Norddeutscher Lloyd


Norddeutscher Lloyd was a German shipping company. It was founded by Hermann Henrich Meier and Eduard Crüsemann in Bremen on 20 February 1857. It developed into one of the most important German shipping companies of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and was instrumental in the economic development of Bremen and Bremerhaven. On 1 September 1970, the company merged with Hamburg America Line to form Hapag-Lloyd AG.

History

Establishment of the NDL

The German shipping company North German Lloyd 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. The new shipping company had no association with the British maritime classification society Lloyd's Register; in the mid-19th century, "Lloyd" was used as a term for a shipping company.
H. H. Meier became NDL's first Chairman of the Supervisory Board, and Crüsemann became the first director of the company. Crüsemann was in charge of both cargo services and passenger transport, which, as a result of emigration, was growing significantly. The company was also active in other areas, including tugboats, bathing, insurance, and ship repair. The first office of the shipping company was located at number 13 Martinistraße in Bremen.
The company started with a route to England prior to starting a transatlantic service. In 1857, the first ship, the Adler, began regular passenger service between the Weser region and England. On 28 October 1857, it made its maiden voyage from Nordenham to London.
Just one year later, regular, scheduled services were started between the new port in Bremerhaven and New York using two steamships, the Bremen and the New York. International economic crises made the start of the NDL extremely difficult, and the company took losses until 1859. However, during 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.
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, however, H. H. Meier and Lohmann fell out over the direction of the company. In 1892, a twin-screw steamer, the company's first, was christened the H.H. Meier after the founder; this helped to heal the breach between them.

Foundation of the German Empire

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 HAPAG, the Holland-America Line, and the Red Star Line were now all fierce rivals. Beginning in 1881 with the Elbe, eleven fast steamships of from 4500 to of the so-called "Rivers class", were introduced to serve the North Atlantic trade.
In 1885, the NDL won the commission to provide postal service between the German Empire and Australia and the Far East. The associated subsidy underwrote further expansion, beginning with the first large-scale order placed with a German shipyard, for three postal steamers for the major routes and three smaller steamers for branch service from AG Vulcan Stettin. It was in fact a requirement of the commission that the ships be built in Germany.
By 1890, with 66 ships of a total, NDL was the second largest shipping company in the world, after the British Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, with 48 ships of a total, and dominated shipping to Germany, with 31.6% of the traffic. NDL was also the carrying more transatlantic passengers to New York than any other company, due to its dominance in steerage, which consisted mostly of immigrants. In cabin class, it carried only slightly more passengers than the British Cunard Line and White Star Line. 42% of NDL's passenger traffic was to New York, and 15% to other US ports, but only 16.2% eastward-bound from New York. Its westbound South Atlantic service represented 17.3% of its passengers; eastbound from South America, only 1.7%.
In 1887, the NDL withdrew from the route to England in favor of Argo Reederei. However, it continued to provide tug services through participation beginning in 1899 in the Schleppschifffahrtsgesellschaft Unterweser.

Expansion and dominance

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, and presided over appreciable expansion.
In 1897, with the commissioning of SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Große, 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 four-screw and four-funnel steamers of the Kaiser class, of 14,000–19,000 GT: the, the and the. 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 persons were killed in a fire at the Hoboken docks.
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 for the westbound passage from Cherbourg to New York and Kaiser Wilhelm II at on the eastbound passage. In 1907,, and then in 1909,, both of the British Cunard Line, won the Blue Riband back for the British, and Mauretania then retained it until 1929.
Between 1894 and 1908, NDL ordered many other freight and passenger steamers from several German yards. These included the Barbarossa class and the Generals class.

