A shipping line or shipping company is a company whose line of business is ownership and operation of ships .
41-642: The Union-Castle Line was a British shipping line that operated a fleet of passenger liners and cargo ships between Europe and Africa from 1900 to 1977. It was formed from the merger of the Union Line and Castle Shipping Line . It merged with Bullard King and Clan Line in 1956 to form British & Commonwealth Shipping , and then with South African Marine Corporation (commonly referred to as Safmarine ) in 1973 to create International Liner Services , but maintained its separate identity throughout. Its shipping operations ceased in 1977. The Union Line
82-553: A mine and sank whilst in a convoy 20 nautical miles (37 km) SE of the River Humber, without any loss of life, on 12 Dec 1941 Laid down as Doune Castle and upon purchase named Dunbar Castle 1895 Sold to Fairfield Ship Building and Engineering Co. and renamed Olympia 10 December 1910 – ran aground on Bligh Reef off Alaska's Prince William Sound and sank without loss of life Built by Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Co, Goven, Scotland Dec 1899 requisitioned as
123-426: A motor ship with two-stroke marine diesel engines . They developed a total of 1,931 NHP and drove twin screws, giving her a speed of 16 knots (30 km/h). She had accommodation for 258 first class and 250 tourist class passengers. Except for her after hold, her cargo holds were refrigerated. Dunvegan Castle began her maiden voyage on 18 September 1936. It was a circuit of Africa including passage through
164-592: A Union-Castle Royal Mail Ship would leave Southampton bound for Cape Town. At the same time, a Union-Castle Royal Mail Ship would leave Cape Town bound for Southampton. In 1922 the line introduced its Round Africa service, a nine-week voyage calling at twenty ports en route. Alternate sailings travelled out via the Suez Canal and out via West Africa. The combined line was sold to the Royal Mail Line in 1911, but continued to operate as Union-Castle. Many of
205-454: A method of distinguishing ships by different kinds of cargo: Inland shipping along rivers and other freshwater bodies are used to transport cargo to ports other than those along the coast. Inland shipping requires more infrastructure than ocean shipping. Rivers and lakes require infrastructure, such as river ports and canals , to be considered developed and ready for commercial use. Much of this infrastructure became more widely developed during
246-587: A service carrying up to 750 Tourist Class passengers to Beira and back via the West Coast route every three months. In December 1999 the Union-Castle name was revived for a millennium cruise ; the P&;O ship Victoria was chartered for a 60-day cruise around Africa, and had its funnel repainted for the occasion. The last few surviving Union-Castle Line ships were scrapped in the early 21st century,
287-893: A troop transport for the Second Boer War 1913 sold to the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company as Caribbean Built by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering, Govan 1939 requisitioned by the Admiralty as an accommodation ship Struck a mine off Cromarty on 20 Jan 1940 and sank 1984 transferred to Hong Kong renamed Caspian Universal 1936 sold to J. Billmeir, renamed Stanhill Hospital ship Built by Harland & Wolff, Ltd., Belfast 1 Mar 1917 – Mined and damaged by UC-65 26 Feb 1918 – Torpedoed and sunk by UC-56 10 nautical miles (19 km) W of Lundy Built by Fairfield SB. & Eng. Co., Ltd., Glasgow 31 Mar 1917 – Damaged by UB-32 near
328-441: Is due to human error as a result of lack of enforcement, advances in technology and ship design hope to improve the rates at which containers may be lost at sea. Other challenges being pursued in the maritime industry include adaptation to a more globalized economy. While the maritime industry has always remained global by nature, shipping lines are now experiencing phenomenon that is unprecedented in scale or unseen at all before
369-466: Is high. The cause of this is due to the purchase of secondhand ships, the return on which can often be covered fairly quickly for commercial ships. Newer, expensive ships require a larger return on the investment but pay off quickly. This is because these ships typically cater to a larger, more expensive crowd. For instance, new cruise ships can often be paid off within ten years due to the entrepreneurial nature of its intended purpose. Innovations in
