To commemorate the 110th anniversary of the founding of the Hamburg-Amerika Line (H.A.P.A.G.) and the centenary of the North German Lloyd (N.D.L.) the West German Post Office issued a special "Day of German Shipping" stamp. Remarkable ingenuity has been shown in the choice of a design for this issue, for the ship illustrated symbolises both companies. Norddeutscher Lloyd, through their subsidiary company, Orlanda Reederei of Bremen, have three ships of this class, the Schwabenstein, Hessenstein and Bayernstein, while the Hamburg-Amerika Line has a similar trio, the Hannover, Hamburg and Frankfurt.
The only difference in build of the six ships—from the point of view of external appearance—is that the Hapag vessels have a modern type of funnel, while the Orlanda ships have the conventional motorship funnel. This feature limits the ship on the stamp to the Orlanda group. Actually the design is simplified and represents the class of ship rather than an individual vessel.
All six ships of the class are motorships built by Bremer-Vulkan at Bremen-Vegesack. The Schwabenstein was completed in 1953, the remaining five ships in 1954. All six operate sailings to the Far East from German ports every three weeks. The class is around the 9,000 ton mark, and dimensions are: 537.9ft, 63 8ft., and 27.2ft. draft. There is excellent accommodation for about 86 passengers and a cargo capacity of 604,453 Cu. ft. bale, 666,933 cu. ft. grain. Two 2-cycle M.A.N. oil engines, driving a single shaft through Vulcan couplings, give a service speed of about 17'/4 knots. The vessels are fitted with all facilities for rapid handling of cargo, including a heavy lift derrick. Passenger quarters with "outside" cabins are amidships. All the ships have the heavily raked soft-nosed stem which is a feature of modern German ship design. SG1183