dr Eberhart von Rantzau making a speech to the audience

German South African friendship demonstrated by Mrs Patricia von Rantzau and Minister Cassandra Mbuyane-Mokone from the SA embassy in Berlin

Members and clients of our Turkish agency Arcas. On the right, Mrs Balci and Mrs Akman

Mrs Zhao Xin & Mr Li Mingong from Yang Fang yard, Mrs & Mrs Heinrich v Rantzau

Mr & Mrs Kramming of LS International Cargo

Mrs & Mr Manigk (Kopf & Lübben), Mrs & Mr Fajs (Schenker)

Prof. & Mrs Greve,Cons Gen Hungary

Mr David Mitchell (UAFL) & Minister Mbuyane-Mokone

Dr Dieckmann (DAL), Mr Tushar Pujara (UAFL), Dr Alvarez (DAL)

Mr M Hahnemann (Inter-fracht), Mrs Schweele (SACO)

Mrs Angela & Mr Guntram Kolbe (Panalpina)

Dr Eliane Achten (Dosse-laare & Achten), Mr Luehr

Mr Tausendfreund (DAL) Mr & Mrs Laband (Carl Polzin)

Mrs Katrin Hinneberg (W J Hinneberg)

Mr Hans Dunker (CTC), Mr M Popken (DAL Ag)

Mr Manfred & Mrs A Siedenburg (DHL)

Mrs Roswitha Thesenfitz, Prof Dietrich, Hon Cons Uganda

Mr and Mrs Lars Guldborg (Geodis)

Minister Mbuyane on the dance floor

Consul Tomio Sakamoto & Mrs Mayumi Sakamoto, (Japan Cons. General)

Mrs Bele Skopp, Mr Lutz & Mrs Dominique Wempe (Schenker)

Mr & Mrs Conrad (Lexau, Scharbau & Co), Mr Bachler, Dr & Mrs von Rantzau

VIP-table with Mr Heinrich & Mrs Annette von Rantzau

Mr Salah Sharaf, Mr Kapil Celly, Mr Essa Sharaf (Sharaf Group), Dr von Rantzau

R epresentatives from DAL Agencies in 22 European and Eastern Mediterra-

nean countries and from the DAL Agency organisation in South Africa followed the invitation of the Liner Trades management and gathered in Hamburg for a DAL Agency Meeting on the day before the African Night.

After Michael Davies, DAL Trades Director, and his Liner Trades team colleagues had dis-played their language skills by greeting the participants in their

native languages, the day was packed with a number of informa-tive and creative interactive sessions.

Especially in the breaks be-tween the sessions and in an in-formal and relaxed gathering in the evening the personal contacts between all were developed and intensified.

As an extra highlight the agents knowledge of DAL and its his-tory was tested in a quiz with the winning workshop team being rewarded with a small memento of their visit to Hamburg.

will still be assisting the company in an advisory capacity.

When DAL takes over, the operations of UAFL will remain unchanged for the time being and it will be business as usual. From the DAL management, Mr Luehr will be responsible for UAFL. Dr Sven-Dag Dieckmann will be rep-resenting DAL on site, where he will also be looking into potential synergy effects and examining further possibilities of expansion together with the UAFL team.

Anjouan terminal, Comoros Islands

UAFL head office, Mauritius

All UCT tankers now sail under Essberger funnel All ships carry traditional company names/4 staff members of UCT commercial management join Essberger Tankers

F ollowing the previously reported acquisition of UCT, all six vessels have been suc-

cessfully delivered, renamed and integrated into the Essberger Tankers fleet. They are now com-mercially operated from our office in Hamburg. We also welcome

on board Nicole Luebker, Svenja Gruenker, Alexander Sack and Malte Dabbert, who joined us from the UCT organisation. As reported previously, technical and crewing services will continue to be provided by Columbia Ship Management.

The “AnnELiEsE EssbErGEr” (formerly “UCT Espen”) was taken over in Hamburg on 5 May as the first vessel. The “WiLHELminE EssbErGEr” (formerly “UCT Ellis”) followed on 16 May, the “AmALiE EssbErGEr”

(formerly “UCT Elwood”) and “ELLEn EssbErGEr” (formerly “UCT Elizabeth”) on 23 May,the “LiEsEL EssbErGEr” (formerly “UCT Everad”) on 17 June and, as the last vessel, the “LisA EssbErGEr” (formerly “UCT Engle”) on 22 June.