410-709: The Atlantic Ocean took place and by 1833, shipping lines had begun to operate steamships between Britain and British Empire possessions such as India and Canada . Three major British shipping lines were founded in the 1830s: the British and American Steam Navigation Company, the Great Western Steamship Company and the Peninsular Steam Navigation Company. The United States federal government passed
451-720: The Castle Packet Co. which traded to Calcutta round the Cape of Good Hope . This trade was substantially curtailed by the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, and the Castle Line started to run to South Africa instead, later becoming the Castle Mail Packet Company . In 1872 the Cape Colony gained responsible government and its first Prime Minister, John Molteno , ordered a re-negotiation of
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#1732766058050492-494: The Great Lakes operate shipping for approximately eight months each year, but cannot continue operations during winter months when the lakes typically freeze. Most inland shipping lines are based on speed and efficiency to deliver cargo. Contemporary maritime transportation is bound by geographical constraints, political regulation, and commercial interests. Modern advances and innovations in shipping technology have grown
533-1922: The Isle of Wight . 15 Jul 1942 – Sunk by German raider Michel off South West Africa . Captain H.H. Rose and 92 passengers and crew were killed. Two lifeboats containing 61 people were picked up by the raider and taken to Japan as prisoners 1946 purchased from MoWT , renamed Good Hope Castle 1959 scrapped 1937 sold to J. Billmeir, renamed Stanray 1903 purchased by Houston Line, renamed Helius 1904 purchased by Union-Castle 1906 sold to Turkey, renamed Tirimujghian 1928 sold to Portugal 1914–1918 HMS Iolaire anti-submarine patrol ship 1939 became HMS Persephone 1948 scrapped 1946 purchased from MoWT , renamed Kenilworth Castle 1968 scrapped ex- South African Scientist , renamed Kinnaird Castle 1962 reverted to Clan Line 1969 transferred to King Line 1975 sold to Panama, renamed Nazeer 1961 transferred from Safmarine renamed Kinpurnie Castle 1967 sold to Panama, renamed Hellenic Med 1976 transferred from Houston Line, renamed Kinpurnie Castle 1979 renamed Kinpurnie Universal 1982 sold to Greece, renamed Syros Reefer Built by Cammell, Laird & Co., Ltd., Birkenhead 20 Apr 1917 – Torpedoed and damaged by U-35 90 nautical miles (170 km) WxN of Gibraltar 27 May 1918 – Torpedoed and sunk by UB-51 104 nautical miles (193 km) W of Alexandria Built by Workman, Clark & Co Ltd, Belfast She took part in Operation Ironclad Torpedoed and sunk by U-177 on 30 Nov 1942 off South Africa Built by Barclay, Curle & Co., Ltd., Glasgow 27 Jun 1918 – Torpedoed and sunk by SM U-86 116 nautical miles (215 km) W of Fastnet Rock , Ireland 1905 sold to J.G. Stewart, Glasgow, renamed Loch Gair Shipping line Shipping companies provide
574-732: The Merchant Marine Act to protect American shipping interests in response to changing foreign shipping policy. The responsibilities established under the Shipping Act were eventually transferred to the Department of Commerce in 1933 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Federal Maritime Commission was created in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy to regulate shipping activity in the United States, finally giving blanket authority to one shipping commission. At
615-623: The Second World War . Harland and Wolff built her and her sister ship Dunnottar Castle in Belfast in 1936. Union-Castle Line operated Dunvegan Castle on scheduled services between Southampton and South Africa until 1939. When war broke out she was requisitioned by the Admiralty and commissioned as HMS Dunvegan Castle . She escorted Allied convoys from Sierra Leone to Britain from January 1940. In August 1940 , she
