About us: Theodor Buschmann dockyard
125 years of steel-hard experienceToday, the THEODOR BUSCHMANN dockyard is particularly successful in special steel construction, pontoon building and ship repairs. In addition to repairs in our own facilities, we specialise in worldwide repairs both underway and in harbour as well as the maintenance of onshore and offshore facilities. Our portfolio also includes the construction and conversion of maritime engineering equipment such as dredgers, pile drivers and jack-up platforms.
Started in 1882, the company initially built tugs and other vessels. Our competence in this area is unbroken. Since 2016 we have been producing new, innovative types of tugs at the THEODOR BUSCHMANN dockyard with the carousel tugs. But also the special welding of aluminium or stainless steel constructions belongs to the dockyard’s repertoire.
Our history
From the construction of tugs to special dockyard welding work
Theodor Buschmann
In focus: Steel construction
Apart from conventional shipbuilding, THEODOR BUSCHMANN is particularly active in steel construction. The range extends from the steel construction of a large grain silo, to a helicopter landing platform, to the bell tower of a small African parish. In particular, urgent projects for large shipyards are a domain of the yard.Theodor Buschmann
Worldwide: Repairs underway at sea
Repairs underway on seagoing vessels of all sizes, e.g. on the HANSEATIC, are sometimes nerve-racking. As the time spent in port is expensive, repairs are often carried out at the same time as loading and unloading. Pragmatically, some repair crews travel with the outgoing ship to Cuxhaven or even Rotterdam.Theodor Buschmann
Modern carousel tugs
Back to the roots: After many years THEODOR BUSCHMANN manufactured 2 hulls for the new carousel tug for the Dutch Novatug in Hamburg. The hulls will be finally fitted out and put into operation in the Netherlands.Theodor Buschmann
Liquid natural gas Bunker barge developed
The dockyard is extending its product portfolio: It has designed a modern LNG bunker barge that can be used on the open sea and in inland waterways. The range also includes stationary floating LNG refuelling stations.Theodor Buschmann
Active in Northern Europe in a variety of fields
The yard has stood its ground against all of its competitors with a highly diversified range of products. From the construction of new ships (working ships, pontoons and launches) to repairs in harbour and underway for ocean giants through to steel and metal construction for the onshore and offshore sector as well as port operators.Theodor Buschmann
Jack-up platform Annegret
One special project is the construction of the new Annegret jack-up platform for one of the leading German construction companies. The hull built in Poland was fully fitted out by THEODOR BUSCHMANN. It is still in use today in various major offshore projects.Theodor Buschmann
Varied: A variety of new constructions
THEODOR BUSCHMANN manufactured tugboats with chimney mast, tugboat hulls made with hard chines, bulbous pusher boats, tank barges, banana transporters, mooring boats and many more.Theodor Buschmann
Full employment 300 people employed at the dockyard
The loyal repair customers included almost all of Hamburg’s barge and launch operators, as well as all of the tugboat shipping companies. The 1960s were a time of full employment, and the yard reached its highest level of employment with a workforce of around 300.Theodor Buschmann
Full order books
Some tugs and a water tanker were followed by a series of 9 inland motor tankers. They have a load capacity of 1,000 tonnes, are 78 metres long and 8.20 metres wide. The Dutch Stork diesel engine produces 550 hp at 375 rpm.Theodor Buschmann
Construction of new tanker motor vessels
Really big: The motor tankers CHARLES ECKELMANN, CORD ECKELMANN and NICOLA were built at the dockyard. Between 60 and 66 meters long and with a gross register tonnage of between 630 and 908.8 register tonnes, these were the largest ships to be completed here.Theodor Buschmann
Coal from London
FAIRPLAY Schleppdampfschiffs-Reederei Richard Borchard GmbH (steam tug shipping company) moored its FAIRPLAY ONE sea-going tug at the dockyard. Overnight, the workers successfully emptied the bunkers, which was the start of a long-standing collaboration. THEODOR BUSCHMANN renewed the FAIRPLAY fleet with innovations in the field of propulsion: from fixed pitch propellers to propellers with Kort nozzle rudders, from controllable pitch propellers to azimuth propulsion.Theodor Buschmann
Bombed out during an air raid
Shortly before the end of the war the dockyard was completely destroyed. The new beginning at the Reiherstieg timber harbour offered a good starting position. The first order was for the construction of a customs pontoon for the Hamburg’s regional tax office (Oberfinanzdirektion). In the post-war period, THEODOR BUSCHMANN mainly repaired and modified sea-going and harbour tugs, launches, ferryboats, customs boats and fishing cutters.Theodor Buschmann
The next generation
The founder of the company died on 19 May. For a while, his widow, together with her two sons and daughter, managed the business as a Gütergemeinschaft - as jointly owned property. Then the sons Theodor and Heinrich Buschmann bought the yard.Theodor Buschmann
A new home at Tollerort
Hamburg's customs territory merged with that of the German Empire. THEODOR BUSCHMANN was assigned a new location for his dockyard. The work was now done at Tollerort, the mouth of the Köhlbrand. Repairs to seagoing vessels were also carried out underway, as was the construction of new harbour barges made of wood and steel.Theodor Buschmann
The foundation of the dockyard
The dockyard was founded on 21 June by the Hamburg shipbuilder Johann Thomas Theodor Buschmann. The focus was on the repair of harbour barges. In the morning, the workers took a rowing boat to the Schanzengraben on Steinwerder in Hamburg, Germany. There were no ferry connections at that time.Quality management and certificates
Die Werft THEODOR BUSCHMANN bedient Kunden unter anderem nach dem Qualitätsmanagement der Norm DIN EN ISO 9001:2015 und verfügen über die Herstellerqualifikation zum Schweißen von Stahlbauten nach DIN 18800-7:2002-09. Die Werft ist berechtigt und in der Lage,
Our know-how
- Specialist welding engineer (DVS – German association for welding and related processes)
- Shipbuilding engineers with international professional experience
- Master shipbuilder with 35 years of shipyard experience
- Our own design office (AUTO CAD) with consultancy
- Our languages: German, English, Dutch, Spanish, Polish