Norddeutscher Lloyd: Difference between revisions

| genre = Shipping

| key_people = <small>[[Entrepreneur|Co-founder]] and [[Chair (official)#Types|Executive Chairman]]</small> <br /> Eduard Crüsemann

The German shipping company North German Lloyd (NDL) was founded by the Bremen merchants Hermann Henrich Meier and Eduard Crüsemann on 20 February 1857, after the dissolution of the [[Ocean Steam Navigation Company]], a joint German-American enterprise.<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1898/11/19/archives/herr-hh-meier-dead-north-german-lloyd-steamship-cos-founder-passes.html | format = pdf | title = Herr H.H. Meier Dead.; North German Lloyd Steamship Co.'s Founder Passes Away at Bremen. |newspaper = [[The New York Times]] |date = 19 November 1898 |access-date = 2010-01-23 |page = 1}}</ref><ref>Edwin Drechsel, ''Norddeutscher Lloyd, Bremen, 1857–1970: History, Fleet, Ship Mails'', volume 1 Vancouver, British Columbia: Cordillera, 1994, {{ISBN|978-1-895590-14-2}}, p. 7.</ref><ref name="House flag">[http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/de~ndl.html NDL's history and house flag]</ref><ref>Georg Bessell, ''Norddeutscher Lloyd, 1857–1957: Geschichte einer bremischen Reederei'', Bremen: Schünemann, [1957], {{OCLC|3187889}}, pp. 18–20 {{in lang|de}}</ref><ref>Rolf Böttcher: Ankunft des Raddampfers „Washington“ in Bremerhaven 1847. Bremerhaven 1997</ref> The new shipping company had no direct association with the [[United Kingdom|British]] maritime [[classification society]] [[Lloyd's Register]]; by the mid-19th century, "Lloyd" was used as a term for a shipping company<ref>Bessell, p. 24.</ref> (an earlier user of the term in the same context was the Trieste-based [[Österreichischer Lloyd]], originally intended to be modelled on Lloyd's of London).

Just one year later, regular, scheduled services were started between the new port in Bremerhaven and New York using two {{GRT|2,6742674}} steamships, the ''[[{{SS |Bremen (|1858)|Bremen]]''2}} and the ''[[{{SS |New York (|1858)|New York]]''2}}. International economic crises made the start of the NDL extremely difficult, and the company took losses until 1859.<ref name="Norway-Heritage" /> DuringIn the succeeding years, passenger connections to Baltimore and New Orleans were added to the schedule, and the company first rented and then in 1869 bought facilities on the waterfront in [[Hoboken, New Jersey]].<ref>Bessell, pp. 35, 36.</ref>

In 1867–1868, NDL began a partnership with the [[Baltimore and Ohio Railroad]], which initiated the [[Baltimore Line]]; until 1978, this had its own ships. In 1869, Crüsemann died at only 43 years old. From 1877 to 1892, the director of NDL was [[Johann Georg Lohmann]]. He established a new policy for the company, emphasizing fast liners. Eventually H. H. Meier and Lohmann fell out over the direction of the company. In 1892, a {{GRT|5481|link=off}} twin-screw steamersteamship, the company's first, was christened the ''H.H. Meier'' after the founder;<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1897/03/09/archives/german-steamer-on-fire-the-hh-meier-forced-to-put-back-by-the.html | format = pdf | title = GERMANGerman STEAMERsteamer ONon FIRE.; The H.H. Meier Forced to Put Back by the Flamesfire. | work = The New York Times | date = 9 March 1897 | access-date = 2010-01-23 | page = 1 }}</ref> this helped to heal the breach between them.<ref>Bessell, p. 70.</ref>

During the ''[[Gründerzeit]]'' at the beginning of the German Empire, the NDL expanded greatly. Thirteen new ships of the "Strassburg class" were ordered. A route to the West Indies offered from 1871 to 1874 proved unprofitable, but was followed by a permanent line to the east coast of South America. On the transatlantic route, the [[Hamburg America Line|HAPAG]], the [[Holland-America Line]], and the [[Red Star Line]] were now all fierce rivals. Beginning in 1881 with the ''[[{{SS |Elbe (|1881)|Elbe]]''2}}, eleven fast steamships of from 4500 to {{GRT|6900|link=off}} of the so-called "[[{{sclass2|Rivers-class |ocean liner|Rivers class]]0}}" (all named for German rivers), were introduced to serve the North Atlantic trade.<ref name="Ships list">[http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/nglloyd.html The Ships List] {{webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100609195409/http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/nglloyd.html |date=2010-06-09 }}</ref>

In 1885, the NDL won the commission to provide postal service between the German Empire and Australia and the Far East.<ref>Bessell, pp. 50, 53.</ref> The associated subsidy underwrote further expansion, beginning with the first large-scale order placed with a German shipyard, for three postal[[:de:Reichspostdampfer|mail steamerssteamships]] for the major routes and three smaller steamerssteamships for branch service from [[AG Vulcan Stettin]]. It was in fact a requirement of the commission that the ships be built in Germany.