656-771: The Suez Canal . She then settled down to scheduled services between Southampton and ports in South Africa. On 3 September 1939, the day the UK entered the Second World War, Dunvegan Castle was in East London in South Africa. The Admiralty requisitioned her there and sent her to the UK to be converted into an AMC. She called at Cape Town , and then at Freetown in Sierra Leone where she joined Convoy SL 2F to be escorted to home waters. Dunvegan Castle
697-594: The Western Approaches SL 43 was reinforced by the sloop HMS Fowey and corvette Periwinkle on 26 August, and the destroyer HMS Winchelsea and corvette Primrose on 27 August. However, on the evening of 27 August U-46 attacked Dunvegan Castle . She was about 120 miles southwest of Cape Clear Island in southwest Ireland when the first torpedo struck her aft of her bridge at 2147 hrs. Dunvegan Castle kept under way, steaming north. At 2212 hrs U-46 torpedoed her again, hitting her in
738-537: The 19th and 20th centuries. Some principal waterways used by shipping lines in the 20th century were the Rhine , Amazon River , Congo River , Nile River , Mississippi River , and Columbia River . Examples of waterway infrastructure include the Suez Canal and the Panama Canal . These waterways are still in use for commercial purposes today. Some waterways can only operate under seasonal conditions. For example,
779-421: The 21st century. Many of these issues surround the nature of increased cooperation in the maritime industry. For instance, cooperation among many shipping lines in the industry is causing an anticompetitive market. This is one of the reasons for the high level of contestability in the shipping industry. With more cooperation among shipping lines, there are larger rates of ships and companies entering and leaving
820-1347: The Aegean Sea in 1916 1949 purchased from MoWT , renamed Braemar Castle 1950 transferred to King Line, renamed King James 1958 sold to Hong Kong, renamed Tyne Breeze Built by Northumberland SB. Co., Ltd., Newcastle upon Tyne ex- Holtye 1915 purchased from F.S. Holland & Co., London, renamed Carlisle Castle Torpedoed by UB-57 near Royal Sovereign Light Vessel on 14 Feb 1918 1915 purchased from Nitrate Producers Ltd., renamed Chepstow Castle 1933 scrapped Built by Barclay, Curle & Co., Ltd., Glasgow Torpedoed and damaged by UC-71 5 nautical miles (9.3 km) S of St.Catherine's Point on 14 Mar 1918 1924 transferred to Bullard King, renamed Umvoti 1917 purchased from F.S. Holland, London, renamed Crawford Castle 1930 sold to W. Kunstmann, Stettin , renamed Victoria W. Kunstmann Built by Barclay, Curle & Co., Ltd., Glasgow Torpedoed and sunk by UC-67 50 nautical miles (93 km) N of Bona, Algeria on 26 May 1917 1976 renamed Dover Castle 1979 renamed Dover Universal 1981 sold to Greece, renamed Golden Sea 1946 purchased from MoWT , renamed Drakensberg Castle 1959 scrapped Built by Harland & Wolff at Greenock Launched as War Poplar , completed as Dromore Castle She hit
861-515: The Second World War. Three – Dunnottar Castle , Carnarvon Castle , Dunvegan Castle became armed merchant cruisers . Pretoria Castle (1939) was also first requisitioned as an armed merchant cruiser, but later served as an escort carrier . After the war the line made good use of its three ships converted to troop transports to facilitate carrying the vast number of emigrants seeking new lives in East and South Africa. When they ran out of berths
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#1732766058050902-487: The Shipping Act of 1916 as a protection agency for American shipping. The act, passed during World War I but before the nation officially entered the war, helped American shipping lines during a period when commercial shipping grew under the demands of the war. Under this act, the United States Shipping Board was also formed. In 1920, after the end of World War I, the federal government passed
943-727: The country's mail services. In 1876, keen to avoid either of the two main companies gaining a monopoly on the country's shipping, he awarded the South African mail contract jointly to both the Castle Mail Packet Company and the Union Line. The contract included a condition that the two companies would not amalgamate, as well as other clauses to promote competition, such as alternating services and speed premiums. This competition led to their shipping services running at unprecedented speed and efficiency. The contract
