House Flags of German Shipping Companies (o) - part 2

Deutsche Reedereiflaggen (o) -Teil 2

Last modified: 2019-08-26 by klaus-michael schneider
Keywords: opielok | orion | ossenbrueggen | ostasiatische hg | oste | ostermoor | ostsee dg | o'swald | ott | ottens | owra | ossag | orient linie | ostsee rh | opaetz-harms |
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• On Time Shipping (OTS)
• Opaetz & Harms
• Opielok Reederei
• Orient Linie
• Orion
• 'Ossag' Tankdampfer GmbH
• Heinrich Ossenbrüggen
• Ostasiatische Handels-Gesellschaft
• Schiffahrtskontor Oste
• Reederei Ostermoor GmbH
• Ostsee-Dampfschiffahrts-Gesellschaft
• Ostsee Reederei und Handels-GmbH
• Ost-West Reederei AG Owra
• William O'Swald and Co
• Oscar Ott
• Ewald Ottens

• House Flags of German Shipping Companies
• House Flags of Shipping Companies
• Germany

On Time Shipping (OTS)

OTS (i.e. On Time Shipping) GmbH is a German inland shipping company established at Nierstein on the Rhine with a local office at Duisburg. Website, German only: here
Founded in 1997 as SKS Transport GmbH, at Bodenheim, the company became OTS on severing relations with the founding firms, active in the transportation of building materials (2001) followed by the removal to Nierstein one year later.
In 2005, OTS was officially recognized as a waste removal company while in 2010, the company took over 58% of the shares in FSK Hamburg. Now employing ten people, OTS cooperates with a number of private barge owners. Should you want a breakdown of goods delivered, have a look at: this pie chart, where gravel and sand take first place, then mineral oil, waste products, fertilizer and salt, etc.
Most interesting are the services on offer (left menu; many clickable photos), neatly divided into transportation of various bulk goods (solid or not), waterway construction, transporation of wheat and fodder, project cargo, waste products, and "other".
The company logo may be seen on the website, blue on white, and - on the house flag - white on blue here.
Attachment shows a blue flag bearing white design elements: large italic company initials "OTS" (no serifs) seemingly transported by a ship's silhouette sailing towards the fly on two wavy lines. For good measure the firm's name appears on the ship's bow in tiny letters.
Source: German eBay offer no. 220052180132 (end 3 Dec 2006) put up by "ohndangdang" who provides dimensions: 100 cm x 140 cm.
Jan Mertens, 27 Mar 2011

Opaetz & Harms

Ewerführerei Opaetz & Harms, i.e. tug skippers, a company located in Hamburg. The flag was red, divided by two black horizontal stripes.
Source: Schnall funnel chart 1997
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 18 Aug 2019

Opielok Reederei GmbH

The company was based in Hamburg, was founded in 1998 byChristopher E. O. Opielok, operating the container ship MV "Christine O". The company currently two multi-purpose ships and two bulk carriers. Most ships are named after members of the Opielok family ("xx O").

The flag of "Opielok Reederei", as shown as a graphic on the company website, is vertically divided red blue with a yellow emblem in the middle, made of a "C" inscribed in an "O", undoubtedly the initials of the company's founder and manager.
In September 2007, the company founded the fully-owned subsidiary "Opielok Offshore Carriers GmbH" (OOC) for the operation of offshore vessels and platform supply vessels. Their seven ships are named after animals, "OOC xx", for instance "OOC Tiger". According to the press release by the mother company, the ships have a "dark blue livery emblazoned with a tiger", maybe also used on a house flag yet to be reported.
Source: OOC press release, April 2008. (obsolete page: http://www.opielok.de/files/OOCPressReleaseApril.pdf)
Ivan Sache, 7 Sep 2008

Orient-Linie

The company was based in Hamburg. The flag was red with a white 6-point star in centre, charged with a black Hamburg castle.
Source: Flaggenbuch 1905, part V, p.19, image no.442
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 10 July 2019

Orion

image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 19 May 2007

image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 31 July 2019

Orion Bulkers GmbH & Co. KG (Shipping Company, Germany), formerly Orion Schiffahrts-Gesellschaft Reith & Co. GmbH - White saltire on dark red a white vertical oval centered, charged with a black "O".
Jorge Candeias, 21 Mar 1999

"Orion" Schifffahrts-Gesellschaft mbH- The flag is nearly the same as that one already depicted but the background is simply red.
Source: Announcement of sponsoring on a museum-ticket.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 19 May 2007

The company was originally based in Rostock and had 10 freighters. It operated mainly in the North Sea and the Baltic, but also in the White Sea, the Black Sea and the Mediterranian. The flag was red, parted by a white saltire with a centred white disc, charged with a black "O" or annulet.
Source: Lloyd 1933, p.14 image no.90
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 31 July 2019

'Ossag' Tankdampfer GmbH

The company was based in Hamburg. The company had just one vessel and operated between Europe, North America and Mexico. The flag was white with centred yellow equilateral triangle, fimbriated black and charged with a red inscription "OSS", the letter being in the corners of the triangle.
Sources: Massary 1928, series 1, image no.264 and Lloyd 1933, p.18 image no.118
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 3 Aug 2019