File:Kaiser wilhelm der grosse 01.jpg|One of the four-stackers of the NDL, {{SS|Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse||2}}

File:KronprinzWilhelmPostcard.jpg|SS ''Kronprinz Wilhelm''

File:Kaiser wilhelm 2.jpg|SS ''Kaiser wilhelm II''

File:The SS Kronprinzessin Cecilie at sea in circa 1910.jpg|SS ''Kronprinzessin Cecilie''

H. H. Meyer stood down from the board in 1888; he was succeeded by Friedrich Reck. Johann Georg Lohmann became director of the company; following his death in 1892, Reck stepped down and Georg Plate became chairman. The lawyer [[Heinrich Wiegand]] became Director; from 1899 onwards, his title was Director General. He held this position until 1909,<ref name="Norway-Heritage" /> and presided over appreciable expansion.

In 1897, with the commissioning of [[{{SS |Kaiser Wilhelm der Große|SS ''Kaiser Wilhelm der Große'']]|2}}, the NDL finally had a major ship for the North Atlantic. This was the largest and fastest ship in the world, and the company benefited from the reputation advantage of the [[Blue Riband]] for the fastest Atlantic crossing, with an average speed of 22.3 knots. Between 1897 and 1907, the line followed with three further twin-screw and four-funnel steamerssteamships of the [[{{sclass2|Kaiser class |ocean liner|Kaiser class]]0}}, of 14,000–19,000{{GRT|14000}} [[grossto register tonnage{{GRT|GRT]]19000}}: the {{SS|Kronprinz Wilhelm}}, the {{SS|Kaiser Wilhelm II}} and the {{SS|Kronprinzessin Cecilie|1906|6}}. With these the company offered a regular service across the Atlantic to its docks at [[Hoboken, New Jersey]], across the [[Hudson River]] from New York. On June 30, 1900 over 300 Dock workers and people were killed in [[1900 Hoboken Docks fire|a fire]] at the Hoboken docks.

[[File:Hoboken 1909.jpg|thumb|230px|North Germany Lloyd's docks in Hoboken, 1909]]

So began the "decade of Germans" in transatlantic shipping, in which the NDL and the HAPAG dominated the routes with several record-breaking ships and vied with the British [[Cunard Line]] and the [[White Star Line]] as the largest shipping companies in the world. In 1902 and 1904, two NDL ships again won the Blue Riband: SS ''Kronprinz Wilhelm'', now with an average speed of {{convert|23.09|kn|mph km/h|abbr=on}} for the westbound passage from [[Cherbourg]] to New York and ''Kaiser Wilhelm II'' at {{convert|23.58|kn|mph km/h|abbr=on}} on the eastbound passage. In 1907, {{RMS|Lusitania}}, and then in 1909, {{RMS|Mauretania|1906|6}}, both of the British Cunard Line, won the Blue Riband back for the British, and ''Mauretania'' then retained it until 1929.<ref name="Norway-Heritage" />

Between 1894 and 1908, NDL ordered many other freight and passenger steamerssteamships from several German yards. These included the [[{{sclass|Barbarossa class |ocean liner|Barbarossa class]]0}} (overmode than {{GRT|10000|link=off}}, for Australia, the Far East, and the North Atlantic) and the Generals class (approximatelyabout 8,500 BRT{{GRT|8500}}, for the Far East and Australia).

[[File:Kaiser-hun-speech.jpg|thumb|right|[[Kaiser Wilhelm II]] speaking at the departure of [[USS Huron (ID-1408)|SS ''Friedrich Der Grosse'']] with German troops to put down the [[Boxer Rebellion]] in China]]

Beginning in 1899, the NDL expanded into the Pacific, acquiring the entire fleets of two small British lines, the Scottish Oriental Steamship Company and the Holt East Indian Ocean Steamship Company, and setting up between 14 and 16 passenger and freight routes in conjunction with the postal service.<ref>Bessell, p. 78.</ref> <!-- Passenger service to Asia was offered in conjunction with the HAPAG beginning in 1900. Commenting this out as it does not fit what Bessell says. It was referenced to Drechsel but with no page. --> In 1900, 14 of NDL's passenger ships were requisitioned as troop transports due to the [[Boxer Rebellion]] in China; on 27 July, [[Kaiser Wilhelm II]] delivered his infamous [[Hun speech]], in which he compared the military of the German Empire to the Huns, at the departure ceremony for the ''SS Friedrich Der Grosse''.<ref name=LAT->{{cite news | title = HISTORICHistoric SHIPSships TOto PLYply AGAINagain | worknewspaper = [[Los Angeles Times]] | date = 1922-08-21 | page = II8 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last = Massie |first = Robert K |author-link= Robert K. Massie |year = 1992 |title= Dreadnought |publisher=Jonathan Cape | locationplace=London |isbn=0-224-03260-7|author-link= Robert K. Massie |title-link= Dreadnought (book) |year= 1992 }}</ref> This inspired Britain later, when they seized a number of German ships, to rename them to names beginning with "Hun", such as "Huntsgreen" and "Huntsend".{{citation needed|date=January 2024}} In German, these ships were collectively named "Hunnendampfer" (Huns' steamers).<ref>See our German article [[:de:Hunnendampfer]].</ref>

In 1907, the Norddeutscher Lloyd's fiftieth anniversary, it had 93 vessels, 51 smaller vessels, two sail training vessels and other river steamers. NDL had around 15,000 employees. Because of the high investment costs and an international economic crisis, the shipping company celebrated at this time but also had considerable financial difficulties.<ref>{{cite book | title = Atlantic reporter, Volume|volume = 81 | locationplace = Harvard University | publisher = West Publishing Company | year = 1912 |page= 764}}</ref>

