Volume 65, Issue 2

Maritime Economy in the Perspective of Modern Economic and Business History The maritime economy has been the leading economic sector of the German coastal regions since the beginning of the early modern era. In contrast to its importance for the society and economy of the North Sea and Baltic regions, the interest of Economic and Business historians in its development within those regions during the last three centuries has been comparatively low. Most studies concerning shipbuilding are dominated by more political-historical focused approaches, which leave aside significant research questions that would benefit our understanding of the specific development of the maritime economy and its businesses. In order to fill this gap and reach the level of research other nations have, significant efforts are necessary. Provided that enough source material is available and access to it is not limited by institutional restrictions, the maritime Economic and Business history in Germany is looking at promising prospects. To use this opportunity would expand our knowledge about the development of the «leading sectors» of some of the most important economic regions in Germany, especially, if the research questions and strategies of the modern Economic and Business history are applied.

The article refers to recent research on multinational companies, which assumes a special importance of companies in the maritime economy (trade, shipyards, shipping companies) in globalisation processes. It examines the Thyssen-Bornemisza group, which emerged in 1926 from the August Thyssen group, and shows how its internationalization, which was already envisaged at the beginning of the 1920s, was implemented under the adverse conditions of the first half of the 20th century. It further analyses the role of the maritime economy’s companies within this process, and to what extent the group’s strategic objectives changed as a result. While it was still a production-oriented business group in the 1920s, it had become a global portfolio group by the early 1970s. In particular, the companies in the maritime trade sector and their market knowledge proved to be the driving force and starting point for these developments.

Technical innovation as protection against economic decline? The development of the Rickmers shipyard from 1945 to the late 1960s The article covers the history of the Rickmers-Shipyard in Bremerhaven from the end of the Second World War up to the end of the 1960s. An initial glance into the interwar years establishes that the shipyard’s restructuring in the 20s and subsequent shift into the production of warships during the 30s and 40s had considerable impact on its afterwar development. Despite the involvement with the Kriegsmarine, Rickmers was able to reopen for business very quickly after the end of the war. Yet, the shipyard was barred from new building projects and relegated to repair jobs for a considerable amount of time. In the 1950s, Rickmers began building new ships and was able to somewhat profit from the shipbuilding boom of the time. Still, most projects proved unprofitable and the onset of the crisis of European shipbuilding in the late 1950s hit the shipyard hard. This set the stage for Rickmers’ decline and ultimate closure in 1986.

From the holistic construction principle to the modern assembly industry? Production systems in shipbuilding and the «change in work» at Bremer Vulkan AG after 1945 The article discusses the interrelation between production technology, organisational restructuring and working conditions in shipbuilding after 1945. The Bremer Vulkan – one of the largest shipyards in Germany during the period – functions as a case example. The article tackles three main questions: How and in which entrepreneurial context did production systems change during the second half of the 20th century? Under what circumstances were changes developed, planned, and implemented? What kind of debates can be traced that give insight into the negotiations that accompanied the technological and organisational change within the company? Shipbuilding has undergone a fundamental change during the second half of the 20th century. The immediate post-war era was marked by a long period of production increase and heavy investments in the context of the so-called tanker boom. A clear shift can be traced from the 1970s onwards, which is characterised by a gradual departure from merchant vessel production throughout Western Europe and a focus on higher value ships. Each of these changes necessitated specific production regimes and organisational structures that had the main aim to increase pre-production and reduce the inherently complex single piece production. At the same time, the 1970s show a significant shift in the debates surrounding these changes. The negative consequences of new productions technology and organisational restructuring for working conditions became a virulent topic.

«Fortunately we don’t build a Trabant». The East German shipyard industry between optimism about the future and the crisis, 1989/90 to 1994 The «Peaceful Revolution» led to a tremendous political, economic and social transition. The rapidly collapsing present with its very uncertain parameters had an impact on the social and cultural realities of everyday life. Especially the GDR shipyard industry, as one of the key industries, shaped specific experiences and formed the mentalities of the region’s people. By looking at the shipbuilding firm’s privatisation process after 1989, this article examines how the upheavals of the «Wende» opened a framework in which many actors operated in the context of their own experiences and their own points of view, which shaped their perceptions and actions. The article discusses how public communications and optimistic promises from politicians and economic actors prompted specific expectations. The difficulties that the shipbuilding industry actually faced after the end of the planned economy were known to those responsible and even debated within the Treuhandanstalt (THA), but seemed to take a back seat in public communication fields. Especially during the first phase of privatisation, which is defined here as the period from November 1989 to 1991, we can see how promises are made and by whom, as well as how and why this could lead to disappointment and disillusionment on the one hand and new beginnings and horizons on the other. This first phase reveals the contradictions of expectations and reality.

Hamburg’s marine insurance from the 17th to the middle of the 19th century In the eighteenth century, Hamburg emerged as the third-most important marine insurance market in North-West Europe, after Amsterdam and London, with an impact in the entire Baltic Sea area, but partially in ports along the Atlantic coast and in the Mediterranean as well. On the basis of selected examples this contribution outlines the long-term development of marine insurance rates and explains how and why it gradually became less and less expensive to insure ships and goods in maritime transport. At the same time, the paper examines the factors of pricing of the marine insurance rates, i. e. analyses the significance of different various risk factors. Finally, the importance of (marine) insurance as a central transaction cost of trade and (maritime) transport in pre-industrial times is made clear. It is explained, that the long-term minimalisation of the risks involved in the maritime traffic did start only after the Napoleonic Wars and the subjugation of the last pirates in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, which, however, occurred long before the introduction of steam shipping and other innovations in maritime transport and international communication.