The Fleets

Argo Line, Bremen / Dampfschifffahrtsgesellschaft Argo AG 1896-1923 / Dampfschifffahrtsgesellschaft Argo mbH 1923-1925 / Argo Reederei AG 1933-1936 / Argo Reederei Richard Adler & Co. 1936-1952 / Argo Reederei Richard Adler & Söhne 1952-present

Dampfschifffahrtsgesellschaft Argo AG was founded on 21 January 1896 by merchant and ship owner Heinrich Friedrich Bisschoff with other merchants and bankers and started the company with five of his own ships ( AUGUST, DELBRÜCK, F. BISSCHOFF, HERMANN and MARIE ELISABETH, ex Driffield) with liner services to the Baltic and Russia and to the West Indies and New Orleans. Three weeks after the founding another second hand ship was purchased ( AFRICA ).

Dampfschifffahrtsgesellschaft Argo AG took over from Norddeutscher Lloyd (NDL) it's North Sea trade in July 1897 and took also over the seven ships used by the NDL on this route. In 1901 the Argo fleet had twenty six ships and opened a new liner service to Italy.
In 1902 the majority of shares were purchased from the Hanseatischen Dampfschifffahrtsgesellschaft AG from Lübeck who had services in the Baltic Sea and in 1906 this company was completely purchased. After disappointing results the line to New Orleans was stopped in 1904 and the ships used on this route were chartered to other shipping companies and later sold to the Woermann Linie. In 1905 the Argo together with Norddeutscher Lloyd founded the Dampferlinie Atlas mbH which started a service to the eastern Mediterranean.
The Dampferlinie Atlas mbH merged with the Deutsche Levante Linie in 1908. In the same year the line Bremen-Antwerp-Italy was ended.

In 1914 the Argo fleet consisted of thirty ships and at the end of World War I the fleet was decimated to eighteen ships with eight ordered or building. Between 1919 and 1921 Argo had to hand over nine ships to Great Britain and France, of which four were sold back later on.

In 1922 the majority of the shares were purchased by Otto Wölff and later that year resold to the Roland Linie AG, Bremen and Argo was merged into the Roland Linie AG and at the end of that year a new company Dampfschifffahrtsgesellschaft Argo mbH was founded who took over the European services from the Roland Linie. The Norddeutscher Lloyd took over the Roland Linie AG at the end of 1925 and the Argo funnel markings and house flag disappeared from the seven seas from the first of January 1926. The Norddeutscher Lloyd activated a new company called Argo Reederei AG in 1933, director of the newly found company became Richard Adler and was a merger between Hanseatischen Dampfschifffahrtsgesellschaft AG and Rhederei Aktien Gesellschafft von 1896 both owned by the NDL.

In 1936 Argo Reederei AG was restyled into Argo Reederei Rederei Richard Adler & Co. At the beginning of World War II the fleet consisted of forty four ships, when the war ended Argo Reederei Rederei Richard Adler & Co. was left with four ships and had Argo lost eighteen ships due to war causes and twenty one ships were allocated to the Allies. The first years after the war only coastal voyages were allowed by the Allied forces stationed in Germany. In 1947 Argo Reederei Rederei Richard Adler & Co. was allowed to start deep sea shipping with two ships again. In 1948 a liner service was started to Finland in conjunction with Finska Angfartygs AB and in 1949 the line Bremen-London was opened again and the company built their own shipping yard Adler Werft GmbH at Bremen.

The first new building after the war was the motorship ADLER who joined the fleet in 1950. In 1952 the Nah Ost Linie GmbH was started for the Levant services and also that same year the company was restyled as Richard Adler & Söhne. In 1960 Richard Adler & Söhne owned thirty five ships. The passenger service to London ended in 1965 and the ships were sold or scrapped. The Bremen-London line was ended in 1970 and the older ships were sold. In 1974 the fleet of Argo Reederei Richard Adler & Söhne was reduced to nine ships. In 1976 the Rotterdam-Ipswich service was stopped. The Nah Ost Linie GmbH was sold to the Hamburg Südamerikanische Dampfschifffahrts Gesellschaft in 1986.
Argo Reederei Richard Adler & Söhne owned in 1990 five ships and in 1992 the service to Finland in conjunction with Finska Angfartygs AB was ended.

The last liner service by Argo Reederei Richard Adler & Söhne was in 1999 to Harwich and Felixstowe with only one Ro Ro ship the ARNEB. Later Argo Reederei Richard Adler & Söhne only had chartered ships and is still exist as a shipbroker and consult bureau and operate services to Finland and Great Britain with chartered ships.

Many thanks to Henk Jungerius and Ted Finch for their assistance in collecting this data. The following list was extracted from various sources. This is not an all inclusive list but should only be used as a guide. If you would like to know more about a vessel, visit the Ship Descriptions (onsite) or Immigrant Ship web site.

• Routes:
  • Bremen - West Indies - New Orleans
  • Bremen - Baltic Ports
  • Bremen - London
  • Bremen - Hull
  • Bremen - Antwerp - Italy
  • Bremen - Levant
  • Bremen - French ports
  • Bremen - eastern Mediterranean
  • Rotterdam - Ipswich
  • Bremen - Harwich - Felixstowe

Funnels & Flag:
Fleet:	DG Argo 1896-1922	DG Argo mbH 1923-1925	Argo Red. AG 1933-1936	Argo Red. Richard Adler 1936-

TheShipsList | Return to The Fleets

TheShipsList®™ - (Swiggum) All Rights Reserved - Copyright © 1997-present
These pages may be freely linked to but not duplicated in any fashion without written consent of .
Last updated: November 18, 2006 and maintained by and M. Kohli