[[File:Lloydgebäude by Otto Bollhagen - Bremen - 1911.jpg|thumb|230px|NDL Headquartersheadquarters Buildingbuilding, built in 1907–10]]

The lucrative North Atlantic route was extremely competitive in this period, with new, attractive ships from other large companies including the {{RMS|Lusitania}}, {{RMS|Mauretania||2}}, and {{RMS|Aquitania||2}}, of the Cunard Line, and the {{RMS|Olympic}}, {{RMS|Titanic||2}}, and {{RMSHMHS|Britannic||2}} of the White Star Line. The HAPAG introduced three new vessels of the [[Imperator-class ocean liner|Imperator class]], {{SS|Imperator||2}}, {{SS|Vaterland|1913|62}}, and {{SS|Bismarck||2}}, with a size of 50,000 GRT. The NDL responded with smaller but prestigious vessels such as the {{SS|Prinz Friedrich Wilhelm||2}} and the {{SS|George Washington||2}}, and transferred the [[SS Arabic (1920)|SS ''Berlin'']] from Mediterranean service to the New York run. Finally in 1914 the company ordered two {{GRT|33000|link=off}} liners of the [[{{sclass|Columbus class |liner|Columbus class]]0}}; World War I prevented their completion.<ref>{{cite news| |url = https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/11/11/105014544.pdf | title = Great liner is launched | worknewspaper = [[The New York Times]] | date = 11 November 1908 | access-date = 2008-08-01 | page = 4 }}</ref>

Director General Dr. Wiegand died in 1909, and was succeeded by Director [[Phillip Heineken]] until 1920.<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1918/07/26/archives/sees-big-sea-trade-aim-national-demand-here-for-great-merchant.html | format = pdf | title = Sees Big Sea Trade Aim.; National Demand Here for Great Merchant Fleet, Says Heineken. | worknewspaper = The New York Times | date = 26 July 1918 | access-date = 2010-01-22 | page = 1 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article115255129 |title= THE GREAT "N.D.L." |newspaper= [[The Evening News (Sydney)|Evening News]] |issue=13,439 |locationplace=New South WalesSydney, AustraliaNSW |date=6 July 1910 |access-date=18 April 2018 |page=7 |via=National Library of Australia[[Trove]]}}</ref>

[[File:ID4063 USS Prinz Friedrich Wilhelm.jpg|thumb|250px|SS ''Prinz Friedrich Wilhelm'' of 1907]]

[[File:Gdansk Shipyard - SS Columbus (1913).jpg|thumb|250px|SS ''Columbus'' of 1914]]

[[File:Uss Zeppelin 1919.jpg|thumb|250px|SS ''Zeppelin'' of 1915]]

This is a list of routes served by NDL in 1907.<ref>[https://www.gjenvickggarchives.com/SteamshipLinesOceanTravel/NorthGermanLloydBrochures/NDL-1898-04-NorthGermanLine-History.html History of the North German Lloyd Steamship Company of Bremen (1898)]</ref>

For NDL as a civilian shipping line, the beginning of World War I was a trial, as well as a logistical challenge because a large part of the fleet was at sea around the Worldworld. However, most ships were able to reach neutral ports. The logistical operations of NDL in [[Bremerhaven]] were placed almost exclusively at the service of the German Navy.<ref name="Citycyclopedia">{{cite book |last=Jackson |first=Kenneth T |year=1995 |title=The Encyclopedia of New York City |url= https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780300055368 |url-access=registration |publisher=[[New–York Historical Society]]; [[Yale University Press]] |page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780300055368/page/854 854]|isbn=9780300055368 978-0300055368}}</ref> NDL owned a majority interest in the ''Deutsche Ozean-Reederei'' ("German Ocean Shipping Service"), which used [[U-boat]]s for trade and made some successful Atlantic crossings.

At the start of the war, the NDL's fleet totaled more than {{GRT|900000|link=off}}. Under the [[Treaty of Versailles]] at war's end, all ships over {{GRT|1600|link=off}} and half of all units from 100 to {{GRT|1600|link=off}} were confiscated.<ref name=Ballin>[http://www.hapag-lloyd.com/en/about_us/history_between_1886_1918.html Hapag-Lloyd: The Ballin Era] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091026161456/http://www.hapag-lloyd.com/en/about_us/history_between_1886_1918.html |date=2009-10-26 }}</ref> The United States had already confiscated in 1917 the facilities in Hoboken and the NDL ships at the dock there. The prewar NDL fleet no longer existed.<ref name="Citycyclopedia"/> The company was left with some small ships totalling {{GRT|57000|link=off}}. With these the company restarted daytrip passenger service, tug service, and freight service in 1919. The 'flagship' was the 781-ton ''Grüß Gott''.<ref>Bessell, p. 135.</ref> From 1920 to 1939, NDL participated in the [[Seedienst Ostpreußen]] passenger and goods service to [[East Prussia]].