NDL in the 20th century

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. 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 "Schrecklichkeit" speech, in which he compared the military of the German Empire to the Huns, at the departure ceremony for Friedrich Der Grosse. 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". In German, these ships were collectively named "Hunnendampfer".
At the beginning of the 20th century, the U.S. banking magnate J. P. Morgan began to acquire a number of shipping companies, including the White Star Line, the Leyland Line, and the Red Star Line, to build a transatlantic monopoly. He succeeded in signing both HAPAG and NDL to an alliance, but was unable to acquire the British Cunard Line, and the French Compagnie Générale Transatlantique. HAPAG and NDL gave Morgan the largest U.S. rail company, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and so Morgan offered to divide the market. The Holland-America Line and the Red Star Line together divided a contract for the passengers of the four companies. Ruinous competition was prevented. In 1912, the Morgan Agreement was terminated.
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.
Despite the financial difficulties, between 1907 and 1910 the company built a new headquarters on Papenburgstrasse in Bremen, the prestigious NDL Building to plans by architect Johann Poppe, who was also the lead interior designer for the company's liners. The building, the largest in the city at the time, was in eclectic Renaissance Revival style with a tower. It was sold in 1942 to Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau and when the company was broken up into its constituent parts after World War II, passed to AG Weser. However, it had been severely damaged by bombing and was ultimately demolished and a Horten department store built on the site in 1969. The adjacent new shopping mall bears the name Lloyd Passage.
The lucrative North Atlantic route was extremely competitive in this period, with new, attractive ships from other large companies including the,, and, of the Cunard Line, and the,, and of the White Star Line. The HAPAG introduced three new vessels of the Imperator class,,, and, with a size of 50,000 GT. The NDL responded with smaller but prestigious vessels such as the and the, and transferred the SS Berlin from Mediterranean service to the New York run. Finally in 1914 the company ordered two liners of the Columbus class; however, World War I prevented their completion.
In this era of "open borders" to transatlantic travel, the largest passenger group making the transatlantic crossing were immigrants from Europe to the United States, and NDL carried more than any other steamship line. During 1900–1914, the three NDL vessels carrying the most transatlantic migrants,, and, each brought over 100 thousand steerage passengers to New York, Baltimore and Philadelphia. The economic downturn following the Panic of 1907 led to a sharp fall-off of migrant traffic to America, only partially offset by increased steerage flows back to Europe, and this was the main contributing factor to "one of the blackest years in the Company's history."
In 1914, NDL employed approximately 22,000 people. Its success thus directly influenced the rapid growth of the city of Bremerhaven, which had been founded only in 1827.
Director General Dr. Wiegand died in 1909, and was succeeded by Director Phillip Heineken until 1920.

NDL's routes around 1907

This is a list of routes served by NDL in 1907.
Europe – America
Mediterranean
Europe – Asia/Australia
Asia / Australia
German coast
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 World. 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. NDL owned a majority interest in the Deutsche Ozean-Reederei, which used U-boats for trade and made some successful Atlantic crossings.

