In 1967, Rudolf A.Oetker purchased Atlas Levante-Linie together with its trading rights to the Eastern Mediterranean Sea so, together with Deutsche Levant-Linie ("DLL"), established a prominence in the trade, then operating in competition with H.Schuldt, Argo and Transmarin, operating as the Nah-Ost-Gemeinschaft group.

On 1 April 1973, spearheaded by Oetker’s DLL, the operations of the two competing groups were merged under a single umbrella organisation named Deutsche Nah Ost Linie (DNOL). This organisation then served the trade to Levant with ships owned or operated by its shareholders, supplemented by chartered-in vessels.

Between 1951 and 1953, Bock, Godeffroy & Co. took delivery from Flenderwerke Lübeck of four new ships named Athen, Galata, Libanon and Cairo. In June 1956, Rudolf A. Oetker took complete ownership of Bock,Godeffroy & Co., the DLL trade name and its six ships. Galata, delivered on 20 May 1952, was in 1971 sold to Colocotronis with a charter back to Oetker and in April 1974 renamed Patras.

On time charter to Cargo Levant, Hamburg as the house flag on the funnel indicates.