In August 1920, the NDL made an agency agreement with the U.S. Mail Steamship Co. (beginning in 1921, [[United States Lines]]). This made it possible to resume transatlantic service from Bremerhaven to New York with the former ''Rhein'', now sailing under the US flag as the ''Susquehanna''.<ref>Bessell, pp. 141, 143.</ref> The unfinished [[SS Columbus (1924)|''Columbus'']] had been awarded to Great Britain after the war and was bought in 1920 by White Star, which had lost significant tonnage in the war and also wished to make up for the pre-war loss of the ''[[RMS Titanic|Titanic]]''. Work at Danzig proceeded very slowly. Finally in autumn 1921 the so-called Columbus Agreement was reached, under which the German government and NDL undertook to facilitate rapid completion of the ''Columbus'' in exchange for the British government returning ownership to the NDL of six smaller ships which had spent the war years in South America: the postalmail steamerssteamships ''Seydlitz'' and ''Yorck'', the ''Gotha'', and the freighterscargo ships ''Göttingen'', ''[[{{SS |Westfalen (|1905)|Westfalen]]''2}} and ''Holstein''.<ref>Bessell, p. 141.</ref> The company also began to build new freighters and passenger ships and to buy back other ships.<ref>[http://classicliners.nicholaswwilson.com/ships/columbus.htm The Classic Liners of Long Ago: ''Columbus''] {{webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080403080803/http://classicliners.nicholaswwilson.com/ships/columbus.htm |date=2008-04-03 }}</ref> In late 1921, service to South America was resumed with the ''Seydlitz'', and in early 1922, East Asian service with the ''Westfalen''. On 12 February 1922, service to New York with NDL's own ships resumed with ''Seydlitz''.<ref>Bessell, p. 143.</ref> The other ship of the Columbus class, the {{GRT|32354|link=off}} former ''Hindenburg'', was completed in 1924 and named [[SS Columbus (1924)|''Columbus'']]; she was placed in scheduled transatlantic passenger service.

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 102-09397, Bremerhaven, Schiffe "Europa" und "Bremen".jpg|thumb|right|230px|Flagships of North German Lloyd in 1930 – ''[[{{SS |Bremen (|1928)|Bremen]]''2}} and ''[[{{SS |Europa (|1928)|Europa]]''2}}, the biggest German liners]]

In 1920, [[Carl Stimming]] became director general of NDL, while his predecessor Heineken became chairman of the board. Between 1925 and 1928, the company acquired a number of German shipping companies: HABAL, the [[Roland Line]], and Argo.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/roland.htm |work=TheShipsList |title=The Ships List: Roland Line |access-date=2010-01-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604161859/http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/roland.htm |archive-date=2011-06-04 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>Bessell, p. 151.</ref> The acquisition of the Roland Line brought Ernst Glässel onto the board of directors, where he was to have increasing influence. In 1926, the company were once more able to pay a [[dividend]]. American credit financed continuing expansion and orders for new ships.

[[File:Stamp Bremen (1929).jpg|thumb|left|230px|[[SS Bremen (1928)|SS ''Bremen'']] depicted on aA German postage stamp representing {{SS|Bremen|1928|2}}]]

In 1929 and 1930, the company placedput its two largest ships in service, [[{{SS |Bremen (|1928)|SS ''Bremen'']]2}} ({{GRT|51656|link=off}}) and [[{{SS |Europa (|1928)|SS ''Europa'']]2}} ({{GRT|49746|link=off}}). With an average speed of about {{convert|27.9 [[knot (unit)|knots]]kn|km/h}}, both were to take the Blue Riband for the fastest Atlantic crossings.<ref name="Citycyclopedia"/> In 1929, ''Columbus'' was completely refitted.

From 1928 to 1939, the volume of passengers travelling between the US and Europe declined sharply. In 1928, the NDL transported about 8% of a passenger volume of 1,168,414 passengers; in 1932, 16.2% of the 751,592 passengers transported; in 1938, around 11% of 685,655 passengers. In addition, there was significant new competition from new Italian, French and British superliners: the Italian [[{{SS Rex|SS ''Rex'']]||2}} ({{GRT|51062|link=off}}) and [[{{SS |Conte di Savoia|SS ''Conte di Savoia'']]|2}} ({{GRT|48502|link=off}}), the French [[{{SS Normandie|SS ''Normandie'']]||2}} ({{GRT|79280|link=off}}), and the British [[{{RMS Queen Mary|RMS ''Queen Mary'']]||2}} ({{GRT|80744|link=off}}).<ref>{{cite book | last = Gibbs | first = Charles Robert Vernon | title = Passenger Liners of the Western Ocean: A Record of Atlantic Steam and Motor Passenger Vessels from 1838 to the Present Day | publisher = John De Graff | year = 1957 }}</ref>

[[File:Bundesarchiv N 1572 Bild-1925-079, Polarfahrt mit Dampfer "München", Advent-Bay.jpg|thumb|SS ''General von Steuben'' of 1923]]

