About us
Jens-Peter and Betsy Schlüter
„I love the oceans, they mean the world to me.“
The life of Dr Jens-Peter Schlüter and his wife Betsy has been characterized by shipping and social responsibility. Driven by their attitude to reconcile shipping and environmental protection the foundation was established in 2014.
Dr Jens-Peter Schlüter was born in 1945 and comes from a ship-owner’s family. In 1975 he joined the shipping company founded by his father Karl in 1950 which he continued to run successfully after his father died in 1994. Dr Jens-Peter Schlüter expanded the medium-sized shipping company to become a global enterprise, which ultimately owned 30 ships. His wife Betsy, born in 1957, always supported him.
In 2005, he founded the Rendsburg Shipping Archive, which documents and exhibits the history of shipping in Rendsburg. In 2007, the shipping company Karl Schlüter was sold due to a deteriorating state of health. In the years to come he again purchased two container ships as he was very much missing them passing by his office on the bank of Kiel Canal. Dr Jens-Peter Schlüter died on the 16th of August 2014. His wife Betsy since then has been actively co-managing the foundation as a member of the Board of Trustees in order to give a voice to her husband’s ideas.
The promotion of science and research in the area of shipping and environmental protection, as well as the raising of corresponding resources is actually focusing on strengthening global awareness and education as we consider this as an important contribution to the future mitigation of ocean pollution. The purpose of the foundation also comprises the promotion of science and research, which is supposed to improve the sustainability of inland and maritime shipping, especially by taking in account innovative solution approaches.