984-501: The engine room. At 2231 hrs a second u-boat, U-37 , attacked the convoy, torpedoing and sinking the Greek merchant steamship Theodoros T . At 2251 hrs U-46 torpedoed Dunvegan Castle a third time, hitting her just forward of her bridge. Dunvegan Castle caught fire and stopped. By now she was northwest of Erris Head in the west of Ireland. Three officers and 24 ratings were killed. The destroyer HMS Harvester and one of
1025-951: The former Kenya Castle in 2001, the former Transvaal Castle in 2003, the former Dunnottar Castle in 2004, and finally Windsor Castle in 2005. The initial Union fleet consisted of the colliers Union , Briton , Saxon , Norman and Dane . In 1860 this was augmented by the much larger Cambrian . At the time of the merger in 1900, the Union fleet included: and the Castle Line fleet included: Built by William Beardmore and Company , Glasgow Torpedoed by U-81 on 21 March 1917 Built by Barclay, Curle & Co., Ltd. , Glasgow Torpedoed by U-90 on 21 Nov 1917 1976 renamed Balmoral Castle 1979 renamed Balmoral Universal 1982 sold to Greece, renamed Psara Reefer . 1920 purchased from Glen Line, renamed Banbury Castle 1931 sold to Greece, renamed Rokos Built by Barclay, Curle & Co., Ltd. , Glasgow Mined and damaged by U-73 in
1066-415: The industry. As of 2019, business and economic analysists are attempting to find solutions to reduce the anticompetitive practices and promote competitive growth in the maritime industry. Large-scale shipping lines became widespread in the nineteenth century, after the development of the steamship in 1783. At first, Great Britain was the centre of development; in 1819, the first steamship crossing of
1107-1063: The line set up its own internal travel agency to book passages on other lines and even air services. The mail service to South Africa, curtailed during hostilities, recommenced with the sailing of Roxburgh Castle from Southampton on 2 January 1947. The company took over the King Line in 1949, and merged with Bullard King and Clan Line in 1956 to form British & Commonwealth Shipping . It merged with South African Marine Corporation in 1973 to create International Liner Services, but competition with air travel adversely affected its shipping activities, and cargo shipping rapidly became containerised . The final South African mail service arrived in Southampton on 24 October 1977, and International Liner Services withdrew from shipping in 1982. British & Commonwealth continued in other fields, and acquired Atlantic Computers in 1989, but accounting problems soon became apparent and British & Commonwealth
1148-497: The line's vessels were requisitioned for service as troop ships or hospital ships in the First World War, and eight were sunk by mines or German U-boats . The Royal Mail Line ran into financial difficulties in the 1930s, culminating in the prosecution of its director Lord Kylsant , and Union-Castle Line became an independent company again with Vernon Thomson as Managing Director. Many vessels were again requisitioned in
1189-495: The same time, the United States Maritime Administration , or MARAD, was founded to regulate the merchant marine industry and fleet. However, a sharp rise in international ocean trade gave the two agencies expanded power in the growing maritime industry. HMS Dunvegan Castle HMS Dunvegan Castle was a UK ocean liner that was converted into an armed merchant cruiser (AMC) in
1230-620: The shipping industry are also being utilized by shipping lines to find solutions to global problems. For example, modern technology and research is being used to analyze the phenomenon of shipping containers disappearing while at sea. These problems are being researched in part by government agencies, such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that operates in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary . While part of this issue
1271-409: The shipping industry since the twentieth century. Many of these advances include the size of vessels, the size of fleets, specialty purposes for ships within the fleet, naval architecture and design, and automated ship systems. In terms of commercial interests, the maritime industry has a high level of contestability for shipping lines. This means that the ease of entering and leaving the industry
Union-Castle Line - Misplaced Pages Continue
