Most of the P-liners, as the ships were called, were now put on the South American nitrate trade.
Carl Laeisz said: Meine Schiffe können und sollen schnelle Reisen machen. (My ships can and shall make fast voyages.) And his ships were indeed fast, strong, and very well equipped.
In 1912 Carl's sons Herbert Ferdinand and Erich Ferdinand took over the company, but Herbert was a victim of the first World War, so between the wars Erich ran the company by himself. He died shortly after World War II.
Most of the ships that Laeisz ordered were built by Blohm & Voss in Hamburg, or by Tecklenborg in Geestemünde. The most famous of the P-liners are their five-masted barque Potosi, their tremendous five-masted ship Preussen, and their very successful four-masted barques that were built early in the 20th century; the Pamir, the Passat, the Peking, and the Padua to name a few. These ships have been called the greatest sailing ships ever built, and the ultimate cargo carriers under sail. They were built for the tough voyage around Cape Horn westwards.
Vessel database
Alphabetic listing
Chronological listing
Articles and nautical terms
Search the site (with Google):
Support the site: