Germanischer Lloyd (GL) has reached another milestone in
its continuous growth strategy. Seven thousand vessels with
90 million gross tonnages (GT) are currently under the
regular technical supervision of GL. The ship crossing the
7,000 ships yardstick is the Capesize bulk carrier E.R. Bayern
of German owner E.R. Schiffahrt.
“This is a milestone in the history of GL,” said Dr
Hermann J. Klein, member of GL’s Executive Board, at the
SMM today. “In only three years GL’s fleet has grown by 20
million GT.”
The 93.186 GT capesize bulk carrier E.R. Bayern was built
by Hyundai Heavy Industries in South Korea. The 292-metre
long, 45-metre wide ship flies the Liberian Flag.
 
GROWTH FOR 143 YEARS
Since its founding in the year 1867, GL has experienced
several phases of strong growth. When the first ship
classification register was published in October 1868, it
counted 272 sailing ships of wood and one of steel. Only five
years later, the GL Register reflected 1,870 ships sailing under
19 different flags. In 1914, there were 2,922 ships with
5,503,923 gross register tonnes (GRT) in class. However, the
world economic crisis and the First and Second World War
took their toll. It was only at the beginning of the sixties that
the Register again listed more ships than in 1914.
The expansion of the merchant fleet and the introduction
of computer technology in shipbuilding led to a continuous
rise in the fleet under attendance. At the 125 year jubilee of
the classification society in 1992, there were 4,200 seagoing
ships with 18 million GT in class. In 2005, GL attended to the
safety of over 5,730 vessels with 50 million GT. Two years
later GL’s fleet in service counted 70 million GT