(continued from page 1)

DAL Liner services Agency meetingInvitation to Hamburg/22 countries attend

DAL celebrates 7th African night in HamburgClients, partners and members of the consular corps meet in the gardens of DAL. South Africa’s honorary consul

Dr Eberhart von Rantzau welcomes the guests to a true African dinner and music by Durban singer Velile

4 4554

Tankers. The ship had been delivered on 16 March in Turkey, and since then had been operating successfully in North West Europe.

The godmother was Mrs Kris-tiina Murtomaeki, Logistics Man-ager of Borealis Oy. Essberger Tankers has had a major contract with Borealis for more than 10 years, covering all of their exports of phenol and acetone from Por-voo in Finland to the UK and ARA. The ceremony was attended by many employees of John T. Ess-berger, as well as customers and representatives from institutions that had arranged the financing and technical supervision of the vessel’s construction. Hamburg provided a spectacular backdrop, with clear blue skies and summery temperatures. All the members of the von Rantzau family were present, including the eldest son of Heinrich and Annette von Rant-zau, Johann Heinrich von Rantzau, after whom the ship was named.

Following an official welcoming by Dr Eberhart von Rantzau, Mrs Murtomaeki carried out the chris-tening ceremony. Afterwards, eve-ryone had the opportunity to go on board and explore the “Johann Essberger” before she left the port in the early evening to load cargo in Stade, south of Hamburg. The christening party ended the day with a festive meal at the von Rantzau’s private estate, the Weißes Haus (“White House”).

In his speech at the dinner reception, Heinrich von Rantzau emphasised the close and long-term business relations between Essberger Tankers and Borealis and thanked Mrs Murtomaeki with an anchor-chain-design bracelet, a traditional gift to the godmother of a ship at the ceremony.

Mrs Murtomaeki, in turn, expressed her appreciation for being invited to the christening and spoke of the high quality and reliability of Essberger Tankers’ service.

Captain Zarko Boko and most of the “Johann Essberger” crew

Post-naming dinner at the White House, the von Rantzau estate

Mr Nystrom, Mrs Ücüncü (Med Marine)

Philipp v Rantzau inside a tank

Everybody happy on a sunny day: Mrs Annette von Rantzau, Captain Zarko Boko, Mr Heinrich von Rantzau, Mrs Kristiina Murtomaeki, Dr Eberhart von Rantzau, Mrs Patricia von Rantzau

Godmother receiving a gift Essberger Tankers’ Hugo Finlay in pre-naming action

Three cheers for “Johann Essberger”Naming ceremony at the Altona Cruise Terminal

(continued from page 1)

By inviting all staff members and pensioners of the DAL/JTE Group, the von Rantzau

family says: Thanks to all of you! In his adress Mr Heinrich von Rantzau gave an overview

of the company policy and presented all the members of the family.

Welcome to the sommerfest

Mr Gotthard Igla with his colleagues during the reception at the Essberger House Warm words, colourful flowers: Mr Igla and Dr von Rantzau

6 7

PoLiTiCs/THE EConomy: The so-called EHEC Escherichia coli is a coli bacterium that regularly occurs in the summer months. It is commonly found in the lower intestine of ruminants and passed on to humans through unpasteurised milk, raw meat and vegetables, causing severe bouts of diarrhoea that are, however, usually not fatal. Yet in May, an alarming EHEC epidemic broke out in northern Germany and spread across the country with a new strain of the bacteria lead-ing to several deaths. This new strain is resistant to antibiotics, causes kidney failure and serious neurological damage. No cure has been found so far. Initially, scientists presumed cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuce to be the carrier – which was incorrect, as it later turned out. A clear chain of evidence finally found the cul-prit: a farm in northern Germany that grows organic sprouts for sal-ads. Finally it turned out that the EHEC bacteria was introduced to Europe by sprout seeds from Egypt. In big cities such as Ham-burg, the EHEC epidemic led to many hospitals struggling to treat the large number of patients. 51 patients died. In northern Ger-many the demand for vegetables collapsed, entailing high losses for farmers.

u Chancellor Angela Merkel was invited to a festive reception in Washington by President Obama. During her visit, she was awarded the Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award the American Pres-ident can bestow. On account of Ms Merkel’s decision not to take part in the NATO intervention in Libya, the relations between Ger-many and the White House are currently somewhat tense. u As a result of the nuclear disaster in Fukushima, the German public – who are extremely sceptical of atomic power anyway – have put so much pressure on the government that the cabinet decided to take all German nuclear power stations off the grid by 2022 and switch to only renewable sources of energy such as wind power. Germany’s inde-pendent initiative is strongly criti-cised by its neighbouring states.u The German federal state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany’s leader in technical innovations and home of companies such as Porsche and Mercedes-Benz, has elected a minister president who is not from the conservative party CDU, but from the Green party. A first in the state’s history. Minister president Winfried Kretschmann, a former chemistry teacher, has formed a coalition with the Social Democrats, the SPD. According to opinion polls, if national elections were held today,

the Greens would be the second strongest party in Germany, behind the CDU and ahead of the SPD.u Germany’s military involve-ment and international mission to bring peace to Afghanistan is increasingly taking its toll as German soldiers deployed in the northern part of the country are coming under attack from a grow-ing insurgency by Taleban rebels. Bombings are the most common cause of German casualties. By the end of May, 49 German soldiers had lost their lives in Afghanistan. u While the German economy is surging ahead as a result of the upswing in Europe, the European Union will have to provide finan-cial aid amounting to billions of euros to several partner states that are on the verge of bankruptcy. Ireland has already received funds, Greece needs further payments and Portugal has likewise been put on a financial drip, though the recently elected conservative Portuguese government is trying to enforce stringent cost-cutting measures. Greece, in particular, is a cause for concern for German banks in view of the fact that they hold 22.7 billion dollars in Greek government bonds.u The arrest of Serbian war crim-inal General Ratko Mladic after nearly 16 years on the run and more than 15 years after the end

of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia opens the door to Ser-bia’s long-sought European Union membership. Mladic, who was last living in hiding at a relative’s house near the capital Belgrade, was extradited to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, a specially established war crimes tribunal in the Neth-erlands. The charges brought against him include the massacre of more than 8000 Bosnian men and boys in Srebrenica in July 1995, the largest mass murder in Europe since World War II.

sPorT: For the first time, the German national football team has succeeded in winning all its qualifying matches for the UEFA EURO 2012 European champion-ships to be held in Poland/Ukraine in June/July next year by beating all the other teams in the group: Belgium, Turkey, Austria, Azerbai-jan and Kazakhstan.u Germany’s goalkeeper Manuel Neuer (25), who previously played for cup winner Schalke 04, will be moving to Bayern Munich in the coming season. The transfer is costing Bayern (an estimated) 25 million euros. Neuer, who is regarded as the best goalkeeper in the world, is thus the most expen-sive goalkeeper in the history of German football.

Talking points in Germany

A very special day for mr igla, Chairman of the Works Council25 years service with the DAL/JTE Group and 15 years’ service for his colleagues are worth an official reception

25th anniversary of music foundationHamburg musical director Simone Young and soloists

perform a chamber concert at the von Rantzau estate

G otthard Igla is the chairman of the works council at the Deutsche Afrika-Linien/

John T. Essberger Group. On 1 July, he celebrated 25 years’ service with the company at a reception held at the Essberger offices in Hamburg.

In his congratulatory speech, Dr Eberhart von Rantzau com-mended Mr Igla with the words: “The wish to do something for the community runs through Mr Igla’s life like a thread.”

Gotthard Igla was born in Ham-burg. Having completed school, he first did an apprenticeship as a fit-ter at the shipyard Blohm + Voss and remained in this job for two years after he had passed his exams. In 1986, he applied for a position in the IT department of the Deutsche

Afrika-Linien/John T. Essberger Group, the IFU, and was initially employed as an EDP operator on shift work. However, he was soon entrusted with additional duties. It was only recently that he started tackling the highly complex issue of purchasing and materials man-agement in co-operation with the Controlling department and he has meanwhile developed accord-ing programs. Besides his demand-ing career, as a single parent, he also had considerable responsibil-ity in his family life.

Nonetheless, he always took the time for community work. From 1975 to 1998, he was a member of the volunteer fire brigade in Uhlen-horst, becoming a chief fire officer by the time he left. As a technical assistance trainer, he shared much

of his valuable know-how and experience with his fellow firemen in those years. A few years later, in 2004, he was elected a member of the church council of the parish Kirchengemeinde Hamburg Eil-bek Friedenskirche-Osterkirche. At our shipping company, he like-wise volunteered to do additional work and became a member of the works council in 1996. Two years later, he was elected chairman of this council, a position that he still holds today.

Three times chairmanDr von Rantzau said: “It is obvi-ous how well you do this job from the fact that you have been elected chairman three times running and are still the chairman of our works

council to this very day. I wish to thank you for this, also on behalf of my brother as well as the manage-ment and all the staff.

With your voluntary work, both in the past and present, you set a shining example of public spirit and responsibility, without which no community could function. We have come to know you as a works council chairman with good judge-ment, insisting on action, yet always intent on finding a consensus, and dedicated to the wellbeing of the staff. Of course we hope very much that you will continue your activi-ties on behalf of the works council for many more years to come and we will all support you to the best of our ability. Dear Mr Igla, you will always find a ready ear for vour ideas, suggestions an initiatives.”

