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In 1998 an opportunity presented itself the likes of which are rare in times of fast changing economic conditions and rapidly developing technical progress. In Great Britain the Blue Star Line, founded 86 years previously, was up for sale. P&O Nedlloyd Ltd bought Blue Star Lines container ships including the melodious name and company logo that is renowned and admired worldwide.
For many years previously, P&O Nedlloyd had not only owned its own fleet but had also hired extensive charter tonnage on both long-term and short-term contracts. They obtained a considerable part of this tonnage from the German market.
Having considered their options, in view of the growing demand for container ships, the question soon arose as to whether it would not be more efficient and economically viable to cover the increasing requirement for suitable tonnage from within the own group, and well aware of the company’s great tradition, P&O Nedlloyd was well advised not to let the Blue Star Line slip away into oblivion.
In 2002 P&O Nedlloyd drew the logical conclusion to use the attraction of the good name with its successful image and the charisma of the line’s symbolic emblem on the funnel and registered the newly-founded own ship management company as Reederei Blue Star GmbH in the Hamburg Register of Companies.
On May 11th 2005, A.P. Moeller Maersk Group announced the wish to buy P&O Nedlloyd. The merger took place and was completed by February 2006 under the new name 'Maersk Line'. This made Reederei Blue Star GmbH a 100% subsidiary of A.P. Moeller Maersk Group.
During 2008, in the process of streamlining the group towards its core business A.P. Moeller Maersk decided to locate a buyer for Reederei Blue Star GmbH enabling them to maintain a reliable shipmanagement source in Germany.
As a consequence on 18th June 2009 the process was completed and it was announced that Maersk Ship Management Holding B.V. had sold Reederei Blue Star GmbH to Hamburg based shipowner Komrowski.
Komrowski was established in 1912 by its founder Ernst Komrowski and is meanwhile under the active management of the third and fourth generation, namely Ernst Peter Komrowski and his son Ernst Thomas Komrowski. In 1923 Komrowski moved into shipowning.
The combined strength of Komrowski Reederei and Reederei Blue Star will give the joint group a completely new and strengthened position in the market, with a highly diversified fleet equally strong in container vessels from 500 TEU feeders up to 8450 TEU and the well established bulk carrier expertise of Komrowski Bulk Shipping, as well as the heavy lift fleet .
Besides the broad base of Komrowski customers A.P. Moeller Maersk will also in future play a key role in the groups client relationship via the long list of charters in place as well as the continued relationship with Maersk Ship Management providing crews to the fleet.
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