Pella Sietas was a

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other Watercraft, floating vessels. In modern times, it normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation th ...

company in

Neuenfelde is a rural quarter located in the borough Harburg of Hamburg, Germany near the Lower Saxony border. The quarter is well known for its quality of fruit and unique houses, many of which prove to be popular attractions for tourists passing through, ...

, Cranz, in southwest

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

. It was created from the insolvent firm of J.J Sietas KG Schiffswerft GmbH u. Co. It is located in the

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime enviro ...

of the

Este Este may refer to: Geography * Este (woreda), a district in Ethiopia * Este, Veneto, a town in Italy * Este (Málaga), a district in Spain * Este (river), a river in Germany * Este (São Pedro), a parish in Portugal * Este (São Mamede), a p ...

river at

Unterelbe The Unterelbe () or, in English usually the Lower Elbe, refers to the lower reaches of the river Elbe in Germany influenced by the tides. It starts at kilometre 586, at the sluice of Geesthacht, where the Elbe forms the border between Lower ...

. On 29 July 2021 the company filed for insolvency. The insolvency proceedings against the assets of the responsible shipyard are open.

History

The oldest existing shipyard in Hamburg until November 2013, it was founded in 1635, making it one of the oldest companies in the city. From its inception, the company was continuously owned by the founding family, in the ninth generation by 2009. Wooden

boats A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size or capacity, its shape, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically used on inland waterways s ...

were built in the early years, later followed by

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the l ...

s and other types of

ships A ship is a large vessel that travels the world's oceans and other navigable waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished from boats, ...

. In the early 20th century, production shifted from

wood Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...

steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

vessels. From the 1950s, the shipyard focused on constructing ships in sections. In recent years, small to medium-sized container vessels were built. After the shipyard experienced financial difficulties due to rising steel prices, the rapid fall in demand for

container ship A container ship (also called boxship or spelled containership) is a cargo ship that carries all of its load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. Container ships are a common means of commercial intermodal ...

s and miscalculation of costs, the shipyard's largest creditor,

HSH Nordbank Hamburg Commercial Bank (formerly HSH Nordbank) is a commercial bank in northern Europe with headquarters in Hamburg as well as Kiel, Germany. It is active in corporate and private banking. Considered to be the world’s largest provider of maritim ...

took over management in early March 2009, the first time the company was managed by someone outside of the founding family since 1635.

Insolvency

After the global recession in 2009, container shipping demand fell sharply, and J.J. Sietas had to contend with numerous cancellations and a dwindling backlog, eventually turning away from container ship work and concentrating on specialty

niches. These included heavy lift vessels, ferries, and offshore vessels. The last container ship was completed in November 2009. On November 6, 2009, the 393rd and last container ship, or feeder, was delivered. In December 2010, Sietas received an order for the first German-built offshore wind power transport and installation vessel, named ''Aeolus'', which was completed in February 2014 for the Dutch Van Oord group. This ship was both the last and biggest ship built in the shipyard, before the takeover by the Russian Pella group in April 2014. At November 17, 2011 due to excessive debts, an application for bankruptcy was made; insolvency proceedings were made on 1 February 2012. Following the proceedings, the Sietas shipyard was sold to Pella, Norderwerft was sold to Bremer Lürssen, and Neuenfelder Maschinenfabrik (NMF), which makes cranes, was approved for acquisition by the Norwegian TTS Group ASA. In February 2014, the Sietas shipyard was property of the Terra Line GmbH in

, owned by the St. Petersburg-based Pella Shipyard. Under the agreement, the yard would continue to operate for at least eight years, and 120 employees were retained. The name of the shipyard company was changed after the takeover to Pella Sietas GmbH. The first ship constructed entirely in the new shipyard was a small

passenger ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus. ...

named ''Elbphilarmonie'' for Hadag Hamburg. In addition, repair services for Hamburg ferries and barges were developed. A second ferry named ''Kehrwieder'' was also completed in 2018. Since then, several ships' sections have been made for the Meyer shipyard in

Papenburg Papenburg (; East Frisian Low Saxon: ''Papenbörg'') is a city in the district of Emsland, Lower Saxony, Germany, situated at the river Ems. It is known for its large shipyard, the Meyer-Werft, which specializes in building cruise liners. Ge ...

for large cruise ships, and modular sections for a passenger ferry on

Lake Constance Lake Constance (, ) refers to three bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein (). These ...

. The new administration filed for insolvency in July 2021, due to cash flow problems.

Literature

* ''375 Jahre Sietas Werft''. In: ''Schiff & Hafen'', Heft 10/2010, S. 21–90, Seehafen-Verlag, Hamburg 2010, * Eckhard-Herbert Arndt: ''Neue Hoffnung für Traditionswerft''. In: ''Hansa'', Heft 1/2012, S. 24/25, Schiffahrts-Verlag Hansa, Hamburg 2012,

References

External links

Pella Sietas GmbH
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sietas Defunct companies of Germany Defunct manufacturing companies of Germany Manufacturing companies based in Hamburg 1635 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire Companies established in 1635 Transport companies disestablished in 2022 Manufacturing companies disestablished in 2022