To commemorate the 25th anniversary of Stiftung Philharmonische Gesells-

chaft Hamburg (Hamburg Phil-harmonic Society Foundation), Chairman of the Board Dr Eber-hart von Rantzau hosted a cham-ber concert at the “Weißes Haus” estate in Hamburg-Blankenese on 22 May. Hamburg’s Musical Director Prof. Simone Young and four soloists saw to the musical part of the evening.

Booked outAs always at the chamber music concerts at Weißes Haus, not one of the 90 seats remained empty.

The foundation was set up in 1987 by Liselotte von Rantzau at the sug-gestion of Prof. Ernst Schönfelder who headed the highly acclaimed Philharmonic State Orchestra back then. The orchestra was undergoing a period of restruc-turing, and in order to maintain its status as a renowned Hamburg music institution, financial aid was urgently needed. Since state funding was not available, Mrs von Rantzau secured the initial financing and gave permission for Weißes Haus to be used for music events. A circle of music connois-seurs was soon found who were prepared to fund the foundation with their donations. Since then,

this money has been used to pay towards the orchestra’s projects – travel costs, instruments, advertis-ing – for which no public funding is available. As a thank-you ges-ture, the musicians perform the chamber concerts at Weißes Haus without receiving any fee for these evenings.

The chamber concerts of the Foundation are very intimate and

high-class events, both as regards the music and the audiences: a fine example of Hanseatic patron-age. The von Rantzau family runs the Foundation, with Dr Ottmar Gast, CEO of the shipping com-pany Hamburg-Süd, the Founda-tion’s Managing Director Simone Young as well as co-founder Prof. Ernst Schönfelder on the Board of Trustees.

T his picture is a so-called daguerreotype, which could be described as the mother

of all photography. The process involves exposing a plate coated in a layer of silver halide – its surface resembling that of a mirror – to light. The substrate was usually a copper plate. The name of the technique, “daguerreotype”, origi-nates from its inventor, the painter Louis Daguerre, who invented this photographic process in 1839. Every daguerreotype shows a unique mirror-image.

Due to the long exposure times, stills such as buildings, for exam-ple, were initially preferred motifs.

One of these buildings was the Baur town house located at Pal-maille 49 in Hamburg, built from 1801 to 1805 by Danish architect Christian Friedrich Hansen for the merchant Georg Friedrich Baur. Since 1937, the former “Baur’sche Palais” has belonged to the Rant-zau/Essberger family and houses the head office of the Deutsche Afrika-Linien/John T. Essberger Group.

The exact date when this pic-ture was taken is unknown, but presumably it was in the 1840s, because after 1850 there were new techniques that soon made daguerreotypes somewhat out-

dated. The building has remained more or less unchanged and main-ly serves as a meeting and confer-ence room in the park overlooking the river Elbe. This daguerreotype of the building was recently found in the attic, hidden away under stacks of old files.

Essberger House on rare photoA daguerreotype dating back to the mid-19th century

A plate coated in a layer of silver halide, probably made around 1845

Home of many great concerts: the White House in Hamburg-Blankenese

8 9

T he tanker “Wilhelmine Ess-berger” (18,390 dwt) has been like a kind of phan-

tom in shipping company John T. Essberger’s history, always men-tioned when anyone talks about good and bad luck in the tanker business. The recent find of American archive photos taken of the sinking ship in the last few minutes of her service life is rea-son enough to take another look at the tanker’s story.

The “Wilhelmine Essberger” was delivered by Deutsche Werft AG in Hamburg in 1954. It was a highly modern motor vessel with a length of 177 metres, a beam of 22 metres and a draught of 9 metres. An MAN 8-cylinder two-stroke diesel engine ena-bled cruising speeds of up to 14 knots. The ship was fitted with 22 cargo tanks with 24,670 m3 and manned by a crew of 46.

For ten years, the vessel car-ried crude oil for Vacuum Oel AG (Mobil) and lubricating oil, mostly destined for Bremen.

In 1964, the ship was convert-ed into a chemical tanker by the shipyard Nordseewerke in Emden and put into service under her new name “Essberger Chemist”. The tanker was fitted with effec-

tive insulation, separating all the tank compartments from each other, and acid resistant coating applied on the inside walls of the tanks. The usually highly aggres-sive chemicals must not only be prevented from coming into contact with each but also from any ingress of seawater and out-side air. The chemical transport trade was still in its infancy back then and much still needed to be learnt about proper cargo han-dling, despite efforts reflecting the know-how acquired from previ-ous experience had gone into the design in way of protection.

