One of the most famous names in German shipping died yesterday. Bertram Rickmers, 71, fell down some stairs while celebrating his wife’s 60th birthday, according to German media title Bild.
“At this hour our thoughts are primarily with Bertram Rickmers’ wife Franziska, his three children and five grandchildren, to whom we extend our deepest sympathy,” said a statement from the management of Rickmers’ Asian Spirit Steamship Company.
Rickmers came from one of the most well-known shipowning dynasties in Germany. He initially founded a company with his brother Erck that sold ship bonds. When both brothers separated in the 1990s, Bertram Rickmers expanded his company into a larger shipping company – with around 130 ships. Rickmers Holding filed for bankruptcy in 2017 after HSH Nordbank, one of its major creditors, rejected an out-of-court restructuring plan.
Rickmers then went on to found Asian Spirit Steamship Company, which today controls a fleet of 11 feeder boxships.
