Company / History Konsul Johann Hermann Schulte, founder of the company Konsul Christoph Bruns The painting shows the shooner »Balthasar«, which formed part of the fleet of Schulte & Bruns, Papenburg from 1896 until 1902   > detailed history (PDF download)     Konsul Johann Hermann Schulte (1847 - 1920) 1883: Foundation of Schulte & Bruns with his friend Christoph Bruns in Papenburg. The company started out with ship broking and ship agency 1893: Separation from Christoph Bruns and move to Emden at 1900: Acquired 12 sailing vessels which were mainly employed in the Baltic timber trade approx. 1914 First steamship was bought 1917: Shipyard was founded     Konsul Heinrich Schulte (1876 - 1937) & Johann Schulte (1877 - 1938) 1923, 1929-30: Inflation and world economic crisis was mastered with the next generation: Konsul Heinrich Schulte approx. 1939 Seagoing fleet: 16 vessels - inland waterway fleet comprises vessels with over 100,000 tdw with offices in Rotterdam, Hamburg und Duisburg. Main business: Supply of German mining- and steel-industry with raw materials 1937 / 1938: Third generation took the helm     Konsul Bernhard Schulte (1907 - 1975) & Hans-Heinrich Schulte (1909) 1945: Third generation reopened office with their last three surviving steamers being expropriated by the Allies 1945-48: Step by step the hereditary fields of shipping were regained 1949: Purchase of the first vessel after war 1955: Fleet comprised 16 seagoing vessels and over 100 inland water crafts » Schulte & Bruns was one of the leading shipping companies in postwar Germany 1st Oct. 1955: Konsul Bernhard Schulte split away and founded his own ship owning company in Hamburg with the focus of a new business line: operating in the spot-markets without reliance on contract cover 1956: "Suez Boom" helped to expand the fleet 1957-1967: 13 new-buildings were delivered, half of which were owned in partnership with old friends     Dr. Heinrich Udo Schulte (1935) & Thomas Schulte (1939) 1963: The 4th generation started with Dr. Heinrich Schulte managing 14 vessels 1967: Thomas Schulte joined the company and built up an inhouse Chartering Department 1968: First gastanker had been taken into management. Ongoing steady, moderate expansion of the Bernhard Schulte Company 1971: Majority of the fleet was now truly family-controlled. The first vessel was flagged out to Liberia - many others were to follow 1972: First German-controlled off-shore ship management company (25% share) - birth of Hanseatic Shipping Co., Limassol, Cyprus 1975: Konsul Bernhard Schulte passed away Dr. Heinrich Schulte & Thomas Schulte & Ascan Lutteroth (1933) 1980: Ascan Lutteroth, brother-in-law of Heinrich and Thomas Schulte joined the top-management team 1981: The shipping crisis struck a company with 30 owned and approx. 100 managed ships 1987: At the end of the crisis, only 22 vessels were left with limited reserves Thomas Schulte left the company with four vessels and set up his own company Dr. Heinrich Schulte & Ascan Lutteroth 1988: Move into fully cellularized container vessels and establishment of two more ship management offices 1989 onward: The group worked itself into the top ranking of international ship managers 1996: The third sector of shipping activities was added to the group when the Hamburg-based liner operator Oldenburg-Portugiesische Dampfschiffs-Rhederei was acquired. In November the Group moved into product tankers by purchasing five 1986 built chemical / product tankers 2004: Move into crude oil tankers and bulk carriers 2008: The hitherto independent Schulte Group shipmanagement companies were merged under the name Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, with the vision of being the leader in quality shipmanagement.