At the end of World War II the company's headquarters (which had in any case been sold in 1942<ref>Bessell, p. 182.</ref>) had been severely damaged by bombing and all its large vessels either destroyed or seized. It was left with only the freighter ''Bogotá'', which was in Japan. Relicensed by the American military administration on November 29, 1945 as a "coastal shipping and stevedoring company," it started again, as after World War I, practically from zero, offering tugboat and daytripper services. [[File:MS Gripsholm.jpg|thumb|left|The [[{{MS |Gripsholm (|1925)|MS ''Gripsholm'']]2}}, later the NDL's MS ''Berlin'']] [[File:Two cargo ships of the North German Lloyd in the Chilean port of Antofagasta - 1963.png|thumb|left|Two NDL cargo ships in [[Antofagasta]] – 1963]] [[File:Teilnehmer des vierten großen Bremer NDL-Treffens am 20 Februar 2013.png|thumb|left|Participants of the fourth large Bremer NDL meeting on 20 February 2013]] Kulenkampff and Bertram constituted the Board and there were at first only 350 employees. In 1948, the first Hapag-Lloyd travel agency opened. Business initially consisted of emigration and a limited amount of tourism. Beginning in 1949, German companies were permitted to order and to build ships of up to {{GRT|7200|link=off}}. In 1950, the NDL placed its first post-war orders at the [[Bremer Vulkan]] shipyard, the Rheinstein class ({{GRT|2791|link=off}}, 13 knots).<ref>{{cite book | last1 = Behling | first1 = Helmut | last2 = Thiel |first2 = Reinhold | title = Bremer Vulkan: Ende einer Ära| location|place = Bremen | publisher = Hauschild | year = 1997 | isbn = 978-3-931785-68-0 | oclc = 40363156 | language = de }}</ref>

Passenger service resumed in 1955 using a rebuilt 1924 Swedish ship, the {{GRT|17993|link=off}} [[{{MS |Gripsholm (|1925)|MS ''Gripsholm'']]2}}.<ref>Bessell, p. 185.</ref> Renamed ''Berlin'', she was the sixth German ship of that name, the fourth at NDL, and sailed North Atlantic routes. In 1959, the company added the {{GRT|32336|link=off}} [[{{SS |Bremen (|1957)|''Bremen'']]2}} (formerly ''Pasteur''), and in 1965, the {{GRT|21514|link=off}} [[MS Kungsholm (1953)|''Europa'']] (formerly ''Kungsholm''), ''Gripsholm'''s sister ship bought from the [[Swedish American Line]], with a capacity of 843 passengers.<ref name="Citycyclopedia"/> These vessels were first placed in scheduled service to America but soon transferred to cruising. In 1967, the {{GRT|10481|link=off}} express freighter ''Friesenstein'' (21.5 knots) inaugurated the Friesenstein class and replaced ''Nabob'' and ''Schwabenstein''. Passenger service was running at an increasing deficit, and the rapidly growing [[Intermodal container|container]] traffic required cost-intensive retooling in the freight business. In 1968 NDL inaugurated container service to the USA with the {{GRT|13384|link=off}} ''Weser-Express''; two more container ships were soon added.

Around 1960, NDL had 47 ships, a number that remained almost unchanged until 1970. In 1968, the fleet totaled {{GRT|343355|link=off}} (in 1970, {{GRT|391313|link=off}}) and was the 16th largest shipping company worldwide; HAPAG, with {{GRT|410786|link=off}}, was the 9th largest.<ref>"List of Ship owners," ''Fischer Weltalmanach'' 1971.</ref> In 1970, NDL had a turnover of 515 million DM and share capital of 54 million DM, and employed 6,200 people, 3,500 of them at sea.<ref>{{cite book | last = Gardiner | first = Robert | title = The golden age of shipping: the classic merchant ship, 1900–1960 | locationplace = University of Michigan | publisher = Conway Maritime Press | year = 1994 | isbn = 0-85177-567-5 | pages = 20 }}</ref>

In 1967, Claus Wätjen and Dr. Horst Willner, and in 1969 Karl-Heinz Sager, joined the Board. Kulenkampff served on the Board until 1968 and Bertram until 1970. Since the NDL was already executing three quarters of its freight business in association with HAPAG, a merger of the two largest German shipping companies was entirely logical.<ref name=Merger>{{Cite web |url= http://www.hapag-lloyd.com/en/about_us/history_between_1946_1970.html |title=Hapag-Lloyd: Rebuilding and Merger |access-date=2010-02-07 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20091028030133/http://www.hapag-lloyd.com/en/about_us/history_between_1946_1970.html |archive-date=2009-10-28 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[File:Norddeutscher Lloyd, Bremen, Logo, 1913.jpg|thumb|250px|NDL's emblem on the wall of the former company headquarters at the [[Bremen Hauptbahnhof|Bremen main station]]]]

* The former company headquarters on Papenstraße was demolished and replaced by a department store in 1969, but the Große Hundestraße on one side of the site was the first street in Bremen to be privatized, and has been roofed with glass to become a pedestrian mall. It is called ''Lloyd Passage''.<ref name=Passage />

* The [[Lloyd Dynamowerke]] (LDW) in Bremen<ref>{{Cite web |url= http://www.peterkurze.de/museum/html/werks-chronik.html |title=Werkschronik zu Borgward |access-date=2010-01-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071021053332/http://www.peterkurze.de/museum/html/werks-chronik.html |archive-date=2007-10-21 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[File:Hermann Henrich Meier - Bellstedt - 1890.jpg|thumb|140pxupright|H.H. Meier]]

[[File:Eduard Crüsemann - Wilhelm Amberg - 1860.jpg|thumb|140pxupright|Eduard Crüsemann]]

[[File:Johann G. Lohmann (1830-1892).jpg|thumb|140pxupright|Johann Georg Lohmann]]

[[File:Dietrich Hogemann 3409602634 168aefc8d9 o.jpg|thumb|140pxupright|Dietrich Hogemann]]