Post war

At the start of the war, the NDL's fleet totaled more than. Under the Treaty of Versailles at war's end, all ships over and half of all units from 100 to were confiscated. 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. The company was left with some small ships totalling. With these the company restarted daytrip passenger service, tug service, and freight service in 1919. The 'flagship' was the 781-ton Grüß Gott. From 1920 to 1939, NDL participated in the Seedienst Ostpreußen passenger and goods service to East Prussia.
In 1920, an air transport subsidiary was founded and soon merged with Sablatnig Flugzeugbau GmbH to form Lloyd Luftverkehr Sablatnig. In 1923 this combined with HAPAG's air transport subsidiary to form Deutscher Aero Lloyd, which on 6 January 1926 merged with Junkers Luftverkehr AG to become Deutsche Luft Hansa A.G., the predecessor of Lufthansa.
In August 1920, the NDL made an agency agreement with the U.S. Mail Steamship Co.. 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. The unfinished 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 Titanic. However, 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 postal steamers Seydlitz and Yorck, the Gotha, and the freighters Göttingen, Westfalen and Holstein. The company also began to build new freighters and passenger ships and to buy back other ships. 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. The other ship of the Columbus class, the former Hindenburg, was completed in 1924 and named Columbus; she was placed in scheduled transatlantic passenger service.
A brief post-war boom was followed by severe inflation in Germany, despite which NDL continued to expand their fleet. Twelve new ships of between 8,700 and were placed in service for South and Central America and the Far East, then in addition to Columbus three new ships of between 13,000 and for the North Atlantic, and in 1927 the former was bought back from Great Britain and placed in service as the Dresden.
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. 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.
In 1929 and 1930, the company placed its two largest ships in service, SS Bremen and SS Europa. With an average speed of about 27.9 knots, both were to take the Blue Riband for the fastest Atlantic crossings. 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 and SS Conte di Savoia, the French SS Normandie, and the British RMS Queen Mary.
The 1929 economic crisis which began in the US affected the German shipping companies. The NDL and the HAPAG therefore entered into a cooperation agreement in 1930, and beginning in 1935, instituted joint operations in the North Atlantic. The first signs of a merger were visible. By 1932, the NDL was in an economic crisis, with about 5,000 employees let go, salary cuts, and red ink. Glässel was dismissed. The government placed both NDL and HAPAG in trusteeship under Siegfried Graf von Roedern, and following the death of Stimming, Heinrich F. Albert briefly became head of the NDL, followed after some eighteen months by the National Socialist Rudolph Firle. Bremen State Councillor Karl Lindemann was Chairman of the Board from 1933 to 1945. A programme of economic recovery by divestments and restructuring was initiated. HBAL and the Roland Line became independent companies once more, and other lines took over services to Africa and the Mediterranean. The Nazi regime ordered both NDL and HAPAG to relinquish ships to other lines which were to operate in their regions without competition from other German companies, in particular to Hamburg Süd, the Deutsche Afrika-Linien and the Deutsche Levante Linie.
In 1935, the Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, and Potsdam, each with about, were placed in service for the Far East. The modernization of the fleet continued and in 1937 the line made modest profits.
On 28 August 1939 the slipped out of Lyttelton Harbour on 28 August 1939, on the eve of war, ostensibly for Port Kembla, New South Wales, where she was to have filled her coal bunkers for the homeward passage to Europe. She then headed for the subantarctic Auckland Islands, where she successfully evaded the cruiser, and re-stocked with food and wood. The freighter then made a desperate and successful escape, using jury-rigged sails, to Valparaíso, Chile, in South America. She then made her way into the South Atlantic where, on 24 July 1941, she was intercepted off Montevideo by and scuttled by her crew.
In 1939 NDL had in service 70 vessels with a total of, including the sail training vessel Kommodore Johnsen, 3 daytrip ships, 19 tugs and 125 small ships, and employed 12,255, 8,811 on vessels. Nine further freighters were completed after the outbreak of World War II. This entire fleet was either lost during the war or awarded to the Allies as reparations. Columbus had to be sunk in 1939; Bremen burned in 1941; Steuben was sunk in the Baltic in 1945 with the loss of some 4,000 lives; Europa, claimed by France, became the Liberté in 1947.
The Reich was the primary stockholder in the company, but in 1941/42, NDL was once more privatized and cigarette manufacturer Philipp Reemtsma became primary stockholder. Dr. Johannes Kulenkampff, a Board member since 1932, and Richard Bertram, a Board member since 1937, became Chairman in 1942.

After World War II

At the end of World War II the company's headquarters 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. – 1963 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. In 1950, the NDL placed its first post-war orders at the Bremer Vulkan shipyard, the Rheinstein class.
After the limitations on German shipping imposed by the Allies were lifted in 1951, the NDL commenced building a new fleet. First it bought older freighters and had new freighters built between 4,000 and and 5,000 and 13,000 DWT, all with names ending in -stein. The line had routes to Canada, New Orleans, the Canary Islands, and beginning in 1953 to the Far East.
Passenger service resumed in 1955 using a rebuilt 1924 Swedish ship, the MS Gripsholm. 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 Bremen, and in 1965, the Europa, Gripsholm's sister ship bought from the Swedish American Line, with a capacity of 843 passengers. These vessels were first placed in scheduled service to America but soon transferred to cruising. In 1967, the express freighter Friesenstein inaugurated the Friesenstein class and replaced Nabob and Schwabenstein. Passenger service was running at an increasing deficit, and the rapidly growing container traffic required cost-intensive retooling in the freight business. In 1968 NDL inaugurated container service to the USA with the 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 and was the 16th largest shipping company worldwide; HAPAG, with, was the 9th largest. 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.
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.
On September 1, 1970, the North German Lloyd merged with Hamburg America Line to form Hapag-Lloyd AG, based in Hamburg with secondary headquarters in Bremen.
On 20 February 2007, a small group of dedicated, former member of the North German Lloyd organized for the 150th anniversary of the foundation of the shipping company a meeting at the Bremer Ratskeller. This event was very popular, so it was decided to carry out in the following years further meetings. – Meanwhile, the meetings take place annually on the twentieth of February in Bremen in the former Lloyd's building – today Courtyard Marriott hotel.

