General cargo ship Jörg Krüger. The shipyard model was built by the Unterweser Modellbau workshop on a scale of 1:100 and can be seen in our exhibition on modern maritime logistics on deck 6 of the museum.
The „Jörg Krüger“ represents the last generation of general cargo freighters. General cargo shipping goes back to the beginnings of seafaring. Cargo is packed in containers such as boxes, barrels or sacks and stowed in the hold of the ship. With the industrial revolution that brought steel shipbuilding, the steam engine and the propeller, new opportunities arose for general cargo shipping. Larger holds could be served by a system of derricks that loaded goods between shore and ship because of the increased sizes of ships.
In time, steam engines became so efficient for propulsion that sails were no longer needed. The general cargo freighters of the late 19th century may look very different from those of the late 1960s or early 1970s, but the design principle remained the same. Then steam engines gave way to diesel engines, the system of cargo holds and hatches was optimized, automation and safety systems were introduced, and the lines of the hull became more hydrodynamic. The real revolution in shipping came with the standard container, which began to gain acceptance in shipping from the 1960s. Container shipping proved to be faster and more efficient than general cargo. Everything changed.
The „Jörg Krüger“ was built in 1969 by the Elsfleth shipyard for Hans Krüger’s Hamburg shipping company. From 1974 to 1975, she was in service with Hamburg Süd under the name „Cap Arnauti“. In 1980 she was sold to the Chinese COSCO and renamed „Fu Shun Cheng“. In 1996, she changed owners and name again and was now called „Run Fast“. Finally, in 1998, the ship was scrapped in India.
The shipyard model was built by the Unterweser Modellbau workshop on a scale of 1:100 and can be seen in our exhibition on modern maritime logistics on deck 6 of the museum.