Esso Tankschiffreederei (German Shipping Company)

Deutsch-Amerikanische Petroleum Gesellschaft, WARIED Tankschiff Reederei

Last modified: 2017-11-11 by klaus-michael schneider
Keywords: baltisch-amerikanische petroleum-import | bominflot | dapg | deutsch-amerikanische petroleum | esso | riedemann | waried |
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• Deutsch-Amerikanische Petroleum Gesellschaft
• Deutsch-Amerikanische Petroleum Gesellschaft variant
• WARIED Tankschiffreederei (ESSO)
• WARIED Tankschiffreederei variant#1
• WARIED Tankschiffreederei variant#2
• Baltisch-Amerikanische Petroleum-Import-Gesellschaft
• BAPIG new flag
• Panama Transport Co
• ESSO Tankschiffreederei flag#2
• ESSO Tankschiffreederei pennant
• Bominflot flag
• Bominflot former flag

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

The originator was Wilhelm Anton Riedemann indeed, who commenced business in Geestemunde in 1863 as a commission agent and then in partnership with Franz Schütte in 1866 became involved in petroleum imports. In 1890 they were involved in the formation of Deutsch-Amerikanische Petroleum Gesellschaft with the black-yellow-red triband with the red "R" being shown by Griffin 1895 onwards by pre WW1 sources. Possibly the colours were based on the old German ones i.e. pre the black-white-red version adopted in 1867 but with these latter colours eventually being adopted, presumably post WW1.
Riedemann was mixed up with Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey and Deutsch-Amerikanische became the German associate although in 1917 Standard Oil very patriotically announced that they had disposed of all their stock in the company but managing to re-aquire it after the war ended being noted in 1940 as holding 94%.

In the meantime Riedemann had started Waried Tankschiff Rhederei GmbH (apparently around 1928 but that is a guess), again being connected with Standard Oil, and operating Deutch-Amerikanische with both under the black-white-red flag version which most sources ascribe to Waried TRG but a couple of German sources show under Deutsch-Amerikanische.
Finally in 1956 Waried TRG became Esso Tankschiff Reederei GmbH.
Neale Rosanoski, 13 Feb 2008

1833 Wilhelm Anton Riedemann was born in Meppen. In 1863 he established an agency,incasso and cargo company in Lehe near Bremen, also a warehouse at the custom's association (=Zollverein) in Geestendorf.
But very soon storage of petrol became his main business, which he established against fundamental governmental resistance. In 1886 he built his first oil tanker. Because petrol before had been transported in wooden barrels, there had been losses of petrol and great dangers. By his amendments the price of petrol could be reduced to half in Germany.
On 25 February 1890, William Herbert Libby, who had proxy from US company Standard Oil, Franz-Ernst Schütte, Karl Schütte and Riedemann founded the Deutsch-Amerikanische-Petroleum-Gesellschaft AG (DAPG),which also had a shipping department. Finally in 1928 WARIED-Tankschiff-Rheederei GmbH was established as a daughter of DAPG's shipping department. The name WARIED and its flag were kept by Deutsche Esso AG until 1985 and then replaced by the Esso houseflags. The company later was renamed into ETR Esso Tankschiff Reederei which recently ended its business in Germany. There just remained the business of bunkering oil which was done by Bominflot.

Deutsch-Amerikanische Petroleum Gesellschaft

It must be related to this one: No. 653 in the on-line 1912 Lloyds Flags & Funnels, i.e. 'Deutsch-Amerikanische Petroleum Gesellschaft, Hamburg' (German-American Petroleum Company).
Jan Mertens, 8 Jan 2005

The "R" denotes W.A. Riedemann, who was largely instrumental in the formation of the company. In the 1930's the "WARIED" Tankschiff-Rhederei had a red, white and black flag. Riedemann had been in at the formation of the Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey, which later became known as ESSO, whose mark has now replaced that of Riedemann on the ships, though the flag continued to be flown for a number of years, and is still flown on occasion, in memory of its founder.
Source: Loughran, "A Survey of Mercantile Houseflags & Funnels",1979.
Jarig Bakker, 16 Oct 2006