* Eduard Crüsemann; 1857–1869 founder and first director of NDL<ref name=Hapag>[http://www.hapag-lloyd.com/en/about_us/history_between_1847_1885.html Hapag-Lloyd: The Early Years] {{webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090507191903/http://www.hapag-lloyd.com/en/about_us/history_between_1847_1885.html |date=2009-05-07 }}</ref>

* Johann Georg Lohmann, 1877–1892 Director of NDL<ref name=Ballin /><ref>Paul Neubaur: ''Der Norddeutsche Lloyd. 50 Jahre der Entwicklung 1857–1907''. Band I, Fr. Wilh. Grunow, Leipzig 1907. Page 44</ref>

* Dr. [[Heinrich Wiegand]]; 1892–1899 Director and 1899–1909 Director-General of NDL<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1909/03/30/archives/heinrich-wiegand-dead-general-director-of-north-german-lloyd-dies.html | format = pdf | title = HEINRICHHeinrich WIEGANDWiegand DEAD.; General Director of North German Lloyd Dies in Homburg Sanitariumdead. | worknewspaper = The New York Times | date = 30 March 1909 | access-date = 2010-02-02 | page = 1 }}</ref>

* Charles Polack, captainCaptain in 1913 of the [[{{SS |Kronprinzessin Cecilie|SS ''Kronprinzessin Cecilie'']]|2}}<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1914/03/15/archives/dinner-to-honor-noted-sea-captain-friends-of-capt-polack-to-welcome.html | format = pdf | title = DINNER TO HONOR NOTED SEA CAPTAIN; Friends of Capt. PolackDinner to Welcomehonor Himnoted Whensea He Completes 100 Round Trips to Europe. MANY MEDALS FOR BRAVERY German Emperor, Queen Victoria, and King of Spain Have Decorated North German Lloyd Skipper.captain | date= 15 March 1909 | access-date = 2010-02-02 | page = 1 |newspaper work= The New York Times}}</ref>

* Dr. Philipp Heineken, Director-General in 1909–1920, 1920–1933 Chairman of the Supervisory Board of NDL<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1915/02/16/archives/says-england-cant-starve-germany-philipp-heineken-north-german.html | format = pdf | title = SAYSSays ENGLANDEngland CANcan'Tt STARVEstarve GERMANY; Philipp Heineken, North German Lloyd Director, Asserts Britain's Plan Is Impossible. STATE BEING REMODELED Success Already Attained in Self-Maintenance, He Says, Proves Her Ability to Win.Germany | worknewspaper = The New York Times | date = 16 February 1915 | access-date = 2010-02-04 | page = 1 }}</ref>

* [[Dietrich Hogemann]], commodore who retired in 1913<ref>{{cite news |title=Capt. Hogemann Makes His Last Voyage After 44 Years Spent at Sea. |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1913/05/07/100617873.pdf |quote= After the North German Lloyd liner Kronprinzessin Cecilie, arriving from Bremen yesterday, had been made fast to her pier in Hoboken Capt. Dietrich Hogemann, Commodore of the fleet, announced that it was his last voyage, and that Capt. Charles Polack of the George Washington would succeed him. |work=[[New York Times]] |date=May 7, 1913 |access-date=2009-08-06 }}</ref>

* Nikolaus Johnsen, captain and commodore in 1924 of the ''Columbus'', and in 1930 ''EuropeEuropa'' (III), and commodore of the fleet<ref>[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_102-00199A,_Nikolaus_Johnsen.jpg Picture from Commons (used on German Wikipedia in the article <nowiki>''</nowiki>Columbus (1924)<nowiki>''</nowiki> and <nowiki>''</nowiki>Europa (1928)<nowiki>''</nowiki>)]</ref>

* [[Heinrich Albert|Dr. Heinrich F. Albert]], 1932–1933 Director General of the NDL<ref>[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_102-13486,_Heinrich_F._Albert.jpg Picture from Commons (the description itself tells about NDL)]</ref><ref>{{cite book |title= Gesellschaft und Diplomatie im transatlantischen Kontext: Festschrift für Reinhard R. Doerries zum 65. Geburtstag |lastlast1= Wala |firstfirst1= Michael |author2last2=Doerries |first2=Reinhard R. Doerries |year= 1999 |publisher= Franz Steiner Verlag |isbn= 3-515-07529-1 |page= 151 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=foUJ_WotOYwC&q=Heinrich+Albert+lloyd&pg=PA151 |access-date= 2010-02-06}}</ref>

* Friedrich Johann Gottfried Hubert Paffrath, 1929-1941 Superintendent

* Dr. Rudolph Firle, 1933–1944. Director General of the NDL<ref name=Herbert />

* Dr. Johnannes Kulenkampff; from 1932 Board Member, from 1942 Executive Board member<ref name=Merger />

* Richard Bertram; from 1937 Board Member, from 1942 Executive Board member<ref name=Merger />

This is a list of all ships in service of the NDL. Some of the ships were owned previously by other companies.<ref name="Ships list" />

|1874 sold to E.Bates, Liverpool, converted to sail.

|1879 1879 sold to shipbuilders in part exchange for ''Hansa'' (II)

|1894 sold to shipbuilder in part exchange for new ships, resold to Italy and renamed ''Amazzone''.

|1894 sold to Hamburg owners.

|1894 sold to shipbuilder in part exchange for new ships.