Legacy

This is a list of all ships in service of the NDL. Some of the ships were owned previously by other companies.
YearNameTonnageShipyardFate/Status
1858Bremen Caird & Co. Ltd., Greenock1874 sold to E.Bates, Liverpool converted to sail.
1858New YorkCaird & Co. Ltd., Greenock1874 sold to E.Bates, Liverpool, converted to sail; wrecked off Staten Island and sank in 1891
1858Hudson1858 burned out at Bremen, rebuilt and in 1863 became Louisiana for National Line
1858Weser Palmer Bros. & Co. Ltd., Yarrow1859 sold to French Navy
1861Hansa Caird & Co. Ltd., Greenock1879 1879 sold to shipbuilders in part exchange for Hansa
1863America Caird & Co. Ltd., Greenock1894 sold to Italy, renamed Orazio
1865HermannCaird & Co. Ltd., Greenock1893 sold to shipbuilder in part exchange for H.H. Meier
1866Caird & Co. Ltd., Greenock1875 wrecked in Thames Estuary; loss of 57 lives
1867UnionCaird & Co. Ltd., Greenock1870 wrecked on Rattray Head, Aberdeen; no loss of life
1867 Caird & Co. Ltd., Greenock1896 scrapped
1868Rhein Caird & Co. Ltd., Greenock1891 sold to Gray, Liverpool
1868Main Caird & Co. Ltd., Greenock1891 sold to Anglo-American SS Co.
1868BaltimoreCaird & Co. Ltd., Greenock1894 scrapped
1868Berlin Caird & Co. Ltd., Greenock1894 sold to Italy, renamed M. Bruzzo
1869Donau Caird & Co. Ltd., Greenock1889 sold to H. Bischoff, Bremen
1869OhioCaird & Co. Ltd., Greenock1894 sold to shipbuilder in part exchange for new ships, resold to Italy renamed Amazzone.
1869Leipzig Caird & Co. Ltd., Greenock1894 sold to Hamburg owners.
1869Frankfurt Caird & Co. Ltd., Greenock1894 sold to shipbuilder in part exchange for new ships.
1869Hanover Caird & Co. Ltd., Greenock1894 scrapped
1870Cologne Caird & Co. Ltd., Greenock1895 sold to be scrapped
1870Koln Caird & Co. Ltd., Greenock1895 sold to be scrapped
1871König Wilhelm ICaird & Co. Ltd., Greenock1873 stranded at Holland; no life lost.
1871Caird & Co. Ltd., Greenock1897 scrapped
1871Graf BismarckCaird & Co. Ltd., Greenock1898 scrapped
1872Strasburg Caird & Co. Ltd., Greenock1896 sold to be scrapped
1872Mosel Caird & Co. Ltd., Greenock1882 wrecked Cornwall; no life lost.
1873BraunschweigR. Steele & Co. Ltd., Greenock1896 scrapped
1873Feldmarschall MoltkeCaird & Co. Ltd., Greenock1875 sold to P&O and renamed Assam
1873Minister RoonCaird & Co. Ltd., Greenock1875 sold to P&O and renamed Siam
1873Hohenzollern Caird & Co. Ltd., Greenock1899 sold to Hong Kong.
1874Nürnberg R. Steele & Co. Ltd., Greenock1895 sold to F.Raben, Vegesack, scrapped.
1874HohenstaufenEarle's Shipbuilding & Eng. Co. Ltd., Hull1897 sold to be scrapped
1874Oder Caird & Co. Ltd., Greenock1887 wrecked at Socotra Islands
1874Neckar Caird & Co. Ltd., Greenock1896 sold to be scrapped
1874General WerderCaird & Co. Ltd., Greenock1892 given for new building in payment
1875SalierEarle's Shipbuilding & Eng. Co. Ltd., Hull1896 wrecked on Spanish coast; loss of 279 lives.
1876HabsburgEarle's Shipbuilding & Eng. Co. Ltd., Hull1898 sold to be scrapped
1881 John Elder & Co. Ltd., Glasgow1895 Sunk after collision in the English Channel
1882Werra John Elder & Co. Ltd., Glasgow1901 sold to be scrapped
1883Fulda John Elder & Co. Ltd., Glasgow1899 rebuilding abort after heavy damage and scrap
1884Eider John Elder & Co. Ltd., Glasgow1892 stranded at Isle of Wight, refloated and scrapped.
1884Ems John Elder & Co. Ltd., GlasgowSold to Elder Dempster Lines, renamed Lake Simcoe.
