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Houseflags of Polish Shipping Companies

Last modified: 2011-05-14 by andrew weeks
Keywords: polshipping | pzm | plo | zegluga polska spolka skcyjna |
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Aramis Shipping Agency

[Aramis Shipping Agency] image by Jarig Bakker, 1 Dec 2006

Aramis Shipping Agency Ltd (ASA) is situated in Gdynia, Poland, and presents itself here.
ASA was founded in 1995 and is active as liner agent, forwarder, and tanker servicing company.  Cargoes may be oil, coal, bananas, etc. plus China Shipping containers destined for the home market.

The flagoid on the homepage is dark blue with yellow initials ASA (no serifs), but a clearer drawing is found here.
Some day this flagoid will hopefully turn out to represent a real item - a table flag at least, or a life size flag flying on the company building?
Jan Mertens, 1 Dec 2006


Gdansk Shipyard

[Gdansk Shipyard] image by James Dignan, 4 May 2010

I was looking at the book "Chronicle of the twentieth century" the other day (Penguin books, 1990), and on the page for August 1980 there is a photograph of a meeting of the Polish trade union Solidarity. The photo shows two flags, one the Polish national flag, and the other a flag which appears to be horizontally striped white, light blue, and white (sort of like the reverse of the Argentinian flag) - the white stripes may be narrower than the blue. I haven't found anything relevant in the fotw-ws Polish pages... anyone any idea what it might be?
An image is attached, though needs to be taken with a grain of salt, since the flag is partly furled in the photo, obscuring the half nearer the hoist. It appears to be a fairly long flag, though, possibly 2:1.
James Dignan, 4 May 2010

Most likely a shipyard's flag.
Mariusz Borkowski, 4 May 2010

Mr.Borkowski is right.
It was the flag of the then Lenin Shipyard (later Gdansk Shipyard) in the heady days of 1980, the beginning of the end of communism.
There two more photographs of this flag made by the British photojurnalist, Chris Niedenthal.
The first was made on August 15, 1980, the second day of the strike in the shipyard.
The second picture shows the flag flanking Lech Walesa when he declares the strike over on August 31,1980
<http://fototapeta.art.pl/2010/cnd.php>
Pictures are about 1/3 down the page.
Chrystian Kretowicz, 4 May 2010


Polshipping flag

[Polshipping houseflag] by Jorge Candeias, 10 Mar 1999, after image from this site, reported by Dov Gutterman, 24 Feb 1999

Polshipping Co. Ltd (Gdynia, Poland) - Dark blue over dark red with a white lozenge fimbriated black shifted to the hoist charged with a black "P". It's a freight company.
Jorge Candeias, 10 Mar 1999


Polska Żegluga Baltycka

[Polska Żegluga Baltycka] image by Jarig Bakker, 27 Jan 2006

Polska Żegluga Baltycka (Polish Baltic Steamship Co.), Kolobrzeg.
Image after Brown's Flags and Funnels of Shipping Companies of the World, compiled by J.L. Loughran, Glasgow, 1995 [lgr95].
Jarig Bakker, 27 Jan 2006


Polska Żegluga Morska flag

[Polska Zegluga Morska flag] by Jens Pattke, 3 Feb 2002

I found some house flags of former socialist countries in a lexicon on navigation and sea traffic. PZM- Polska Żegluga Morska  Szczecin - Polish Steamship Company, with passenger services.
Source: Scharnow, Ullrich: "transpress Lexikon Seefahrt"; transpress VEB Verlag für Verkehrswesen; Berlin (East); 1988; 5th edition
Jens Pattke, 3 Feb 2002


Polska Żegluga Morska (other version)

[Polska Żegluga Morska (other version)] image by Jarig Bakker, 27 Jan 2006

Polska Żegluga Morska (Polish Steamlines), Szczecin.
Image after Brown's Flags and Funnels of Shipping Companies of the World, compiled by J.L. Loughran, Glasgow, 1995 [lgr95].
Jarig Bakker, 27 Jan 2006


Polskie Linie Oceaniczne flag

[Polskie Linie Oceaniczne flag] by Jens Pattke, 3 Feb 2002

I found some house flags of former socialist countries in a lexicon on navigation and sea traffic. PLO- Polski Linie Oceaniczne  Gdansk - Polish Ocean Lines, specialized in cruises.
Source: Scharnow, Ullrich: "transpress Lexikon Seefahrt"; transpress VEB Verlag für Verkehrswesen; Berlin (East); 1988; 5th edition
Jens Pattke, 3 Feb 2002


Żegluga Bydgoska (Bydgoszcz Shipping)

[Żegluga Bydgoska] image by Jarig Bakker, 23 May 2008

Owned since 2003 by Odratrans - Poland's largest inland shipping company - Żegluga Bydgoska (Bydgoszcz Shipping) is a household name - I encountered its flag long before having any notion of which firm it represented.

A French brochure 'La voie navigable. Une voie d'avenir' (i.e. Waterway. A way to the future) published by the 'Office National de la Navigation' (i.e. National [French] Shipping Agency' in 1977), oblong, 28 unnumbered pages plus map and lists of operators, shows on p. [18] a white flag with red horizontal edges and a large red - rather svelte - initial 'Z'.  Caption (translated): "Unloading bottles coming from Poland at Givet port".  The flag flies from a bow mast on vessel 'BM-5243'.

This is clearly the initial we see as part of a logo carrousel (much fatter though) on this Odratrans page.
Thanks to Google Translate I am able to summarize the relevant text: founded as 'Bromberger Schleppschiffahrt' (which would nowadays mean 'Towage Shipping of Bydgoszcz') in 1891 becoming 'Midland ["central"? jm] Lloyd' registered in 1925.  Reorganized during and after WWII, autonomous in 1954, operating on the Vistula.

Stock company since 1995.  Transports have always included bulk goods and special shipments; now also renting and leasing activities (port infrastructure), dredging, river exploitation (mining), and warehousing.  Now mainly active in Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands; in Poland, on the Lower Vistula River and in the region of Szczecin.

Link to 'fat Z' logo; Link to a 'Binnenvaart' page dedicated to vessel 'BM 5166' (picture of 'fat Z' house flag, as a drawing). Attached is a picture of the 'svelte Z' flag version (no clear photos of either version borne on vessels seen yet): < pl~zeby.jpg> .  Source: German eBay offer no.  6635648321 (end 16 June 2006) put up by "hadarman".  Dimensions given as 82 cm x 150 cm, supposedly made of polyester.
Perhaps the initial was changed in 1995, when the firm acquired its current legal form, or in 2003 when Odratrans took over?
Jan Mertens, 14 May 2008


Żegluga Polska Spolka Akcyjna

[Żegluga Polska Spolka Akcyjna] image by Jarig Bakker, 27 Jan 2006

Żegluga Polska Spolka Akcyjna (Polish Shipping Co.), Szczecin - WRW triband, with on top and bottom of red stripe thin white and red stripes; in the center the firm's crest.
Image after Brown's Flags and Funnels of Shipping Companies of the World, compiled by J.L. Loughran, Glasgow, 1995 [lgr95].
Jarig Bakker, 27 Jan 2006