Zwei Liner - ein Konzept? Der Umbau der Passagierschiffe "Bremen" und "Hanseatic" 1958/59

Abstract

In 1958/1959, two liners dating from the pre-war era, one in Hamburg, and one in Bremen, were converted almost simultaneously for service in the North Atlantic between Germany and the United States. The EMPRESS OF SCOTLAND became the HANSEATIC of the Hamburg-Atlantic Line, and the PASTEUR became the BREMEN of the North-German Lloyd. The HANSEATIC, a ship whose exterior was quite modern, was already setting course for New York after about six months in the shipyard. The elegant BREMEN only began its service after one year and nine months. Although the BREMEN was roughly comparable to the HANSEATIC in size, it cost 100 Million deutschmarks - far more than twice as much as the HANSEATIC - to purchase and convert her. The purchase price of the HANSEATIC amounted to little more than a third of that of the PASTEUR despite the better condition and the existing equipment of the EMPRESS OF SCOTLAND. The latter vessel had been extensively refurbished in 1950 and, until the date of conversion, been used as a passenger liner - and not a troopship like the PASTEUR. This circumstance explains the substantially lower costs and considerably shorter time span for the conversion of the Hamburg liner. The PASTEUR, however, turned out to be in very poor condition. Major components such as the engine and large parts of the superstructure as well as the lavish interior all had to be replaced. The HANSEATIC was only partially but very effectively upgraded. The radical conversion of the PASTEUR into the BREMEN was tantamount to a new ship construction. Never before or afterwards did such a large passenger liner undergo such an elaborate conversion process.