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House Flags of German Shipping Companies (s)

For House Flags of German Shipping Companies(sch) click here.
For House Flags of German Shipping Companies(st) click here.

Other "S" companies:

See also:

Reederei Hans August Sabban

image by Jarig Bakker, 17 Jan 2006

Reederei Hans August Sabban, Hamburg - flag horizontal black over red, white "S".
Image after Brown's Flags and Funnels Shipping Companies of the World, compiled by J.L. Loughran, Glasgow, 1995 [lgr95]
Jarig Bakker, 17 Jan 2006

Erich Sandkamp

image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 13 Apr 2009

The company was located in Tornesch-Esingen and Uetersen (both Pinneberg county). It is a red flag divided by a white saltire. In the centre of the flag is a black disc, fimbriated white and containing a white capital "S".
Source: "Flaggen, Schornsteine, Reedereien- Flaggen und Schornsteine der deutschen Reedereien und ihre Schiffe über 300 BRT"; Hamburg 1957; p.F25
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 13 Apr 2009

Satrans

image by Jorge Candeias, 12 Mar 1999

Satrans Speditionsgesellschaft mbH - Basically an orange-light green-orange horizontal triband. A blue stripe covers the orange stripes in the lower hoist and upper fly, creating an 'S' in the center.
Jorge Candeias, 12 Mar 1999

Sauber Gebr.

image by Jorge Candeias, 30 Nov 2004

This one is another flag that is pretty clear in all its details. The flag itself is white with a red cross and a blue S over all. And the caption reads "Sauber Gabr." I have some doubts about the Gabr., but none about the Sauber.
Jorge Candeias, 30 Nov 2004

A Sauber Gebr. firm of Hamburg is mentioned in a thread on Norwegian ships sunk in WWI, which appeared on a Norwegian Merchant Fleet forum.
Ned Smith, 1 Dec 2004

And a neat flag it is ('sauber' means 'clean') - see on-line 1912 Lloyds Flags & Funnels, under No. 1091 'Sauber Gebr., Hamburg'.
Jan Mertens, 2 Dec 2004

"Gebr." in English means "Bros."
Sauber Gebr. were founded on July 6, 1839 in Hamburg as a wholesale and retail business für British coal. In 1845 they started importing coal from Newcastle with chartered ships. 1871 they started building teir first own coal freighter steamship by the name of "John Sauber".
During and after WW 1 business came to a standstill. All ships were confiscated. Business began slowly again because the old ties to Newcastle were still there. In WW II the same thing happened all over again.
Start after WW II was very difficult, but again in the 1950s own and chartered ships transported Newcastle coal. With the advent of oil and has heating the retail and import business withered away until the company went into bankrupcy in the 1960s.
Wolf Knipfer, 5 Feb 2009

Scanscot

image by Eugene Ipavec, 30 May 2005

A Scanscot house flag was recently offered on German eBay and this recently founded shipping company already has its article-in-progress on (also German) Wikipedia: br>Dark green field with three horizontal white lines in the lower half, two thin ones above a single broad one resting on the flag's lower edge; a large white disk bleeding into the lower stripe contains a stylized italic initial "S", sharply serifed, in black.
Hamburg based Scanscot was founded in 1995 by Thominvest of Finland, finally operating about a dozen multibulk ships equipped with impressive cranes active as trampers and most of them flying the Isle of Man flag. Occasionally others ships were chartered as well. Financial difficulties led to bankruptcy in 2010. The flag may be espied on some Shipspotting photos:
Jan Mertens 1 Jun 2011
(editorial note: flag is still hoisted in Hamburg on top of a building near Rathausmarkt)

Seedienst Ostpreussen

image sent by Jan Mertens, 30 May 2005

This page presents the ?Seedienst Ostpreussen? (Maritime Service East Prussia or East Prussian Naval Service):
Founded in 1920, its aim was to ensure a direct link between Germany and its post-1919 exclave, East Prussia. (Train journeys across the ?Polish Corridor? were judged onerous.) Ships of existing firms ? Gribel, Braeunlich, Norddeutscher Lloyd , etc. - made up the fleet of this government-supported company which started operating its own ships in 1926. The vessels were commandeered when war broke out in 1939; the year 1944 saw the end of the 'Seedienst'.

Its flag is shown on a poster shown on above webpage. On a red field, between black capital letters ?S? and ?O?, fimbriated white, is a white shield bearing a black Latin cross. The shield is given some relief while the letters are in a font I cannot identify.
Jan Mertens, 30 May 2005

F.M.A. Seele

image by Jorge Candeias, 27 Dec 2004

The flag is quartered per saltire, black in the top quarter, white in the bottom one and red in the other two. The white quarter has a black sans serifed capital S in the center. And the caption, if I'm not seriously mistaken, reads F. M. A. Sede. (A little trivia: "sede" is portuguese for "thirst" - funny name for a navigation company).
Jorge Candeias, 27 Dec 2004

"F.M.A. Seele, Hamburg", see here. The ship in the first picture ("Colmar") was sold to this firm in 1883. Unfortunately, no house flag is shown.In any case this is another example of a house flag repeating the (former) national German colours.
Jan Mertens, 29 Dec 2004

Seetouristik G.m.b.H. & Co.

image by Jarig Bakker, 2 Feb 2006

Seetouristik G.m.b.H. & Co. K.G., Norden Hafen - flag horizontal blue over yellow; white shield, black "S".
Image after Brown's Flags and Funnels Shipping Companies of the World, compiled by J.L. Loughran, Glasgow, 1995 [lgr95]
Jarig Bakker, 2 Feb 2006

Seetransit Speditions

image by Jarig Bakker, 6 Oct 2005

Seetransit Speditions & Schiffahrts G.m.b.H., Duisburg - Spanish style green - white - green; on white 4 green blocks.
Image after Brown's Flags and Funnels Shipping Companies of the World, compiled by J.L. Loughran, Glasgow, 1995 [lgr95]
Jarig Bakker, 6 Oct 2005

Seetzen Gebrüder

image by Jorge Candeias, 6 Dec 2004

The flag is white with a narrow chequy band at the hoist, consisting of 9x2 red and white squares, and a sans-seriffed black "S" capital centered on the remainder. The caption may eventually, if my guesses are correct (which is doubtful), read "Senien Gem".
Jorge Candeias, 6 Dec 2004

That is Seetzen Gebrüder, Bremen. Loughran's Survey of Mercantile Houseflags and Funnels, 1979, has this flag with at top and bottom af the fly a red border (1/8 flagheight), and a serifed S.
Jarig Bakker, 8 Dec 2004

'Semper' Schiffahrts-Gesellschaft

image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 14 Apr 2009

The company was located in Hamburg. The flag is the nearly the same like that one of Franz Hagen in Hamburg, has however a celestial blue basic colour.
Source: "Flaggen, Schornsteine, Reedereien- Flaggen und Schornsteine der deutschen Reedereien und ihre Schiffe über 300 BRT"; Hamburg 1957; p.F26
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 14 Apr 2009

Frachtschiffahrt Erik Seyd

image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 20 May 2010

The company was probably located in Hamburg. Source gives Walter Lass in brackets. The latter exists still today and has a bureau at Johannisbollwerk in Hamburg. The red flag is divided per bend by a black stripe fimbriated white. Within the black stripe are descending white capitals "FES".
Source: "Flaggen, Schornsteine, Reedereien- Flaggen und Schornsteine der deutschen Reedereien und ihre Schiffe über 300 BRT"; Hamburg 1957; p.F9
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 20 May 2010

Reederei Bernd Sibum

image by Ivan Sache, 7 Sep 2008

The "Bernd Sibum" shipping company is based at Haren (Ems). The Sibum family has been involved in ship building since the XIXth century; in 1953, the brothers Stefan and Hermann Sibum founded a shipping company and purchased their first ship, MS "Gerd". They were succeeded by Stefan's son, Bernd Sibum, who registered the "Reederei Bernd Sibum GmbH & Co. KG" on 1 November 1995. The company operates 11 ships, all named after a member of the Sibum family. Company website.

The house flag of Sibum is blue with a yellow diamond nearly touching the edges of the flag and charged with a blue "S". Shown as a graphic all over the company website, the flag can be seen on photographs of ships, for instance MS "Anna-Maria Sibum", "Rita Sibum" and "Grete Sibum". Tzibum, Tzibum.
Ivan Sache, 7 Sep 2008

Peter Siemsen & Co

image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 2 Apr 2007

Peter Siemsen & Co. - The company used a white flag with two blue horizontal stripes and a blue serifed inscription "PS&Co." (the "o" is smaller and higher).
Source: Jürgen Meyer: "Hamburger Segelschiffe von 1795-1945"; ISBN 3-89225-400-1; Hamburg 1999; inside cover.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 2 Apr 2007

Sietas Werft

image sent by Jan Mertens, 28 Aug 2007

?J.J. Sietas KG Schiffswerft GmbH u. Co.? meaning ?Sietas Wharf? in short is established at Hamburg, more exactly at the place where the little river Este joins the Elbe. English version of company website, showing a modest little pennant: ?One of the oldest family-owned shipyards in the world,? Sietas has a very distinguished history starting in 1635 building wooden vessels for local traffic and fishing boats. The wharf started building schooners from 1870 on; steel made its entrance in 1908 but WWI and inflation stopped shipbuilding, leaving repairs, till 1933. From then on the construction of coasters relaunched the wharf; another milestone was the first true container ship, built 1966. Nowadays the versatile firm employs about 900 people. ?Versatile? as exemplified by the ?Products? section showing a wide array of passenger and cargo ships (Ro/Ro of Ro/Lo, container, heavy loads, coasters, tankers, fishing boats, etc.). Partnerships include Norderwerft, a repair and conversion wharf (nice house flag).