1886Aller Fairfield Shipbuilding & Eng. Co. Ltd., Glasgow1904 scrapped
1886StettinAG Vulcan Stettin1931 scrapped
1886Trave Fairfield Shipbuilding & Eng. Co. Ltd., Glasgow1908 sold to be scrapped
1886Saale Fairfield Shipbuilding & Eng. Co. Ltd., Glasgow1901 sold
1886PreussenAG Vulcan, Stettin1909 sold to be scrapped
1887Lahn Fairfield Shipbuilding & Eng. Co. Ltd., Glasgow1904 sold
1887BayernAG Vulcan, Stettin1909 sold to be scrapped
1887SachsenAG Vulcan, Stettin1909 sold to be scrapped
1888Dresden Fairfield Shipbuilding & Eng. Co. Ltd., Glasgow1903 renamed Helius, 1906 sold to Turkish Government and renamed BEZMI-I ALEM, 1914 sunk Black Sea
1889Kaiser Wilhelm II AG Vulcan, Stettin1900: Rebuilt to, 1901: Renamed Hohenzollern, 1908: stranded at Sardinia, refloated and scrapped.
1889München Fairfield Shipbuilding & Eng. Co. Ltd., Glasgow1902 scrapped
1889Karlsruhe Fairfield Shipbuilding & Eng. Co. Ltd., Glasgow1908 sold to be scrapped
1889Stuttgart Fairfield Shipbuilding & Eng. Co. Ltd., Glasgow1908 sold to be scrapped
1890DarmstadtFairfield Shipbuilding & Eng. Co. Ltd., Glasgow1911 scrapped
1890Gera Fairfield Shipbuilding & Eng. Co. Ltd., Glasgow1909 scrapped
1890Spree AG Vulcan, Stettin1899: Rebuilt and renamed to Kaiserin Maria Theresia. 1904 sold to Russian Navy, renamed Ural.
1891Havel AG Vulcan, Stettin1898 scrapped
1891OldenburgFairfield Shipbuilding & Eng. Co. Ltd., Glasgow1911 scrapped
1891WeimarFairfield Shipbuilding & Eng. Co. Ltd., Glasgow1908 scrapped
1892H. H. MeierArmstrong, Mitchell & Co. Ltd., Newcastle1901 scrapped
1893Pfalz Wigham Richardson & Co. Ltd., Newcastle1904 sunk
1893Mark Armstrong, Mitchell & Co. Ltd., Newcastle1915 Sunk by Royal Navy off Tanga, Tanzania
1894Prinzregent LuitpoldSchichau-Werke, Danzig1914 laid up in Messina; 1915 seized by Italy, renamed Pietro Calvi
1894Prinz HeinrichSchichau-Werke, Danzig1914 laid up in Lisbon; 1916 seized by Portugal, renamed Porto
1894Blohm & Voss AG, Hamburg1914 laid up in Boston; 1917 seized by United States Shipping Board, renamed Iroquois
1894WillehadBlohm & Voss AG, Hamburg1914 laid up in Boston; 1917 seized by US Shipping Board, renamed Wyandotte
1896AG Vulcan, Stettin1914 laid up in New York City; 1917 seized by US Shipping Board, renamed Huron
1897 Blohm & Voss AG, HamburgInterned in Manila, August 1914
seized by U.S., 6 April 1917
1897Blohm & Voss AG, Hamburg1914 laid up in New York City; 1917 seized by US Shipping Board, renamed Mercury
1897AG Vulcan, Stettin1919 ceded to Britain as war reparation, 1921 to Orient Line, renamed Omar.
1897 Schichau-Werke, Danzig1919 ceded to Britain as war reparation, 1921 to Byron Line, renamed Constantinople.
1897AG Vulcan, Stettin1914 became German armed merchant cruiser, 1914 sunk by at Rio de Oro, Spanish Sahara.
1898Kaiser FriedrichSchichau-Werke, DanzigCould not reach specified speed, 1899 chartered to HAPAG, 1900–1912 laid up, 1912 sold to Compagnie de Navigation Sud-Atlantique, Paris, renamed Burdigala.
1899 Blohm & Voss AG, Hamburg1917 seized by USA, renamed Susquehanna
1899AG Vulcan, Stettin1915 seized by Italy and renamed Ferdinando Palasciano.
1899 Joh. C. Tecklenborg, Geestemünde1917 seized by USA, renamed Amphion
1899Hanover Wigham Richardson & Co. Ltd., Newcastle1919 ceded to Britain as war reparation, 1921 repurchased by NDL, rebuilt to 7,438 tons, 1933 scrapped.
1900Frankfurt Joh. C. Tecklenborg, Geestemünde1919 ceded to Britain as war reparation, 1922 renamed Sarvistan.
