In 1872, master shipbuilder Christof Ruthof (1837-1920) founded the shipyard of the same name in Kastel. Initially, ships were made of wood before the first steel ship, the Loreley II, was launched in 1884, which operated as a ferry between St. Goar and St. Goarshausen. As early as 1878, the company had to move to new premises opposite Petersaue. In 1892, another shipyard was founded in Regensburg following an order from Serbia, which was expanded in 1916. The names Donau-Werften and Rhein-Werft were introduced to distinguish these locations from the headquarters.

In 1895, Ruthof established a machine factory that initially produced steam engines for its own needs and later also for sale to other shipyards. In 1913, the Bavarian works received an order to build two tankers for the Bayerischer Lloyd shipping company, the König Ludwig III and the BL II. These tankers for European river shipping were among the very first diesel-powered motor ships. Equipped with two 320 hp engines, they could transport 628 tons of crude oil.

In 1920, the company founder handed over the company, which had now grown to 800 employees, to his son Josef Ruthof (1864-1947) as a newly founded family-owned limited partnership. This was followed in the 1930s by major orders from Romania, for which the Reich Ministry of Finance granted export loans of over RM 5 million per individual application. During the Second World War, forced laborers from Holland, Belgium and France were deployed.

Despite lucrative contracts such as the restoration of the paddle steamer "Goethe" in 1951/1952 and the construction of new cargo ships, Christof Ruthof GmbH had to file for bankruptcy in 1975. Apartments were built on the former company premises in Mainz-Kastel. Today, only the street names An der Helling and Christof-Ruthof-Weg are reminders of the traditional shipyard, which built over 1,500 ships in more than 100 years of company history.