Heinrich Ossenbrüggen

Heinrich Ossenbrüggen
The company was located in Altendeich/Haseldorf. It is a white flag with a red-white-black bordure of ratio approx 2:1:1. In the centre is a black capital "O" of double width, superimposed by a black, serifed capital "H".
Source: "Flaggen, Schornsteine, Reedereien- Flaggen und Schornsteine der deutschen Reedereien und ihre Schiffe über 300 BRT", Hamburg 1957; p.F20
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 12 Apr 2009

Ostasiatische Handels-Gesellschaft

The company was based in Hamburg and used a triangular pennant parted of black over red over yellow, all stripes converging in flyend.
Source: Flaggenbuch 1905, part V, p.20, image no.506
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 10 July 2019

Schiffahrtskontor Oste

The company was based in Hemmoor. In the 1970ies its ships sailed all over the seven seas. The name of the ships always began with "Oste", a small river in the region. The flag was blue with a throughout white cross, in centre on a white diamond was a red initial "O".
Source: here
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 6 July 2019

Reederei Ostermoor GmbH

The company was located in Hamburg. It was a yellow over white pennant. In the upper hoist corner were three white 6-point stars in a triangular constellation.
Source: "Flaggen, Schornsteine, Reedereien- Flaggen und Schornsteine der deutschen Reedereien und ihre Schiffe über 300 BRT", Hamburg 1957; p.F22
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 20 Apr 2009

Ostsee-Dampfschiffahrts-Gesellschaft

image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 17 September 2008

image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 5 Aug 2019

The company was based in Stettin. One flag (see left image above) was a 11-stripes flag with alternating horizontal white and red stripes starting with a white one. In the centre is a white rectangle with black dotted capitals: "O.D.G.". Another flag (see right image above) was white, divided by four red, horizontal stripes. In centre was a white lozenge fimbriated red with red inscription "ODG".
Sources: [llo12] p.108, image no.1500 and Massary 1928, series 1, image no.296
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 17 September 2008 / 5 Aug 2019

Ostsee Reederei und Handels-GmbH

The company was based in Hamburg. The flag was white parted by a celestial blue off-centred cross. In its intersection point was a voided light blue diamond with a black inscription "OR".
Source: Massary 1928, series 1, image no.203
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 4 Aug 2019

Ost-West Reederei AG 'Owra'

The company was based in Königsberg. The flag was red with a white bend sinister, charged with a black inscription "OWRA".
Source: Massary 1928, series 1, image no.145
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 2 Aug 2019

William O'Swald and Co

William O'Swald and Co. - The company was established in 1824 bei William O'Swald (in Hamburg usually called: oswald). His son William Henry O'Swald was born on 24 April 1832 in Hamburg. He became member of the board of the company, which was specialised in trade with Eastern Africa, in 1859. Earlier before he led the branches of his fathers company in Zanzibar, Lagos and Palma. In 1859 he signed a treaty between the cities of Hamburg, Lübeck and Bremen and the Sultan of Zanzibar, which had great influence in interior Eastern Africa then.
O'Swald was for a certain time also honorary consul in Zanzibar. In this position he established new branches of the company in Madagascar, the Somali Coast and the German protectorate in East Africa, (later Tanganyika). O'Swald was also "Präses" (some kind of minister) of the trade and shipping department of the city of Hamburg. He promoted Hamburgs colonial trade and established in 1886 the Hamburg section of the "Deutsche Kolonial-Gesellschaft" (=German Colonial Society) and was elected as a member of the board of that company in Berlin. He had however no enthusiasm in colonial political affairs and often critised the politics of the half-official "Deutsch Ostafrikanische Gesellschaft" (= German East Africa Company) of C. Peters. O'Swald died on 7 May 1923 in Blankenese, today a part of Hamburg.
Source: Franklin Kopitsch; David Tilgner (ed.): Hamburg Lexikon, Hamburg 1999, ISBN 3-9805687-9-2; p.363.

The company used a blue flag with a coat of arms in its centre. The coat of arms was topped by a golden coronet. At flags bottom was an orange inscription "WOS & Co.". The shield was divided per fess. The base showed on a golden (=yellow) field a red oval with small black wings. The chief was divided per pale. On the right side was a red squirrel in a golden (=yellow) field, facing the hoist. On the left side were three red roses in triangular formation in a silver (=white) field.
Source: Jürgen Meyer: "Hamburger Segelschiffe von 1795-1945", ISBN 3-89225-400-1; Hamburg 1999; inside cover.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 13 Apr 2007

Oscar Ott

According to source Hamburg shipowners register provides evidence of the company's existence at least from 1901 until 1911. In the centre of the white flag is a red capital "O" surrounded by red lines forming a rectangle.
Source: Otto Mathies: "Hamburgs Reederei 1814 - 1914", Hamburg 1924, p.185
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 11 July 2012

Ewald Ottens

Ewald Ottens
The company was located in Cuxhaven. It is a white flag divided by a blue saltire with black capitals "E"(hoist), "O"(fly) and "C"(bottom). In the top quarter are hammer and mallet, the symbol of mining, in black.
Source: "Deutsche Reedereien und ihre Erkennungszeichen", 2nd ed.; Hamburg; 1956; p.31
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 30 Mar 2009

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