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

Deutsche Reedereiflaggen (b) - Teil 2

Last modified: 2019-08-24 by klaus-michael schneider
Keywords: behn | behnke sieg | beka | bendorfer | berndt | beluga | bernhold | berns | behnke(ernst) | berkhan horn | bestmann |
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• Bernd Becker
• August Behn
• Ernst Behnke
• Behnke & Sieg
• BeKa
• Beluga Shipping GmbH
• Bendorfer
• Berkhan & Horn
• Hans E.W. Berndt
• Kurt Bernhold
• Arnold Bernstein
• Hermann Bestmann
• Beulwitz, Dönitz, Witt & Co
• F.V. Beutelrock
• W.Beyer

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

Bernd Becker

Bernd Becker Shipmanagement is located in Jork (Stade county). On the edges at top and bottom are red stripes. In the central white field is a black inscription. "BB" is connected by an "A" above.
Source: Verband Deutscher Reeder homepage
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 12 Jul 2012

August Behn

The company had a dark blue (FIAV-code B+) flag with a white centred cross.
Source: Jürgen Meyer: "Hamburger Segelschiffe von 1795-1945", ISBN 3-89225-400-1; Hamburg 1999; cover inside
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 23 Mar 2007

Ernst Behnke

The company was based in Rostock. The flag was white with a black initial "B" in centre.
Source: Massary 1928, series 1, image no.66
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 29 July 2019

Behnke & Sieg

The company was based in Danzig. In 1933 the company had just one freighter and operated in the Baltic Sea.
Sources: Lloyd 1912, no. 13, Lloyd 1933, p.6 image no.11 and Massary 1928, series 1, image no.22
Jan Mertens, 25 Dec 2004 and Klaus-Michael Schneider, 29 July 2019

The flag was parted per saltire of white and blue. The white quarters had black initials "B" (hoist) and "S" (fly).
Jorge Candeias, 24 Dec 2004 and Klaus-Michael Schneider, 29 July 2019

BeKa

On 1 Jan of 2007, the important inland shipping group Imperial (DE) took over freighting office BeKa Schiffsbefrachtungs-GmbH at Kehl on the Rhine (opposite Strasbourg in fact). The latter firm was founded in 1982 by Franz-Joseph Becker; his daughter Monique Hezel-Reyntjens continues to head the office, arranging transportation for about twenty private shippers (Dutch, most of them) and some others.
See the in-house magazine ‘Imperial News’ no. 1/2007, page 5 (English version).
BeKa page on the Imperial website: showing the house flag, a pennant really, confirming Imperial’s habit of allowing formerly independent operators to keep their flags flying (other examples are Wijgula, NL; De Grave-Antverpia, BE; Transest, FR).
See a larger drawing on the Vlootschouw page dedicated to the vessel ‘Jordy M’: Blue pennant, yellow vertical stripe near the hoist bearing the company name in blue letters (no serifs) placed vertically; in the fly, a drawn-out but still recognizable initial ‘B’ placed above a wave, both yellow.
For an even better picture see image above taken from German eBay offer no. 160171593145 (end 28 Oct 2007) put up by “maiti35”.
Jan Mertens, 21 Nov 2007

Beluga Shipping GmbH

It is a dark blue flag showing a white tail fin of a diving whale. For further information click: company webpage
Source: Verband Deutscher Reeder homepage
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 17 Jul 2012

Bendorfer

Bendorfer Umschlag- und Speditions Gesellschaft mbH - The company was located in Bendorf, a small town between Koblenz and Neuwied and was established by Dr.Jürgen Bernhold, well known as owner of Hamburger Lloyd, and the Kann, a logistics(?) company.
In 2007 the company ran the dry good section of Bendorf’s harbour, while the fuel section was overtaken by Oiltanking GmbH (Hamburg) in the 1990's, when Hamburger Lloyd deteriorated.
Source: www.marcollect.de, maintained by Klaus-Peter Bühne.