On 2 June 1967, the “Essberger Chemist” was en route with a cargo of acetone and alcohol from Rotterdam to Texas. In the early hours of the morning, the vessel passed the Azorean island Sao Miguel. The sky was blue, the sea calm, and most of the crew members were busy doing paint-ing work on the aft tank deck.

At 10 a.m., the daily tea break started, which the crew usu-ally spent in their quarters at the stern of the ship. The break took a little longer than usual that day.

At 10:20 a.m., a powerful explosion shook the tanker, with

a second detonation following shortly after. Thick clouds of smoke and gas soon enveloped the mid-ship superstructure. The ship had broken into two pieces, both drifting independently of each other on the quiet sea. Nonetheless, the crew managed to get into the life boats, while a continuous SOS signal was sent out by the radio equipment on the bridge. The same evening, all the crew members were taken on board by the Norwegian freighter “Tormar” unharmed. A miracle.

At first, attempts were made to salvage the stern half of the “Ess-berger Chemist”. These efforts were not successful. Since there were still 1,700 tonnes of highly explosive cargo on the fore part of the ship and the stern half posed a dangerous obstacle at sea for other vessels, both parts had to be sunk. The British nuclear submarine HMS “Dreadnought” fired a torpedo and the shellfire from frigate HMS “Salisbury” completed the job. These aerial shots show the sinking of the “Essberger Chemist” on 24 June 1967.

The explosion on board was most probably caused by a static charge in the tanks.

The forward section of the vessel floating in the Mid-Atlantic unmanned – a hazard to shipping

Under the name “Wilhelmine Essberger” the 18,390 dwt tanker carried crude oil. In 1964 the vessel was converted into a chemical tanker and re-named “Essberger Chemist”

24 June 1967: Hit by a torpedo from nuclear submarine HMS “Dreadnought” the forward section is engulfed by smoke

Deon Eyssen of DAL Agency Cape Town in cycle marathon 35,000 competitors in the world’s largest timed cycling event/Deon has taken 14 times

DAL Agency Cape Town gives a “DAL Kahalari” tourKuehne + Nagel’s wine division team had many questions

On Sunday, 10 April 2011 DAL Agency Cape Town arranged a vessel visit for

Kuehne + Nagel’s wine division team. The visit commenced at 7a.m. in the morning and everyone was received by Chief Officer Alexey Slavgorodsky. The Chief gave the guests a guided tour followed by a scrumptious breakfast that was thoroughly enjoyed by all.

Special thanks must be given to Captain Teichmann and the crew for receiving our guests and

Cape Town office staff. The guests asked many questions and gained a much better understanding of ves-sel operations and the conditions.

LEFT To riGHT: Sadia Bassier, Annerie Slabber, Janine Burger, Alexey Slavgorodsky (Chief Officer), Deon Eyssen (DAL Agency – Cape Town), Abeeda Baradien, Francois Trautmann (DAL Agency – Cape Town), Keegan Daniels, Naiem Ebrahim, Annadene Dowling

Every year about 35 thousand cyclists descend on Cape Town, South Africa to be a part of the

world’s largest timed cycling event. Deon Eyssen [DAL Agency – Cape Town] has been a participant for 14 years. The Argus Tour has had many famous participants such as Eddy Merckx (five-time Tour de France champion), Lance Arm-strong (seven-time Tour de France champion), Gabriela Sabatini as well as movie star, Matt Damon.

The weather was great this year, the strong south easterly winds which Cape Town is known for were nowhere to be seen. Before he knew it he was crossing the finish line, all 110 kilometres of the tour completed. Deon had not trained at all for this event and felt cramps as he neared the foot of Chap-man’s Peak. Although it took him 6 hrs 12 mins to complete, he says that he would definitely do it again.

Start of the 2010 race in Cape Town: a massive crowd of 30,000 competitors joined the 110-kilometres tour

Hip hip hurra! DAL/JTE-team flying the company colours after the race

DAL’s Deon Eyssen in full swing

HsH nordbank run 2011DAL & JTE run for charity

Saturday, 25 June 2011: More than 20,000 enthusiastic runners from 721 Ham-

burg companies took to the track through the Hafencity for the 10th annual HSH Nordbank charity run.

Among them a team from DAL & JTE, 14 people strong, repre-senting all departments and ages, with Elena Köster, aged 7, outpac-ing everybody on her scooter.

The track was laid out through the parts of the Hafencity already

finished, with much of this new quarter by the river Elbe still under development. It was a memorable event for the participants and the second time DAL & JTE took part.

At the end of the day, 127,500 euros had been raised for a chil-dren’s charity in Hamburg.

