Shipping Lines - German heavy-lift shipping company’s high profile was relatively short-lived

Its title was quite appropriate as on both sides of many of their ships’ accommodation blocks/navigating bridges/wheelhouses there was painted a large white whale’s tail on a blue background.

Founded by Niels Stolberg in the early 1990s, the company quickly grew and was the first Western shipping company to send a heavy-lift ship through the Arctic Ocean from Europe to Asia rather than through the Suez Canal.

At its commercial peak it controlled a sizeable fleet of merchant ships with nearly 70 heavy lift cargo carriers. When the company was declared insolvent in 2011 it affected over 650 employees worldwide in offices from London, Rotterdam, Stavanger, Moscow, Mumbai, Shanghai, Beijing, Tokyo, Singapore, Sydney, Sao Paulo and Houston.

The Teerhof, close to the River Weser in Bremen, was chosen as the site of the new Beluga head offices. It was an important central location in the historic Hanseatic port city. During excavations in relation to the construction of the underground car park the remains of a mediaeval merchantman or wooden “cog” were found and very quickly State archaeologists moved in to supervise the work. Coincidentally, my wife and I were on a coach tour of northern Germany and Denmark and observed a similar replica vessel in the River Weser passing the well-known Beck’s Brewery. Later we watched a group of specialist ship carpenters working on another replica cog at the port of Wismar in what had been the former East Germany.

Mainly due to the global recession around 2010, Beluga Shipping were relying mainly for financial support from a US-based investment group. Wide ranging changes in senior management personnel were inevitable and soon after the company filed for bankruptcy. The American financial organisation took up part of the company and resurrected some of it renaming it Hansa Heavy Lift and relocated to Hamburg.

Again reverting back to the day Lord Inchcape formally opened the Sea Oil Services marine support base at Ferryden, Montrose on 25th April, 1975 he struck an optimistic note when he looked forward to, - “a worldwide expansion of associated businesses which would be of benefit to Montrose and district giving opportunities, firstly to the young people of this area.”

The foundations laid then under the auspices of the main P&O group including their subsidiaries, are still being felt today under the guardianship of Montrose Port Authority, although now encompassing an alternative green form of energy.

Not many people are aware that included in the shipping interests of the first Lord Inchcape, former head of the P&O group, were a handful of shares in a sailing barque, the Asia, launched by Messrs Duthie and Cochar of Montrose. He inherited them from his father Captain Mackay who was master and part-owner. Sadly, Captain Mackay was drowned at sea in 1864.

Life at sea could be a hazardous business in the days of windjammers. Another Cochar-built ship, the Ensign was found bottom up in the Baltic only a few weeks after completion. No trace was ever found of her crew of eight. She was towed into port and righted and. Insurance companies sent a Montrose master out to Denmark to sail her home with a Danish crew.

TAILPIECE - In a “Review” feature article published on 12th January, 1961, the following statement appeared, - “The harbour is still an important factor in the town’s economy, and it has been estimated that through its operation Montrose benefits to the extent of £100,000 a year”.