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“With the symbolic handover of the keys, the long search for a successor has been successfully concluded,” explained Jürgen Schroff, who has operated the excursion boat “Löwe von Laufenburg” for almost 20 years.
Despite the ship’s operation with the “Löwen von Laufenburg” being suspended this year due to Corona requirements, Schroff continued to search for a buyer for his ship with the help of a broker. After the “crowdfunding project” (internet funding by numerous sponsors) failed, in 2018 the Deputy Mayor of the city, Meinrad Schraner, of the local citizens of Laufenburg, campaigned for the continued operation of the “Lion of Laufenburg “.
As Schroff announced at the time, local residents initially wanted to lease the ship for two years to charter from Captain Holger Grosse. After these efforts were unsuccessful, including local residents’ considerations to purchase the boat, Schroff, with the help of his broker, Marcus van Nijenhoff, found a trained skipper who is ready as soon as Corona requirements allow. continue. of the “Lion of Laufenburg” at the Laufenburg site. He hoped to make the first excursion down the Rhine at the end of March, van Nijenhoff said.
The new captain is 49 years old, is married and has two daughters, 14 and 18 years old.
The new captain drove a freighter before
He learned the profession from scratch and acquired the Rhine navigation patent. So far he has operated his own freighter on the Lower Rhine, which he sold to reorient himself professionally. He moved to Laufenburg and rented an apartment there. Initially, you will run shipping operations with tours on Sundays, closed trips, and trips for birthdays and other anniversaries in a similar way as Schroff did. A conversion of the ship, as planned by Holger Grosse in the form of an open deck, will only be considered after a successful course of one or two years. He would also like to run a new raft later. Schroff is delighted with this development and would like to get to know van Nijenhoff as much as possible. You will hand over your website with the domain name to van Nijenhoff. Schroff had the boat operationally inspected for five years at his charge, so the new owner will face no further charges in this regard. Schroff has legally received the sale of the boat with a notarized purchase contract from his broker, so he can now enjoy his retirement together with his wife Luzia. The purchase price, about which it was agreed not to disclose, has already been credited to his account, he said.
The ship “Löwe von Laufenburg” was built in 1952. At first it was used as the “Kriemhild” in Königswinter as a ferry. It has been sailing the Upper Rhine since 2000. The “Löwe von Laufenburg” runs on the Upper Rhine between the Albbruck and Bad Säckingen power stations. The lock at the Laufenburg power station is passed during the two-hour lock journey, during which ten meters of altitude are exceeded.
