The Hamburg Amerikanische Packetfahrt Actien Gesellschaft (HAPAG for short, often referred to in English as Hamburg America Line, sometimes also Hamburg-Amerika Linie or Hamburg Line) was an enterprise established in Hamburg, Germany in 1847 for shipping across the Atlantic Ocean. Among the founders were prominent citizens such as Adolph Godeffroy, Ferdinand Laeisz, H. J. Merck, Carl Woermann, August Bolten and others. It soon developed into the largest German, and at times the world's largest shipping company, serving the market created by the German immigration to the United States. On September 1, 1970, after 123 years of independent existence, HAPAG merged with the Bremen-based North German Lloyd to form Hapag-Lloyd AG.
Ports served
In the early years, the Hamburg America Line exclusively connected European ports with North American ports, such as Hoboken, New Jersey or New Orleans, Louisiana. With time, however, the company established lines to all continents.
Notable journeys
- In 1858, its liner Austria sank, claiming 449 lives.
- In 1900, 1901 and 1903 its liner Deutschland won the Blue Riband.
- In 1906, Prinzessin Victoria Luise was destroyed by fire off the coast of Jamaica, but no lives were lost.[1]
- In 1912, its liner Amerika was the first ship to warn Titanic of icebergs.
- In 1939, its liner St. Louis, was unable to find a port in Cuba, the United States, or Canada willing to accept the over 950 Jewish refugees on board and had to return to Europe.
Later years
Hamburg America Line lost almost the entirety of its fleet twice, as a result of each of World War I and World War II. In 1970, the company merged with the Norddeutscher Lloyd (North German Lloyd) of Bremen to establish the current-day Hapag-Lloyd, which itself is owned by TUI AG.
See also
References
External links
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