After four kilometres, some very nice photos shot on the track and well-deserved refreshments after the finish line, it was unani-mously decided to meet again for the 2012 run.

Deon is challenging his fellow team mates to participate with him next year. His personal best is 3 hrs 32 min with a best overall finish of 5522th out of some 30,000 cyclists. His average heart rate on this year’s

tour was 157 bpm with 4349 calo-ries burnt.

The tour has been running for the last 34 years and has grown from 500 riders participating in the first year to currently 35,000 entrants.

The past few years have also seen the introduction of the lifecycle week to cater for all: from a mountain bike event to a tricycle tour for toddlers. Some 42 countries were represent-ed on the start line of the 1996 tour.

shelling of the “Essberger Chemist” in the mid-AtlanticIn 1967 the former “Wilhelmine Essberger” blew up and broke apart. The wreck was sunk by the Royal Navy

Jubiläen50 Jahre

Herr Hans Jürgen Schmidt Captain01.09.2011

10 Jahre

Herr Boko Zarko Captain 02.08.2011

Herr Gerrit Martin MTI, Insurance 01.09.2011

Herr Simon Heldberg DALSA, Liner Agency Hamburg 01.10.2011

besondere Geburtstage95 Jahre

Frau Margot Nicolaus 23.09.2011

Frau Marie Niemeyer 28.09.2011

90 Jahre

Frau Luise Möller 19.09.2011

Frau Martha Hahnelt 03.10.2011

Herr Gerhard Doering 06.10.2011

Herr Rolf Brand 25.10.2011

85 Jahre

Frau Ingrid Niss 15.09.2011

Herr Willi Gellner 21.09.2011

80 Jahre

Frau Gretchens Martens 15.08.2011

Herr Werner Schmidt 26.09.2011

Herr Klaus-Otto Kasch 10.10.2011

Frau Anne Kruse 25.10.2011

75 Jahre

Frau Ilse Wecking 01.08.2011

Frau Brigitte Andresen 02.08.2011

Herr Hans-Jürgen Krug 23.08.2011

Frau Irmgard Haack 26.08.2011

Herr Udo Elsner 29.08.2011

Herr Hans-Joachim Hein 16.09.2011

Herr Günther Behrend 27.10.2011

70 Jahre

Herr Kapt. Winfried-Erich Breuer 02.08.2011

Herr Hartmut Krause 04.09.2011

Frau Ingrid Polkowski 26.09.2011

Herr Peter Reinhard 12.10.2011

Herr Wolfgang Rupieper 16.10.2011

60 Jahre

Herr Radivoj Veselinovic Mechanic – 02.09.2011

Herr Wolfgang Greger C/E – 03.09.2011

Herr Manuel Felismina Captain – 25.09.2011

Herr Hans-Werner Fleth Electrician – 27.09.2011

Frau Grietje Lucka Finance/Accounting/Tax, DAL 27.09.2011

Herr Rainer Sadlowski Facility Management, DAL 27.10.2011

50 Jahre

Herr Leo Llauderes Melgar Pumpman – 17.08.2011

Herr Gotthard Igla IT, DAL – 17.10.2011

Wir gratulieren zur Geburt eines KindesFrau Suzi Steinke – DAL,TradesPaul Alexander – 20.04.2011

in den ruhestand treten/tratenHerr Manfred Benecke Facility Management, JTE – 31.08.2011

neue mitarbeiter an LandFrau Julia Schulze Facility Management, DAL

Frau Svenja Grünke Chemical Tankers, JTE

Frau Nicole Lübker Chemical Tankers, JTE

Frau Jessica Fengler Liner Agency Bremen, DALSA

Frau Katharina Meyer Chemical Tankers, JTE

Herr Clemens Ernst Trades, DAL

Frau Sandra Trümper Shipmanagement, JTE

Herr Frédéric Ecker DSA Süddeutschland, DSA

Persons joining the company26.03.11 Jeroen Labeur Apprentice Sea30.05.11 Ankie Scheurwater- Van Tour Call Contractor Shipmanagement06.06.11 Charissa Twigt Holiday employee HR/Crewing

Persons leaving the company09.03.11 Geert Stammen 3rd Engineer25.03.11 Fouad Erraji 3rd Engineer

