The shipping company Leonhardt & Blumberg was founded in Hamburg, Germany, in 1903 by partners Adolf Leonhardt and Arthur Blumberg.

The first ships in the fleet were the “ELLA IVERS” and the “SCHLEI”.

The company’s first newbuilding, “ANGELICA ZUM BACH”, was delivered in Lübeck from the Henry Koch shipyard in 1904.

Several newbuildings and other acquisitions were added to the fleet in the years that followed and the vessels were employed in world wide tramp shipping.

Prior to WWI, the largest company vessels were the “FRIEDA LEONHARDT” (2739 grt) and “JOHANNA BLUMBERG” (2830 grt) which joined the fleet for the price of 430,000 German marks and 450,000 German marks respectively.

In 1922 Arthur Blumberg died. Mr. Adolf Leonhardt then continued to run the business by himself.

In 1930 two 7500-ton steam tankers were acquired from the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey. These two vessels entered the Leonhardt & Blumberg service and sailed under the German flag as “LOTTE LEONHARDT” and “KARL LEONHARDT”.

In 1932 Leonhardt & Blumberg transported live eels from Canada to Europe in the specially rebuilt MV “HANS LEONHARDT”.

At the end of WWII, Leonhardt & Blumberg had no vessels left in their fleet as six ships were lost during the war and the other remaining vessels had to be handed over to the allies. During this time it was the insurance department that secured the future of the company.

Despite these setbacks, Adolf Leonhardt’s sons Hans and Otto started to rebuild the basic business of the shipping company.

In 1946 a mine carrier named “RHEIN” was operated by Leonhardt & Blumberg on German inland waterways on behalf of the United States.The vessel was bought on 24 May 1949 for the price of 380,000 German marks.

In 1950 the Allies eased their restrictions on overseas trade and Leonhardt & Blumberg acquired the steamship “MIGUEL DE LARRINAGA” (8150 dwt) and renamed it “BERND LEONHARDT”. The acquisition of that ship was the relaunch of the world wide tramp shipping business at Leonhardt & Blumberg.

The newbuilding “ADOLF LEONHARDT” was delivered on 11 September 1951. With dimensions of 7066 grt / 13130 dwt, the “ADOLF LEONHARDT” was the largest vessel in the German merchant fleet for several months.