1312-404: The suffix "Castle" in their names; the names of several inherited from the Union Line were changed to this scheme (for example, Galician became Glenart Castle ) but others (such as Galeka ) retained their original name. They were well known for the lavender-hulled liners with red funnels topped in black, running on a rigid timetable between Southampton and Cape Town . Every Thursday at 4pm
1353-466: Was SL 18F, a "fast" convoy that left Freetown on 28 January. On 8 February SL 18F joined the main part of Convoy SL 18 and Dunvegan Castle detached to return independently to Dakar. The ship next escorted Convoy SL 22, which left Freetown on 27 February and joined SL 22F on 11 March. Again Dunvegan Castle detached to patrol and then return to Dakar. For subsequent SL convoys Dunvegan Castle
1394-525: Was an escort all the way to UK home waters. She was an escort of Convoy SL 26, which left Freetown on 30 March and reached Liverpool on 15 April. Then she was in Belfast from 14 April to 2 May. From May to July 1940 Dunvegan Castle escorted convoys SL 32, SL 36 and SL 39 from Freetown to Liverpool. Dunvegan Castle ' s final visit to Dakar was on 8–10 June, between escorting convoys SL 32 and SL 36. France capitulated on 22 June , when Dunvegan Castle
1435-612: Was back in Belfast from 16 to 25 December to be converted into an AMC. BL 6 inch Mk XII naval guns were fitted as her primary armament. Her secondary armament included QF 3 inch 20 cwt anti-aircraft guns. Dunvegan Castle left Belfast on Christmas Day 1939. In January 1940 she briefly visited the Royal Navy bases at Portland Harbour , Portsmouth and HMNB Devonport . On 17 January she reached Autonomous Port of Dakar in French Senegal . The first convoy she escorted
1476-562: Was escorting Convoy SL 36 to Liverpool, so when she returned to West Africa she went straight to Freetown to await Convoy SL 39. Dunvegan Castle ' s final voyage was with Convoy SL 43, which left Freetown on 11 August 1940. It included 45 merchant ships, but for its first fortnight at sea it had only three escorts: Dunvegan Castle , the sloop HMS Milford and the Ellerman Lines cargo steamship Corinthian , which had been converted into an ocean boarding vessel . In
1517-558: Was eventually to expire however, and the period of intense competition was later to give way to co-operation, including transporting troops and military equipment during the Boer War . Finally, on 8 March 1900, the Union Line and Castle Shipping Line merged, creating the Union-Castle Mail Steamship Company, Ltd , with Castle Shipping Line taking over the fleet. Union-Castle named most of their ships with
1558-725: Was founded in 1853 as the Southampton Steam Shipping Company to transport coal from South Wales to Southampton . It was renamed the Union Steam Collier Company and then the Union Steamship Company. In 1857, renamed the Union Line, it won a contract to carry mail to South Africa, mainly the Cape Colony . The inaugural sailing of Dane left Southampton on 15 September. Meanwhile, Donald Currie had built up
1599-517: Was launched on 25 January 1936, taking its name from Dunnottar Castle in Aberdeenshire . Hull 960 was launched on 26 March, taking its name from Dunvegan Castle on the Isle of Skye . She was completed on 18 August 1936. She was the scene of an attempted murder in August 1937, when Antonio Mifsud, a Maltese kitchen porter, stabbed the former cricketer Ernest Hayter . Dunvegan Castle was
1640-500: Was liquidated in 1990. In the 1950s and 60s the line operated a fleet of fifteen ships, eight on the principal weekly mail run from Southampton to Cape Town. Each ship could carry an average of two hundred First Class passengers and four hundred and fifty in Tourist Class. Six of the remaining ships operated the monthly Round Africa service, sailing both clockwise and anti-clockwise round the continent. The remaining ship operated
1681-490: Was torpedoed and sunk by U-46 , a German submarine, in the Western Approaches , killing 27 of her crew. In 1935 Union-Castle ordered a pair of 15,000 GRT "intermediate" passenger liners for its service between Tilbury and South Africa. Harland and Wolff laid down the two ships with the consecutive yard numbers 959 and 960. Union-Castle policy was to name its ships after British castles. Hull 959