01.04.11 Ben Dietvorst 2nd Officer

01.04.11 Christophe de Burggrave 2nd Officer

11.04.11 Karol Kowalski 3rd Engineer

10.04.11 Stefan Kramer 3rd Engineer

16.04.11 Jeroen Labeur Apprentice Sea

01.05.11 Peter Knol 2nd Officer

13.05.11 Gerard Anbergen Mechanic B

05.06.11 Charissa Twigt Apprentice HR/Crewing

Promotions30.03.11 Sjoerd de Blauw from 3rd Officer to 2nd Officer

marriages19.03.11 Slawomir Narloch & Agsznieka Sawa10.06.11 Marijn Cox & Marije Mulder

births05.03.11 Savina, daughter of Sergé & Erica van der Pol-Ruben

01.04.11 Charlotte, daughter of Dirk & Lisette Mantel-Van Engelen08.04.11 Esmee, daughter of Dennis & Diana Janssen-Van der Lans08.05.11 Saar, daughter of Sjoerd & Annelou de Blauw-Kint

Anniversaries01.05.11 Ton Nagel Master 25 years

“levensloopregeling”01.04.11 Michiel van Opdorp Master

10 11

WhereaboutsJuly 2011

Ships name Master First mate Chief Engineer

Amalie Essberger Robert Stanescu Norman Madrid Marcel Sabau

Anneliese Essberger Vyacheslav Tsymbal Artur Karpowicz Sergej Sobolevs

Annette Essberger Pedro Pereira Evgeny Buzyrev Krysztof Barczynski

Ellen Essberger Igor Govallo Ardi Jun. Ibale Andrzej Zienkiewicz

Roland Essberger Dariusz Swierkosz Michal Kurszewski Valeriy Bashkurov

Liselotte Essberger Herbert Eisenberg Michael Rupnow Christian Donatz

Liesel Essberger Rafal Walczuk Renier Ebales Oleg Kostenko

Lisa Essberger Vladimir Savchenko Henry Cantos Vladimir Klimov

John Augustus Essberger Stefan Grabowski Rafal Garbacz Andrzej Sullik

Patricia Essberger Hans-Jürgen Schmidt Thomas Riegel Reinhard Bloedorn

Christian Essberger Michael Gross Oleksandr Kozhemyako Ewald Bendin

Georg Essberger Marcin Dalak Piotr Bes Adam Obrycki

Philipp Essberger Andrei Malenkov Bartosz Selau Vitaliy Kolesnyk

Eduard Essberger Boguslaw Gajdowski Antonio Quita Ocampo Vyacheslav Frunze

Johann Essberger Robert Szmaj Andrey Grzhibovskiy Valery Mersyanov

DAL Kalahari Alexey Slavgorodski Marcelo Berame Borbon Grzegorz Budzynski

Sanaga Zhi Min Wu Shijiu Dong Lin Li

Hibernia Hua Tong Chen Hong Yuan Zhao Yan Zhong Feng

Tremonia Shao Peng Tong Chang Wei Chen De Hua Zhang

Pelita Andalas Yudo Wiropati Agus Alim Budiharjo Agus Saleh

Floria Lorymer Hamoy Ireneo Ruedas Igor Grygoryuk

Invicta Domni Sajo Pepito Ruedas Wolfgang Greger

Koralia Oleg Abramov Jahja Setiawan Carlito Mariano

Valbella Reno Tilos Yu Danilo Pacana Barcalla Donny Merwoto

Wilhelmine Essberger Yordan Mihaylov Eden Garcia Krzysztof Smardzewski

Dutch Mate J. ten Wolde D.A. Janssen M. Kroon

Dutch Navigator E. A. Roelofsen S. de Bos D. I. Roele

Dutch Faith A. B. J. W. van Groenestijn A. van der Knijf R. W. de Bruin

Bastiaan Broere A. F. Bijlstra S. R. Schreuder S. van der Pol

Dutch Spirit P. R. Troost P. Langeveld S. H. Steenbergen

Dutch Aquamarine A. Kamphuis M. Roos H. G. F. van Meersbergen

Dutch Emerald K. C. van der Klooster W. G. J. Bergsma H. van Schoonhoven

Lucy Essberger S. W. T. Frerichs H. J. van den Elst S. C. Kluijfhout

Caroline Essberger N. van den Belt A. Ten Wolde J. de Jong

Ardea H. Wierenga D. L. I. Vanparys G. Sap

Alcedo A. R. Buren A. B. M. Ayara C. Verbaan

Aus der reederei-Familie, Hamburg

Personeelsmutaties, Dordrecht

Wir gedenkenHerrn Kurt Neumann

(70 Jahre) 02.05.2011

Frau Käthe Franz (92 Jahre) 04.05.2011

Frau Paula Zwanzleitner (90 Jahre) 05.05.2011

Herrn Kapitän Burghard Hintz (67 Jahre) 16.05.2011

Herrn Friedrich Beuck (84 Jahre) 26.05.2011

Frau Dr. Helga Stödter (89 Jahre) 29.05.2011

Herrn Kapitän Rainer Hepprich (69 Jahre) 01.07.2011

F or the 4th time TAL Inter-national (TAL) hosted an indoor soccer competition.