|1899 sold to Hong Kong.

|1895 sold to F.Raben, Vegesack, scrapped.

|1896 wrecked on Spanish coast; loss of 279 lives.

|{{SS|Elbe|1881|2}} (I)

|1895 Sunksank after collision in the [[English Channel]] (332 Deaddead)

|1899 rebuilding abortaborted after heavy damage and scrapscrapped

|1892 stranded at Isle of Wight, refloated and scrapped.

|Sold to [[Elder Dempster Lines]], renamed ''Lake Simcoe''.

|1931 scrapped<ref name=Lloyds1>{{cite web |url=http://www.plimsollshipdata.org/pdffile.php?name=30b1021.pdf |title=LLOYDLloyd'Ss REGISTER,Register STEAMERS|volume=Steamers & MOTORSHIPSMotorships 1930–31|year=1930 |publisherplace=PlimsollLondon Ship|via=Southampton DataCity Council |access-date=18 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140318235821/http://www.plimsollshipdata.org/pdffile.php?name=30b1021.pdf |archive-date=18 March 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

|1903 renamed ''Helius'', 1906 sold to Turkish Government and renamed ''BEZMIBezmi-I ALEMi-Alem'', 1914 sunk Black Sea

|1900: Rebuiltrebuilt to {{GRT|6668}}, 1901: Renamed ''Hohenzollern'' (II), 1908: stranded at Sardinia, refloated and scrapped.

|1899: Rebuiltrebuilt and renamed to {{GRT|7840}} ''Kaiserin Maria Theresia''. 1904 sold to Russian Navy, renamed ''Ural''.

|align=right|{{GRT|50014997}}

|''{{SS|Willehad''||2}}

|align=right|{{GRT|50034761}}

|Interned1914 interned in Manila,; August1917 1914seized by U.S.

|1919 ceded to Britain as war reparation, 1921 to [[Orient Line]], renamed ''Omar''.

|1919 ceded to Britain as war reparation, 1921 to [[Byron Line]], renamed ''Constantinople''.

|1914 became German armed merchant cruiser, 1914 sunk by {{HMS|Highflyer|1898|6}} at Rio de Oro, Spanish Sahara.

| ''[[SS Burdigala|Kaiser Friedrich]]''

|Could1898 could not reach specified speed, 1899 chartered to HAPAG, 1900–1912 laid up,; 1912 sold to [[Compagnie de Navigation Sud-Atlantique]], Paris, renamed ''Burdigala''.

|1917 seized by USAUS, renamed ''Susquehanna''

|1915 seized by Italy and renamed ''Ferdinando Palasciano''.

|1917 seized by USAUS, renamed ''Amphion''

|1919 ceded to Britain as war reparation,; 1921 repurchased by NDL, rebuilt to 7,438 tons,; 1933 scrapped.

|1919 ceded to Britain as war reparation, 1922 renamed ''Sarvistan''.

|1914 1917 seized by USAUS, renamed ''Aeolus''.

|1917 seized by USAUS, renamed ''Pocahontas'',; 1922 re-purchased by NDL, renamed ''Bremen'' (III), 1928 renamed ''Karlsruhe'' (II),; 1932 scrapped.

|ex-''Kiautschou'', 1904 purchased from Hamburg America Line as''Kiautschou'' and renamed ''Princess Alice''<!-- see article for discussion of this correct English spelling of the name of this ship -->,. 1917 seized by USAUS, renamed ''Princess Matoika''.

|1904 transferred to Hamburg America Line, renamed ''Slavonia''.

|1914 became German commerce raider, 1915 interned in [[Newport News, Virginia]], 1917 seized by USAUS, renamed ''Von Steuben''.

|1917 seized by USAUS, renamed ''Antigone''

|1917 seized by USAUS, renamed ''Bridgeport''

|''Petchaburi''

|Georg Seebeck , Bremerhaven

|July 1917 ConfiscatedSeized by the Siam Government, re-namedrenamed ''Kaeo Samud.''; December 1920 sunk on trip from Bangkok to Swatow in Gulf of Siam

|1919 ceded byto Britain as war reparation, 1922 renamed ''Hecuba'' and transferred to Alfred Holt & Co. ([[Blue Funnel Line]])

|1917 mined and sunk in North Sea;, loss of 19 lives

|1914 laid up in [[New York City|New York]]; 1917 seized by USAUS, renamed ''Agamemnon''

|1914 became German commerce raider, 1915 interned in USAUS, 1917 seized by USAUS, renamed ''DeKalb''

|''[[SS Nyassa|Bülow]]''

|1914 laid up in [[Boston]] /, 1917 seized by USAUS, renamed ''Mount Vernon''

|1914 seized by Britain, renamed ''Huntsgreen'',; 1923 repurchased by NDL, reverted to ''Derfflinger'', 1932 scrapped

|1914 seized by Britain, renamed ''Huntsend'',; 1923 repurchased by NDL, reverted to ''Lutzow'', 1933 scrapped

|1917 seized by USAUS

|1919 seized by France, management transferred to Cie. de Navigation Sud-Atlantique, renamed ''Alba''.