1900Schichau-Werke, Danzig1914 1917 seized by USA renamed Aeolus.
1900Prinzessin IreneAG Vulcan, Stettin1917 seized by USA renamed Pocahontas, 1922 re-purchased by NDL renamed Bremen, 1928 renamed Karlsruhe, 1932 scrapped.
1900AG Vulcan, Stettinex-Kiautschou, 1904 purchased from Hamburg America Line and renamed Princess Alice, 1917 seized by USA, renamed Princess Matoika.
1900 Blohm & Voss AG, Hamburg1919 ceded to Britain as war reparation
1900Strassburg Bremer Vulkan AG, Vegesack1904 transferred to Hamburg America Line, renamed Slavonia.
1900WürzburgBremer Vulkan AG, Vegesack1916 seized by Portugal, renamed Sao Vicente
1901AG Vulcan, Stettin1914 became German commerce raider, 1915 interned in Newport News, Virginia, 1917 seized by USA, renamed Von Steuben.
1901 Joh. C. Tecklenborg, Geestemünde1917 seized by USA, renamed Antigone
1901CasselJoh. C. Tecklenborg, Geestemünde1919 ceded to France as war reparation, renamed Marechal Gallieni
1901Bremer Vulkan AG, Vegesack1917 seized by USA, renamed Bridgeport
1901Petchaburi2.191 GRTGeorg Seebeck  BremerhavenJuly 1917 Confiscated by the Siam Government, re-named Kaeo Samud.
December 1920 sunk on trip from Bangkok to Swatow in Gulf of Siam
1902Chemnitz Joh. C. Tecklenborg, Geestemünde1919 ceded to Britain as war reparation
1902BrandenburgBremer Vulkan AG, Vegesack1919 ceded by Britain as war reparation, 1922 renamed Hecuba and transferred to Alfred Holt & Co.
1902SchleswigAG Vulcan, Stettin1919 to France as war reparation, 1921 renamed General Duchesne, management was transferred to Messageries Maritimes
1902Erlangen Bremer Vulkan AG, Vegesack1917 mined and sunk in North Sea; loss of 19 lives
1903 AG Vulcan, Stettin1914 laid up in New York; 1917 seized by USA, renamed Agamemnon
1903ZietenSchichau-Werke, Danzig1916 seized by Portugal, renamed Tungue
1903RoonJoh. C. Tecklenborg, Geestemünde1919 ceded to Britain, 1921 to Greece, renamed Constantinoupolis
1903SeydlitzSchichau-Werke, Stettin1933 scrapped
1903Gneisenau AG Vulcan, Stettin1918 seized by Belgium, 1919 sold to Italy, 1921 renamed Citta di Genova
1904 Joh. C. Tecklenborg, Geestemünde1919 seized by France, 1920 transferred to French Line, renamed La Bourdonnais
1904AG Vulcan, Stettin1914 became German commerce raider, 1915 interned in USA, 1917 seized by USA, renamed DeKalb
1906YorckSchichau-Werke, Danzig1933 scrapped
1906BülowJoh. C. Tecklenborg, Geestemünde1914 laid up in Lisbon / 1916 seized by Portugal, renamed Tras-os-Montes
1906Prinz LudwigAG Vulcan, Stettin1919 ceded to Britain as war reparation, 1920 transferred to Orient Line, renamed Orcades
1907Joh. C. Tecklenborg, Geestemünde1920 ceded to Britain as war reparation, 1921 transferred to Canadian Pacific Steamship Co., renamed Empress of China then Empress of India
1907GothaBremer Vulkan AG, Vegesack1933 scrapped
1907AG Vulcan, Stettin1914 laid up in Boston / 1917 seized by USA, renamed Mount Vernon
1907KleistSchichau-Werke, Danzig1919 ceded to Britain as war reparation, 1921 to Japan, renamed Yoshino Maru
1907GoebenAG Weser, Bremen1919 to France as war reparation, 1920 transferred to French Line and renamed Roussillon
1907SchlesienFlensburger Schiffbau, Flensburg1914 captured by Royal Navy, 1915 renamed Maritime, then Waikawa
1908DerfflingerSchichau-Werke, Danzig1914 seized by Britain, renamed Huntsgreen, 1923 repurchased by NDL, reverted to Derfflinger, 1932 scrapped
