Hamburg Atlantic Line
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| Industry | Ocean liner and cruise ship traffic |
|---|---|
| Fate | Acquisition |
| Successor | Hapag-Lloyd Cruises |
| Founded | 1958 |
| Defunct | 1973 (1st time) |
| Reestablished | 1991 |
| Defunct | 1997 (2nd time) |
| Headquarters | Hamburg, West Germany |
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Hamburg Atlantic Line (German: Hamburg Atlantik Linie) was an ocean liner and cruise ship operating company established in Hamburg, West Germany in 1958 by Axel Bitsch Christensen and Vernicos Eugenides, the latter being the adopted son of Home Lines' founder Eugen Eugenides. In 1966 the company changed its name to German Atlantic Line (German: Deutsche Atlantik Linie). Liner services were abandoned in 1969, after which the company's ships concentrated solely on cruising. Due to the 1973 oil crisis, German Atlantic Line closed down in December 1973.
In 1991 Dirk Moldenhauer, the captain of the last German Atlantic Line ship in service, acquired the rights to the Hamburg/German Atlantic Line logo and established Hanseatic Tours which used the same livery and ship names as the German Atlantic Line. In 1997 Hapag-Lloyd acquired Hanseatic Tours, and their operations were merged to those of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises. The last Hanseatic Tours vessel, MS Hanseatic has retained the Hanseatic Tours livery in Hapag-Lloyd service until 2011.
Hamburg Atlantic Line was the brainchild of Axel Bitsch Christensen, a Dane who had been living in Hamburg since 1952, who wanted to establish a new company to offer liner service from West Germany to New York. Christensen convinced his friend Vernicos Eugenides, the chairman of Home Lines, to invest 6 million DM in the new company, making it possible for Christensen to raise enough loan to purchase a ship. Hamburg Atlantic Line acquired their first ship in January 1958 when they purchased the 1930-built RMS Empress of Scotland from Canadian Pacific Steamships. After substantial rebuilding, the ship re-emerged as the first TS Hanseatic in June 1958, and was placed in service connecting Cuxhaven, Germany to New York, United States via Le Havre (France), Southampton (United Kingdom) and Cobh (Ireland). During the winter season she was also used for cruising out of New York to the Caribbean. Coinciding with Hamburg Atlantic beginning transatlantic service, Home Lines ceased transatlantic service so that the two companies in which Vernicos Eugenides had large investments would not compete with each other. After a good year in the transatlantic service in 1959, passenger numbers begun to drop due to competition from air traffic. By 1965 the Hanseatic made only eight round crossings, spending the rest of the year cruising.
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