|Supply ship for German raiders,<ref>{{cite web |title=Extracts From the Log of the ''Dresden'' With Comments |publisher=The Naval Review, Volume 3 |year=1915 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_6hAAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA425 }}</ref> seized by Peru 1917, renamed ''Callao'', chartered by [[United States Shipping Board]] (USSB) and transferred to U.S. Navy 26 April 1919 and commissioned USS ''Callao'' (ID-4036), decommissioned 20 September 1919.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/c/callao-ii.html |title=Callao (No. 4036) ii |author=Naval History And Heritage Command |work=Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships |publisher=Naval History And Heritage Command |access-date=25 February 2015}}</ref> Sold1922 sold at auction by USSB, renamed ''Ruth Alexander'' by Dollar Steamship Lines.<ref>{{cite web |last=USSB |title=Invites Offers on S.S. ''Callao'' (ex-''Sierra Cardoba''|year=1921 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VOg_AQAAMAAJ&pg=RA2-PR55 |access-date=25 February 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.plimsollshipdata.org/pdffile.php?name=32b0774.pdf |title=Lloyd's Register 1932–33 |author=Lloyds |publisher=Lloyd's Register (through PlimsollShipData) |access-date=25 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150225182530/http://www.plimsollshipdata.org/pdffile.php?name=32b0774.pdf |archive-date=25 February 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

|1914 captured by Britain, renamed ''Boorara''.

|1920 ceded to Britain as war reparation, transferred to [[Orient Line]], renamed ''Ormuz'',; 1927 repurchased by NDL, renamed ''Dresden'' (II),; 1934 wrecked on Norwegian coast;, loss of 4 lives

|1925 renamed ''Madrid'',; 1935 sold to Hamburg South America Line

1926 ss SCHWABEN''Schwaben'', passenger-cargo ship,

|1935 sold to Italian Line, Genoa and renamed ''Calabria''. Seized11 June 1940 seized by UK; 118 JuneDecember 1940; sunk by {{GS|U-103|1940|2}} 8 December 1940.

|1931 renamed ''General Von Steuben'', 1938 renamed ''Steuben'',; 1945 torpedoed and sunk by Russian submarine in [[Baltic Sea]];, loss of over 2,700 lives.

|1938 sold to [[Nazi]] [[Deutsche Arbeitsfront]] for [[Strength Through Joy]] cruising.; 1943 bombed and sunk at Gdynia

|1945 mined and sunk off Swinemunde,; 1948 refloated, repaired, and renamed ''Admiral Nakhimov'' for USSR.; 1986 sank in Black Sea after collision.

|Intercepted1941 intercepted off Montevideo by {{HMS|Newcastle|C76|6}} and scuttled by her crew.

|1945 taken over by US Navy, renamed {{USS|Europa|AP-177|6}}, 1950 became [[Compagnie Générale Transatlantique|French Line's]] SS ''Liberté''

|1942 sold to Japan and converted to aircraft carrier {{ship|Japanese aircraft carrier|Shinyo||2}}.

|ex-1954 acquired from [[Swedish American Line]] as [[MS Gripsholm (1925)|''Gripsholm'']], acquired from [[Swedish American Line]] by Bremen Amerika Line, jointly operated by Swedish America and NDL. 1955 renamed ''Berlin'' (IV), 1959 fully owned by NDL, 1966 scrapped.

|ex1959 purchased from Cie. de Navigation Sud-Atlantique as [[SS Pasteur (1939)|''Pasteur'']], purchased from Cie. de Navigation Sud-Atlantique in 1959, renamed ''Bremen'',. 1970 owned by Hapag-Lloyd after the merger of NDL and HAPAG,; 1972 sold to [[Chandris Lines]], Piraeus, renamed ''Regina Magna'', 1977 sold to Philippine Singapore Ports Corporation and renamed ''Saudiphil&nbsp;I'' as a floating hotel in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 1980 sold as ''Filipinas Saudi I'' to Philsimport International in Hong Kong, 1980 sunk in [[Indian Ocean]] while towingin tow to Taiwanese ship breaker.

|ex-[[MS Kungsholm (1953)|''Kungsholm'']],1965 purchasedbought from [[Swedish America Line]] inas 1965{{MS|Kungsholm|1953|2}}, renamed ''Europa'',. 1970 owned by Hapag-Lloyd after the merger of NDL and HAPAG,. 1981 sold to Panama, renamed ''Columbus C''.

|SteamerSteamship on the USA–Japan–AustraliaUS–Japan–Australia route, along with the ''Prinz Sigismund''. In use by 1903. In ca.about 1917, it became the Parr-McCormick Company steamersteamship ''Wacouta''.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article162757227 |title=25 years ago |newspaper=[[Daily Cargo News|Daily Commercial News And Shipping List]] |issue=16,790 |locationplace=New South WalesSydney, AustraliaNSW |date=11 November 1942 |access-date=26 August 2019 |page=2 |via=National Library of AustraliaTrove}}</ref> The vessel again renamed ''Prinz Waldemar'' was wrecked near Kingston, Jamaica, by 1926.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article112533603 |title=When his ship goes down. |newspaper=[[The Port Macquarie News and Hastings River Advocate]] |locationplace=NewPort South WalesMacquarie, AustraliaNSW |date=26 June 1926 |access-date=26 August 2019 |page=8 |via=National Library of AustraliaTrove}}</ref>

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20180806120950/http://steamshipdresden1888.com/ SS DRESDENDresden]

[[Category:1857 establishments in Germanythe German Confederation]]

[[Category:185719th-century establishments in Bremen]]