Hamburg’s oldest wooden ship returns to home port with Heuking

On October 7, 2020, Hamburg’s oldest wooden ship returned to the port of Hamburg. A 137-year-old pilot schooner, No. 5 Elbe certainly had an eventful history, but its most exciting day came on June 8, 2019: After having just been lavishly restored at EUR 1.7 million with federal funding, pilot schooner No. 5 Elbe collided with a container feeder ship at around 3 p.m.
 
Fortunately, a German Life Saving Association vessel was nearby so that all 43 passengers were saved. The pilot schooner that ran aground was in deplorable condition, however: its shiny copper-plated keel was damaged and the carefully restored interiors were destroyed by the ingress of water. The ship was then towed to a Danish shipyard for restoration. See also: NDR News
 
One and a half years later, the pilot schooner shines in new splendor again and entered the port of Hamburg on its own keel. “We are very satisfied with the repair work done by the shipyard and are pleased that No. 5 Elbe’s return to Hamburg has worked out so well,” said Markus Söhl, board member of the Hamburg Maritime Foundation.
 
A team led by Heuking partner Dr. Martin Schellenberg in Hamburg legally advised the foundation on the original restoration and the recent repairs in the shipyard.

Counsel to Hamburg Maritime Foundation
Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek:
Dr. Martin Schellenberg (Lead)
Fabian Budde (Public Procurement and Contracts)
Marc-Philip Greitens (Public Procurement), all Hamburg