A blue pennant is shown as a drawing, bearing white initials ?J.J. Sietas? (standing for ?Johann Jacob? I believe). A bigger image is shown here (page explaining SLS or Sietas Loading System): here is a picture, part of another German eBay offer (item no. 180128662301, valid till 18 June 2007, dimensions given as 300 x 400 mm). The colour is admittedly different but could be the result of ageing: it was part of a rather old file.
Jan Mertens, 28 Aug 2007

Heinrich Sietas

image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 14 Apr 2009

The company was located in Grünendeich (Stade county ?). It is a black over white over black horizontal triband with red capitals "HS" in the white stripe.
Source: "Flaggen, Schornsteine, Reedereien- Flaggen und Schornsteine der deutschen Reedereien und ihre Schiffe über 300 BRT"; Hamburg 1957; p.F27
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 14 Apr 2009

Heinz Siegbold

image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 14 Apr 2009

The company was located in Bremerhaven. It is a white flag having a green bordure at three edges, approx double width at the hoist and none at the fly. In the white field is a red "M" superimposing a bigger red "S".
Source: "Flaggen, Schornsteine, Reedereien- Flaggen und Schornsteine der deutschen Reedereien und ihre Schiffe über 300 BRT"; Hamburg 1957; p.F27
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 14 Apr 2009

Claus Sievers

image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 14 Apr 2009

The company was located in Breiholz near Rendsburg. It is a white flag divided by a red saltire, which is cotized blue and white. In the centre of the flag is a black disc containing a white capital "S".
Source: "Flaggen, Schornsteine, Reedereien- Flaggen und Schornsteine der deutschen Reedereien und ihre Schiffe über 300 BRT"; Hamburg 1957; p.F27
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 14 Apr 2009

J. Silvain

image by Jorge Candeias, 19 May 2004

And here's another readable caption, this time reading "J. Silvain". The flag is white with 5 red 5-pointed stars, disposed in saltire.
Jorge Candeias, 19 May 2004

The very same houseflag was used by the French shipping company "Chargeurs Réunis".
The name "Silvain" sounds French but does not necessarily indicate a link between the two companies. It is more probable that the ancestors of J. Silvain were Protestant traders or shipowners very wisely expelled from France by king Louis XIV for the benefit of the economical, social and cultural development of the Lutherian countries.
Ivan Sache, 20 May 2004

Skogland Linie

image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 23 Mar 2007

Skogland Linie GmbH - The company had a 7-stripes flag with alternating red and white stripes starting with a red one.
Source: Jürgen Meyer: "Hamburger Segelschiffe von 1795-1945"; ISBN 3-89225-400-1; Hamburg 1999; inside cover.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 23 Mar 2007

Binnenschiffahrtskontor Sommerfeld

image by , image by Klaus-Michael Schneider and Eugene Ipavec, 21 Apr 2009

The flag is divided by a white saltire into red blue. In the centre is a white disc containing a red capital "S." The flag was said to belong to a transport and/or logistics company in Berlin. Two years have been gone by, but I haven’t succeeded in identifying this flags. Jan Mertenswrote to me, confirming he had also seen the S-flag in Berlin in 2006.
Source: I spotted this flag at Billwerder Bucht in Hamburg on 13 March 2007.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 21 Apr 2009

On 7 May 2006 Dominique sent a photo of inland navigation ufes to the List, message titled 'Some house flags from Berlin': one of these bears a white saltire defining blue triangles (top, bottom) and red ones (left, right) leaving out a circular space in the centre bearing a red initial, unserifed "S" > here (photo caroussel): here (photo caroussel)
This neat little site, German only, presents BKS i.e. Binnenschifffahrtskontor (i.e. Inland Navigation Office) Sommerfeld GmbH of Buxtehude, a little town in Stade county wet of Hamburg.We learn that the company has 30 000 metric tonnes of space available in vessels ranging between 400 and 2500 tonnes. More specifically, more than 20 vessels and a push boat (and eight push barges) are operated mainly on the rivers Weser and Elbe, and on the Northern German canals. Shipped are various commodities such as fodder, coal, ore, cement, project cargo,and containers.
The first link on the "Presse" (i.e. Press) page - see upper menu - leads to a text in English mentioning the year of foundation, 1991, by Rudolf Sommerfeld and the 2006 merger with the local Jöhnk wharf (repairs, pontoon building).
Jan Mertens, 3 May 2011

C.A.E. Solscher

image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 2 Apr 2007

C.A.E. Solscher - The company used a red flag with a white 6-point star in each corner. In the centre was a white disk with a blue serifed capital "S".
Source: Jürgen Meyer: "Hamburger Segelschiffe von 1795-1945"; ISBN 3-89225-400-1; Hamburg 1999; inside cover.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 2 Apr 2007

Martin Spaleck

image by Jarig Bakker, 16 Oct 2005

Martin Spaleck, Schneverdingen - horizontal blue - yellow -0 blue flag, in center of yellow blue "MS".
(Schneverdingen is south of Hamburg).
Image after Brown's Flags and Funnels Shipping Companies of the World, compiled by J.L. Loughran, Glasgow, 1995 [lgr95]
Jarig Bakker, 16 Oct 2005

Südafrika Linie (South African Lines)

[Südafrika Linie(Shipping Company, Germany)]

image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 1 Mar 2009

It is a horizontal 7-stripes flag with alternating stripes of blue and orange with a white inscription "SAL" in the centre, the "A" in width exceeding both other capitals. The colours are those from former South African flag.
SAL ran a short joint service together with Deutsche Ost Afrika Linie, located in Hamburg-Altona, only from December 1967 until March 1968. A timetable can be found here. Another image of flag can be found her .
Source: I spotted this flag in a pub in St.Pauli on 28 May 2004.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 1 Mar 2009

Sunship Schiffahrtskontor

image by Jarig Bakker, 23 Nov 2005

Sunship Schiffahrtskontor K.G., Emden - blue flag, in center yellow sundisk with a bottom part missing, near bottom a white wavy stripe.
(Schiffahrtskontor = shipping office)
Image after Brown's Flags and Funnels Shipping Companies of the World, compiled by J.L. Loughran, Glasgow, 1995 [lgr95]
Jarig Bakker, 23 Nov 2005

Dampfs. Ges. Swatow

image sent by Jan Mertens, 8 May 2007

As stated by Jorge Candeias on 15 Jan. 2005, ?clear flag, unclear caption. The flag is trapezoidal, white, with three blue vertical stripes shifted to the hoist.? Extracted from the original pictures Jörg sent some time ago, the attached image with caption ?Dampfs. Ges. Swatow? which I take to mean ?Steam Ship(ping) Co. Swatow?.

Swatow, now Shantou, is situated in the Han River Delta, China, and I suppose the place must have been an important destination for above company, most probably German, to have been named after it. Unfortunately I have not been able to find out anything specific about this firm
Jan Mertens, 8 May 2007

Swinemünder Dampfschiffahrt AG

image sent by Jan Mertens, 15 May 2005

This page (in German) presents the 'Swinemünder Dampfschiffahrt-Aktien-Gesellschaft' (Steam Navigation Co. Ltd of Swinemünde).
The house flag is horizontally divided blue (upper stripe) and white, bearing a white disk in the middle showing a red griffin's head, beaked, langued and also crowned yellow; on the blue stripe are black letters 'Sw' (upper hoist) and 'D' (upper fly), on the white stripe are 'A' (lower hoist) and 'G' (lower fly).

From the text we learn that the firm was founded in 1890, cooperating with erstwhile competitor Braeunlich from 1892 on. It seems its few ships had a penchant for collisions; another company characteristic was buying ships from, or selling them to, Braeunlich. In 1928, the firm was bought by the 'Stettiner Dampschiffs-Gesellschaft' (Steamship Co. of Stettin), legally disappearing during WWII, probably.

The publicity reproduced on the webpage shows that the 'Swinemünder' was active in local shipping to and from Stettin plus a number of other Baltic resorts.
More on this firm and its ships on this scripophily page (in German).

Swinemünde is now Swinoujscie in Poland; its CoA (with a complete, and very maritime, griffin) can be seen.
Jan Mertens, 15 May 2005

Syndikats Rhederei Gesellschaft

image by Jarig Bakker, 1 Feb 2005

Syndikats Rhederei Gesellschaft, Hamburg - red flag, white diamond, black "O" (or circle?)
Image after Brown's Flags and Funnels of British and Foreign Steamship Companies, compiled by F.J.N. Wedge, Glasgow, 1926 [wed26]
Jarig Bakker, 1 Feb 2005