It is a light blue flag with horizontal red stripes at both edges and a white fimbriation between the stripes. In the red stripe is a simplified version of the coat of arms of the city of Bendorf (an image can be seen at www.bendorf.de) at the hoist and white capitals “BUS”, which are separated by white dots, at the fly.
Source: I spotted this flag at Billwerder Bucht/Hamburg on 10 April 2009.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 9 May 2009

Berkhan & Horn

The company was based in Bremen. The flag was white, parted by a green bend sinister, charged in centre with a red 8-point star. In upper hoist ("B") and lower fly ("& H") were black inscriptions.
Source: Massary 1928, series 1, image no.25
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 30 July 2019

Kurt Bernhold

On this page recounting an inland shipping career and showing the house flag of tanker operator â€[Binnentankreederei] Kurt Bernhold KG’ at Hamburg: See fourth photo showing vessel 'Fuhlsbüttel' in 1962.
Quarterly red and blue with a white cross throughout, the white Hamburg castle in the upper hoist (red field) and white initials 'KB' in lower fly (red field).
The (unnamed?) author worked for Bernhold between ca. 1959 and 1963 and mentions the end of the company (taken over by Hamburger Lloyd) without giving a precise date.
Kurt Bernhold was already mentioned as manager of HamburgerLloyd.
Jan Mertens, 5 Sep 2008

Hans E.W. Berndt

image by Eugene Ipavec, 11 Feb 2009

image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 24 Aug 2019

This Seatowage page yielded a number of house flags last year, but the 'others' listed end of page may yield some more. One of these is the Berndt towage company at Hamburg, represented by 'Moorburg' and 'Wedel'“ click the first photo to see the tug flying a horizontally divided flag blue-yellow-blue (mirrored by the funnels). Here is the table flag version, found on German eBay as offer no. 290197756509 (end 22 Jan 2008) put up by 'shipflag'.  Dimensions given as approx. 16 [cm] x 25 [cm].
Celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2005 (thus founded in 1930, no doubt named after the first owner), Berndt was at that time under control of Vattenfall, an important energy concern.  However the Eckelmann shipping and logistics group has taken over Berndt since the beginning of 2008.  News story, in German only here.
Active in Hamburg harbour and inland navigation, Berndt is said to have been above all a major stowing agent, especially of bulk goods such as coal, which in its turn explains the firm's ties with energy providers.  The company continues to exist - would its colours still fly?
Jan Mertens, 9 Feb 2009

Ewerführerei und Schleppfahrt H. E. W. Berndt, i.e tug skippers and salvaging, a company based in Hamburg. The flag was a horizontal tricolour of dark blue over yellow over blue.
Source: Schnall funnel chart 1997 Klaus-Michael Schneider, 24 Aug 2019

Arnold Bernstein

The company was based in Hamburg. In 1933 the company had altogether 16 vessels and operated services on the following lines: New York - Antwerpen, Hamburg - New York - Danzig, Copenhagen - Oslo, Copenhagen - Danzig, Barcelona - Triest and Istanbul - Alexandria. The flag was a black-red horizontal bicolour, superimposed by a throughout white lozenge, charged with a black inscription "A.B".
Source: Arnold KLUDAS: "Die Geschichte der deutschen Passagierschiffahrt" (5 Bde.) Hamburg 1986; Reprint Laibach Slovenia-Buch Nr. 03617-8 Flagchart p.224, Lloyd 1933, p.6 image no.12 and Massary 1928, series 1, image no.273
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 17 Apr 2009 / 3 Aug 2019

Hermann Bestmann

Binnenschiffsreederei & Bugsierbetrieb Hermann Bestmann, i.e. inland shipping and towage, a company based in Hamburg. The flag was a red-white-red horizontal triband. In the white stripe was a black inscription "H.B."
Source: Schnall funnel chart 1997
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 24 Aug 2019

Beulwitz, Dönitz, Witt & Co

Beulwitz, Dönitz, Witt & Co. - The company was established of three former naval officers in 1919: Eugen von Beulwitz, Hermann Witt and Friedrich Dönitz, who was a brother of admiral Karl Dönitz. The company lost the ship BOHUS in 1924 and the press was very hostile to the company afterwards for the crew was not very experienced. This marked the end of the company.
The company used a white flag divided by a light blue saltire and with light blue stripes on either edge (FIAV-code B-). In the white fields were black serifed capital letters: "B" (hoist), "D" (top), "W" (fly) and "Co". (bottom).
Source: Jürgen Meyer: "Hamburger Segelschiffe von 1795-1945", ISBN 3-89225-400-1; Hamburg 1999.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 27 Mar 2007

F.V. Beutelrock

The company was based inLübeck - per saltire white and red; in center white disk, fimbriated black, black "FB".
Source: Brown's Flags and Funnels Shipping Companies of the World, compiled by J.L. Loughran, Glasgow, 1995 [lgr95]
Jarig Bakker, 19 Oct 2005

W.Beyer

It was a white flag with red, dotted initials "EB".
Source:
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 11 May 2012

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