About Us

HARPAIN SHIPPING is a privately-owned company, founded in 1988 in Hamburg, Germany, as shipowners and shipbrokers. We specialize in both the growing gas and chemical tanker, and passenger ship markets, namely cruise vessels and RoPax ferries.

EXPERTS IN GAS

We operate a versatile small-scale fleet of five ethylene capable vessels and one semi-refrigerated vessel as a vital part of the supply logistics value chain for liquefied gases.

Our cutting-edge ethylene vessels are GASCHEM ADRIATIC and GASCHEM ANTARCTIC, since 2010; GASCHEM NORDSEE and GASCHEM PACIFIC, since 2009 – all of which delivered by Meyer Werft, Papenburg.

QUEEN ISABELLA built in 1996 by Cantieri Benetti, Italy, capable of carrying pressurized and down to –104°C refrigerated ethylene and ethane. Our semi-refrigerated vessel is capable of carrying pressurized and down to –48°C refrigerated LPG: QUEEN ZENOBIA, built in 2002 by Namura Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., Imari, Japan.

All ships are employed successfully by GasChem Services, Hamburg.

PASSENGER SHIP BROKERS

As a shipbroker, we closely follow up the developments in the cruise ship and RoPax-vessel market.
We provide every kind of professional skill necessary for contracting newbuildings or Sale and Purchase (S&P) on the international floor.

Both cruise vessels and Roll-on/Roll-off-passenger ferries are our business. We empower our clients to attain their most profitable fleet adjustments and ensure smooth transactions.

Gas carrier
history

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Gas carrier history

We have been in touch with the LPG market for decades. Our founder Rimbert Harpain contracted its first LPG carriers in the 1980s. ...

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We have been in touch with the LPG market for decades. Our founder Rimbert Harpain contracted its first LPG carriers in the 1980s. At that time the company successfully operated four gas carriers of various sizes, which were flexibly deployable in different international gas trades:

GAZ NORDSEE, GAZ PACIFIC – 5.600 CBM each, TYCHO BRAHE, 15.000 CBM, DONAU, 30.000 CBM – all built by Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Germany.

In the 1990s, we ordered our first ethylene capable carriers at BRAND WERFT, Oldenburg:

IGLOO BERGEN and IGLOO TANA, 8.300 CBM – later renamed GASCHEM BERGEN and GASCHEM TANA. The vessels remained extremely economic for more than 20 years in service, until they were sold in 2012 and 2013.

Later in the decade, we contracted two larger LPG/ethylene carriers of 12.500 CBM: the CLIPPER VIKING and the CLIPPER HARALD at the Meyer Werft, Papenburg, on behalf of the Steensland/Solvang Group.

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Passenger ship
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Passenger ship history

As a broker, our founder Rimbert Harpain contracted the 42.000 GRT HOMERIC, which was the Meyer Werft's first cruise ship ...

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CRUISE SHIPS

As a broker, our founder Rimbert Harpain contracted the 42.000 GRT HOMERIC, which was the Meyer Werft’s first cruise ship, back in 1984, on behalf of the former HOME LINES, Italy. At that time, it was the bold attempt to build a large cruise ship in Papenburg, on the banks of the narrow Ems river. The ship entered into service in May 1986 and is still crossing the oceans for new owners. Thereafter, new building activities were sped up at the Meyer Werft by the 40.000 GRT CROWN ODYSSEY, ordered on behalf of Panagopoulos Group, Greece, followed in rapid succession by five vessels for Chandris Lines, Greece (today Celebrity Cruises – Royal Caribbean). This was the beginning of a new era in the cruise shipping industry.


SUPERFAST FERRIES

In 1993, HARPAIN SHIPPING contracted the first ultra-modern RoPax ferries on behalf of the Attica Group, Greece. SUPERFAST I and II, built at Schichau Seebeckwerft, in Bremerhaven, reduced the travel time of the traditional Ancona to Patras route to less than 24 hours. Attica finished an extensive 12-ship new building programme in 2002, all of which were contracted through HARPAIN SHIPPING at renowned European yards, and some of them were resold in the meantime.


RIVER CRUISE SHIPS

In 2001/2002 Harpain contracted the first two river cruise vessels for A-rosa at Neptun Werft, Rostock, the AROSA BELLA and the AROSA DONNA.