IMMH

Coastal freighter Pötenitz

The coastal freighter Pötenitz (1966-2011). Her original shipyard model built by the Unterweser-Modellbau workshop is one of the examples for the development of coastal shipping in our exhibition on modern maritime logistics on deck 6 of the museum.

The coastal freighter Pötenitz (1966-2011). Her original shipyard model built by the Unterweser-Modellbau workshop is one of the examples for the development of coastal shipping in our exhibition on modern maritime logistics on deck 6 of the museum.


The “Pötenitz” is a wonderful example of a German coaster from the mid-1960s. This type of ship had great significance for the development of German shipping in the decades after the end of the Second World War. In German shipping, ships like the „Pötenitz“ are called „Kümo“. This name follows the tradition of shortening long compound words by their initial syllables. „Kümo“ stands for “Küstenmotorschiff” which simply translates into “coaster”.

The MS “Pötenitz” was delivered to the shipping company Koehn & Bohlmann KG in Hamburg on 17 December 1966 by the shipyard Elsflether Werft AG in Elsfleth. With a capacity of 1,922 DWT, she was an average-sized ship of her time. With an overall length of 71 meters and a maximum draught of 4.8 meters, she could call at almost any port in the Baltic region. To make sure that the „Pötenitz“ could also be used in winter, her hull was reinforced with a limited icebreaking capacity. She could carry either bulk or general cargo and her derricks had a load capacity of up to 3 tons.  

But coastal shipping grew rapidly in those years and the Pötenitz quickly became too small for the industry. In 1970, she was handed over to the Lübeck-based shipyard Flender Werke for enlargement. Her hull was lengthened to 82 m, giving her a new capacity of 2,830 DWT and keeping her competitive for many more years. In 1988, she was sold to austrias Hans-Christoph Gassen company and renamed „Gassen“. In 1993 she went to Transbaltic SG and was renamed „Sanmar“. In 1996 she was renamed „Al Jamil“ by a Syrian owner and in 2007 she became the „Salam Y“ by ISM Group, Sri Lanka. In May 2011, the now elderly ship, was sold to Aliaga in Turkey for scrapping.