Jumbo employees mourn loss of 95-year-old founder Hans Kahn.
Hans Kahn, founder of heavy-lift ocean carrier Jumbo, died Friday in Caesarea, Israel, at the age of 95.
Born in 1922, Kahn entered the maritime industry in the late 1950s. Not intent on riding the early wave of containerization, he looked for ways to transport heavy and outsized cargoes across the seas.
In 1968, Kahn built his first purpose-built heavy-lift vessel, the Stellaprima, with four 12-ton derricks for lifting heavy cargoes on its deck, and Jumbo commenced operations.
The Netherlands-based ocean carrier would introduce newer and larger ships to the fleet every few years. Its largest heavy-lift ships are now capable of loading up to 1,800 tons.
“Hans Kahn realized his dream of becoming a shipowner and became one of the first pioneers in the heavy-lift shipping industry. Jumbo would not be the company it is today without the passion, vision, luck and guts of this remarkable man,” the company said in a statement.
Kahn’s funeral was planned for Tuesday in Caesarea. A list of survivors was not available.
Heavy-lift shipping pioneer dies