TAL is one of the leading contain-er leasing companies in the ship-ping industry and also a major container supplier for DAL. The company controls more than 1.4 million TEU of different contain-er types.

Altogether five teams took part, each team playing against each other, among them Hanjin, MSC, Yang Ming and the host TAL. With a record of two won and

two lost games DAL finished 3rd, the best result in history. Hanjin again performed best of all teams and claimed 1st place, therefore defending their last year’s title. In a close match for second place, TAL scored in the last minutes against DAL and received the tro-phy for 2nd place. Both Yang Ming and MSC were beaten by a well-performing DAL team, which had a good mixture of young talented and experienced players. The tro-phy has received a nice spot on the second floor.

DAL team wins 3rd place in soccer competitionFor our team: best result in history of TAL-tournament

DAL team, back row: Marc Streuer, James Stange, Marco Nordhausen, Christoph von Reith, Frederik Peters; front row: Sebastian (not DAL), Dirk Lemke, Daniel Bleckert, Leif Bartelsen (left to right)

The biggest rescue boat of the German Maritime Search and Rescue Service (DGzRS)

is called “John T. Essberger” and is called after the founder of our Group (1886–1959). After 36 years in service, the vessel left its position at sea in the Baltic in May and started its last journey, to the Speyer Museum of Technology on the Upper Rhine where it will be exhibited as a maritime memo-rial. Due to the low water levels on Germany’s largest river, the “John T. Essberger” had to be car-ried piggyback on a pontoon for the last leg of the trip. On 24 May, the train of barges passed Cologne Cathedral.

More than 2000 rescue operations

Until then, the ship was the long-est serving rescue vessel of the German Maritime Search and Rescue Service and performed more than 2,000 rescue opera-tions, rescuing more than 1,100 people from distress at sea.

The “John T. Essberger” was built in 1975 at the Schweers shipyard on the river Weser and completely overhauled in 2000. Built entirely of aluminium, the ship has a length of 44 metres and its three engines with a total of 7,200 hp ensure maximum speeds of 26 knots. It is fitted with a helicopter landing pad, a high-performance fire-fighting system and dinghy “Elsa” – called

after Essberger’s wife – can be used in shallower waters. The regular crew comprised 13 men of whom six would be on watch-keeping duties.

The ship was stationed on the Baltic near the island Fehmarn. The Fehmarn Sound separates Germany’s northern-most island from the Danish islands and

counts as one of Europe’s most densely frequented waterways. Fehmarn and the mainland coast are also popular destinations for water sports enthusiasts and sea-side tourists.

The German Maritime Search and Rescue Service is one of the most modern search and rescue services in the world and financed

purely by private donations. The Speyer Museum of Technology is also exhibiting a Russian “Buran” spacecraft, a walk-in Boeing 747 jumbo jet and the “U-9”, a sub-marine of the German navy, in addition to the wide range of vintage cars and locomotives.www.seenotretter.de, www.technik-museum.de

12

The last trip of the “John T Essberger”After 36 years in service the giant rescue boat travels up the Rhine to join the Speyer Museum of Technology

For more information on the DAL/John T. Essberger Group please contact the German head office Deutsche Afrika-Linien HAMBURG, Palmaille 45, D-22767 Hamburg, Tel: +49 (40) 380 16 392, Fax: +49 (40) 380 16 255, E-mail: michael.davies@rantzau.de or DAL Agency Durban, Sharaf House, 1st Floor La Lucia Ridge Office Estate, Umhlanga/Durban 4051, Tel: +27 (31) 582 9400, Fax: +27 (31) 582 94 01 or JoHn T. EssbErGEr HAMBURG, Palmaille 45, D-22767 Hamburg, Tel. +49 (40) 380 16 - 0, Fax: +49 (40) 380 16 579, E-mail: chartering@essberger.biz or JoHn T. EssbErGEr b.V. Wieldrechtseweg 50, NL-3316 BG Dordrecht, E-mail: chartering@essberger.biz

Reaching Speyer on wheels: roads had to be blocked when the mighty vessel reached the southern German town of Speyer

The 44-metres “John T. Essberger” was the biggest German rescue boat and stationed off the island of Fehmarn in the Baltic

The final metres: a heavy truck pulled the seagoing vessel through the trees on the final approach to the museum

The John T. Essberger passing Cologne Cathedral on the way to her final destination

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