Oldendorff Reflags Two Capesize Bulk Carriers from Portugal to Germany

Oldendorff Carriers officially reflagged the vessel Alice Oldendorff, which switched from the Portuguese flag to the German flag, in a ceremony held in Saldanha Bay, South Africa. The Capesize bulk carrier Gina Oldendorff will undergo the same process in the coming months, and both vessels will be registered with Hamburg as their home port.

The company, founded in Hamburg in 1921 and family-owned by a German family, grew into one of the largest dry bulk shipping companies in the world while maintaining close ties with Germany and its maritime community. Peter Bagh, COO of Oldendorff Carriers, stated that the decision to return these vessels to the German flag was driven by the country's strong maritime tradition, its expertise in the sector, and improvements in service and support for shipowners, describing it as a way to reaffirm the company's roots and support the competitiveness of the German maritime sector.

Christian Hirte, Parliamentary State Secretary at Germany's Federal Ministry of Transport, said that Oldendorff's move sends a signal of confidence in the German flag and in the country as a maritime hub. Hirte added that over the past two years the German flag had become more attractive and accessible, with a significant reduction in bureaucracy, and expressed his expectation that more German shipowners would follow this example.

According to the sources, as of September 2026 the German merchant fleet comprised 404 vessels with a combined gross tonnage of approximately 8.86 million GT. With the addition of the Alice Oldendorff (181,963 DWT; 93,718 GT) and the Gina Oldendorff (182,002 DWT; 93,718 GT), large bulk carriers are once again sailing under the German flag for the first time in several years, and these two vessels will be the only bulk carriers currently operating under that flag.