1908LützowAG Weser, Bremen1914 seized by Britain, renamed Huntsend, 1923 repurchased by NDL, reverted to Lutzow, 1933 scrapped
1908GiessenBremer Vulkan AG, Vegesack1919 ceded to Britain as war reparation, 1921 transferred to Ellerman Lines, renamed City of Harvard
1909AG Vulcan, Stettin1917 seized by USA
1909Berlin AG Weser, Bremen1919 ceded to Britain as war reparation, 1920 transferred to White Star Line, renamed Arabic
1910Coburg Bremer Vulkan AG, Vegesack1917 seized by Brazil, renamed Pocone
1910Eisenach Bremer Vulkan AG, Vegesack1917 seized by Brazil, renamed Santarém
1912Sierra Nevada AG Vulcan, Stettin1917 seized by Brazil, renamed Bage
1912 Bremer Vulkan AG, Vegesack1919 seized by France, management transferred to Cie. de Navigation Sud-Atlantique, renamed Alba.
1913 AG Vulcan, StettinSupply ship for German raiders, seized by Peru 1917, renamed Callao, chartered by United States Shipping Board and transferred to U.S. Navy 26 April 1919 and commissioned USS Callao, decommissioned 20 September 1919. Sold at auction by USSB, renamed Ruth Alexander by Dollar Steamship Lines.
1913Sierra SalvadaBremer Vulkan AG, Vegesack1917 seized by Brazil, renamed Avare
1913 Bremer Vulkan AG, Vegesack1914 captured by Britain, renamed Boorara.
1914 Schichau-Werke, Danzig1919 ceded to Britain as war reparation, 1920 transferred to White Star Line, renamed Homeric
1915Bremer Vulkan AG, Vegesack1920 ceded to Britain as war reparation, transferred to Orient Line, renamed Ormuz, 1927 repurchased by NDL, renamed Dresden, 1934 wrecked on Norwegian coast; loss of 4 lives
1922Köln Bremer Vulkan AG, Vegesack1934 became cargo ship, 1940 wrecked on Swedish coast
1922Crefeld Flensburger Schiffbau, Flensburg1934 became cargo ship, 1941 scuttled as blockship at Massawa
1922Sierra Nevada AG Vulcan, Stettin1925 renamed Madrid, 1935 sold to Hamburg South America Line
1922Weser AG Weser, Bremen
1926 ss SCHWABEN, passenger-cargo ship,		1931 laid up, 1933 scrapped
1922Werra AG Weser, Bremen1935 sold to Italian Line, Genoa and renamed Calabria. Seized by UK 11 June 1940; sunk by 8 December 1940.
1923Sierra Ventana Bremer Vulkan AG, Vegesack1935 sold to Italian Line, renamed Sardegna
1923München AG Vulkan, Stettin1931 renamed General Von Steuben, 1938 renamed Steuben, 1945 torpedoed and sunk by Russian submarine in Baltic Sea; loss of over 2,700 lives.
1924Sierra Córdoba Bremer Vulkan AG, Vegesack1935 sold to Nazi Deutsche Arbeitsfront for Strength Through Joy cruising. 1945 captured by Britain, 1948 sank under tow
1924Sierra MorenaBremer Vulkan AG, Vegesack1935 sold to Nazi Deutsche Arbeitsfront for Strength Through Joy cruising, renamed Der Deutsche. 1946 became Russian-owned Asia
1924SaarbrückenAG Weser, Bremen1935 sold to Italian Line, renamed Toscana
1924Coblenz AG Weser, Bremen1935 sold to Italian Line, renamed Sicilia
1924Trier AG Weser, Bremen1936 wrecked off Spain, salvaged and sold to Turkey as submarine depot ship Erkin
1924Fulda AG Weser, Bremen1940 sold to Japan, renamed Teikoko Maru
1924Stuttgart AG Vulkan, Stettin1938 sold to Nazi Deutsche Arbeitsfront for Strength Through Joy cruising. 1943 bombed and sunk at Gdynia
1924 Schichau-Werke, Danzig1939 scuttled in Atlantic Ocean to avoid capture by Royal Navy during World War II
1925Berlin Bremer Vulkan AG, Vegesack1945 mined and sunk off Swinemunde, 1948 refloated, repaired, and renamed Admiral Nakhimov for USSR. 1986 sank in Black Sea after collision.