BBB (East Germany)

Bagger-, Bugsier- und Bergungsreederei until 1989

Last modified: 2010-02-27 by jarig bakker
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2:3  image by Antonio Martins-Tuvalkin, 27 Dec 2008

• VEB Bagger-, Bugsier- und Bergungsreederei
• Flag variant in a nautical encyclopedia
• Deutsche Seebaggerei (1952-1960)
• Deutsche Seebaggerei (1960-1970)
• BBB Schlepp- und Hafendienst
• BBB pennant
• BBB variant flag
• BBB bright blue flag

• House Flags of East German Shipping Companies 1949-1989
• East Germany 1949-1990
• Germany

VEB Bagger-, Bugsier- und Bergungsreederei

Flag variant in a nautical encyclopedia

Source: Ullrich Scharnow, transpress Lexikon Seefahrt, transpress VEB Verlag für Verkehrswesen, Berlin (East), 1988, 5th edition.
Jens Pattke, 3 Feb 2002

A slightly different version is shown by Lexikon der Seefahrt 1988 which has a solid white cogwheel bearing a blue ring enclosing a blue "B".
Neale Rosanoski, 3 May 2004

Deutsche Seebaggerei (1952-1960)

This GDR inland navigation site shows two flags flown by Deutsche Seebaggerei (German Maritime Dredging): about 2/3 down the page, under the heading „Bagger- Bugsier- & Bergungsdienste / Lotsendienst”: This concerns the VEB (meaning people’s owned company) Deutsche Seebaggerei or DSB which, we learn,
was a separate enterprise existing 1952-1969.
A red truncated pennant was in use 1952-1960, showing the logo in the hoist: a blue shield bearing white elements: an eight-spoked steering wheel above which appears the acronym “DSB”, underlined by a wavy line.
From 1960-1970 a white rectangular flag was flown showing the shield in blue outline; now there are two wavy lines, interrupted.
A merger taking effect on 1 January 1970 led to DSB’s disappearance, the new enterprise being BBB or VEB Bagger-, Bugsier- und Bergungsreederei.
Deutsche Seebaggerei is mentioned briefly, here: and there.
Jan Mertens, 5 Dec 2009

Deutsche Seebaggerei (1960-1970)

BBB Schlepp- und Hafendienst

Current website, German only: Now named ‘BBB Schlepp- und Hafendienst GmbH’ (i.e. BBB Towage and Port Service), its predecessor – on becoming bankrupt -  was taken over by Fairplay of Hamburg (1993). It is  active in Rostock, Stralsund, and other regional harbours.
Have a look at ‘Flottenliste’ (i.e. fleet list; left menu) presenting a number of pontoons used at construction (dredging) sites whereas – logically – a link leads you to the Fairplay pages where tugs are concerned. In all, seven tugs (with Fairplay funnels as far as I can see) are based on former GDR territory.
The B-in-a-gearwheel logo is still used – the website specifically states that Fairplay wanted to maintain the well-known acronym as well as the logo –  and although I have not yet found photos of vessels flying the present version, at least it appears on a table flag: a white field with, in the centre, a blue square bearing the logo in white.
Source of image: German eBay offer no. 220099323156 (end 15 Apr 2007) put up by “ohndangdang”, dimensions given as 15 cm x 25 cm.
It may be the white version is used on land only, as an office flag.
Jan Mertens, 14 Sep 2009

BBB pennant

“BBB” stands for ‘Bagger-, Bugsier- und Bergungsreederei’, a GDR dredging, towing and salvage company. On FOTW we find two variant house flags, the second of which (using the same source?) is also found on this GDR shipping page. There we find a pennant, based on this second version.
However there is a smallish flag, photographed this time, which will have to do
for now as tentative evidence for a slightly different design.
As you can see, the middle red stripe is quite wide (compare first variant on FOTW-ws) although the blue stripes are rather pale; the B-on-gearwheel emblem is not very large (compare second variant on FOTW-ws) and, moreover, is placed on a disk the blue of which is darker than that of the (pale) blue stripes.
Source: German eBay offer no. 270062407331 (end 10 Dec 2006) put up by “norbibla” who thought it was a signal flag but adds that the flag "has seen ship".  Dimensions given as 40 cm x 64 cm.
Jan Mertens, 13 Dec 2008

BBB variant flag

BBB bright blue flag