Deutsch-Amerikanische Petroleum Gesellschaft variant

It is a blue-yellow-red vertical tricolour. In the centre of the yellow stripe is a red capital "R".
Source: "Gratis Beilage zu Deicken und Behrmann's Neuen Monatsheften, Neue Ausgabe Sommer 1897"
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 8 Apr 2012

WARIED Tankschiffreederei (ESSO)

Interestingly, a similar flag (now a tricolour of black, white and red) is given for 'Esso Tankschiffreederei GmbH Hamburg' (Esso Tanker Shipping Company) at the Biedenkarken site. See thirteenth row, last flag. I suppose various company ramifications or evolutions are responsible for these differences, or is it all a coincidence?
(WARIED is an abbreviation of (W)ilhelm (A)nton (Ried)emann; editorial note kms)
Jan Mertens, 8 Jan 2005

WARIED Tankschiffreederei variant#1

It was a black - white - red vertical tricolour with a red serifed capital "R" (=Riedemann) in the white stripe.
Source: "Deutsche Reedereien und ihre Erkennungszeichen"; 2nd ed.; Hamburg; 1956; p.42
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 17 Nov 2010

WARIED Tankschiffreederei variant#1

Similar to variant#1 but having ratio 4:4:5, i.e. the red stripe was broader.
Source: Klaus-Peter Bühne's webpage
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 17 Nov 2010

Baltisch-Amerikanische Petroleum-Import-Gesellschaft

However there were some other flags relating to Riedemann as Waried TRG had a subsidiary, Baltisch-Amerikanische Petroleum-Import-Gesellschaft mbH of Danzig, seemingly also dated from 1928, which is originally showing with a flag gyronny wavy of 14 red and white surmounted by a white circle bearing the black letters "B" [possibly with a dot after it] over "API" over "G", attached] which Brown 1929 incorrectly shows as being for Deutsch-Amerikanische Petroleum, but is correctly shown by the German cigarette card collections of Massary [1930] and Lloyd [1933].
Neale Rosanoski, 13 Feb 2008

BAPIG new flag

However this was replaced by a flag similar to the parent company replacing the black band with another red one, which is shown by Brown 1934 & 1943 and the Talbot-Booth books from 1936-1944.
Neale Rosanoski, 13 Feb 2008

Panama Transport Co

Then with the war clouds again looming the ships of Baltisch-Amerikanische were transferred to Panamanian registry under Panama Transport Co. which Lloyds 1937-8 shows as being operated by Waried TRG but subsequently it is shown "independent" based Panama by Lloyds until the early 1960s when it came under American control and was then absorbed into Esso, with its flag being of Standard-Vacuum format, sourced from Loughran 1979 and which obviously belongs to the Panama section.
Neale Rosanoski, 13 Feb 2008

ETR Esso Tankschiff Reederei flag#2

The well known white flag with a blue oval containing a red inscription "Esso". Similar to flag#1 but having a red stripe of about 25% of total width at the hoist. It is the same flag formerly used at Esso petrol stations in Germany.
Source: Klaus-Peter Bühne's webpage
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 17 Nov 2010

ETR Esso Tankschiff Reederei pennant

It is a triangular pennant version of flag#2.
Source: Klaus-Peter Bühne's webpage
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 17 Nov 2010

Bominflot flag

It is a white flag. In the centre are three waves in the colours of the German national flag black-red-yellow. Beneath the wavesis a black inscription in italics "BOMINFLOT".
Source: I spotted this flag at Alsterarkaden in Hamburg on 21 April 2007.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 17 Nov 2010

Bominflot former flag

It is a red flag. In its centre is a black lozenge cotized yellow and white with a white inscription "BOMINFLOT".
Source: I spotted this flag at Sandtorhafen in Hamburg on 22 June 2010.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 17 Nov 2010