The “Reeder und Makler Club Hamburg e.V.” was founded in 1951 by young shipbrokers and shipping company employees who simply wanted to exchange ideas, gain experience and expand their network.

The company bosses of the time were not comfortable with these “conspiratorial” meetings. They suspected that business secrets might be divulged or, even worse, that salaries were being discussed. In short, many young men were strictly forbidden from attending such meetings. But our “founding fathers” were not so easily intimidated, eventually the bosses tolerated the activities.

The admission requirements were almost extreme by today’s standards. Applicants had to provide two guarantors and provide reliable evidence that their activities in the shipping industry were predominantly related to the chartering business.

The club quickly gained popularity in Hamburg’s shipping society and soon counted upto 600 members. Statutes were drawn up, procedures such as elections, admission regulations, lectures and other events became an integral part of the “RuM-Club”.

The newly elected board members were responsible for their two year legislation period. The guardian of order was the respective president for a period of five years. The famous “Skat und Knobelabend” at the beginning of the year, the soccer match between owners and brokers and a sumptuous end-of-year gala dinner soon became recurring standards of club life and are tradition until today.

Over time, the club opened up and all kinds of shipping representatives were accepted as members, which was not without controversial discussions.

In 1997, the club was converted into a registered association and has been called “Reeder und Makler Club Hamburg e.V.” ever since.