Houlder Line
of 146 Leadenhall Street, London
1856 Houlder Brothers and Co was formed in London; operated with chartered tonnage until 1861 when they aquired the Golden Horn. First served the USA and later New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific Islands.
1881 Entered the River Plate passenger and cargo trade
1899 The company was registered on 16 March, to acquire and amalgamate the interests of the proprietors of a fleet of steamers. [1]
1902 established subsidiary Empire Transport Co
1906 the Federal-Houlder-Shire Line was formed with Federal Line and Turnbull Martin's Shire Line to operate services from Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester and Avonmouth to Australia and New Zealand, later restricted to Australia alone.
1911 Furness, Withy and Co purchased a 50% share in Houlder Brothers and Co; the company withdrew from the Federal-Houlder-Shire partnership.
1914 the British Empire Steam Navigation Co was established
1915 the Furness-Houlder Argentine Line was formed.
1937 A substantial interest in Alexander Shipping Co. was purchased
1947 Complete control of Alexander Shipping Co was acquired.
1954 Established Ore Carriers Ltd
1960 Founded Warwick Tanker Co.
1966 The British Empire Steam Navigation Co was renamed Welldeck Shipping Co.
1973 The chairman, J. M. Houlder, became chairman of Comex Diving Ltd and, in the search for areas of business in which it could expand, the company invested in Comex of Marseilles, parent of a group of international companies providing diving services[2]
1975 Empire Transport Co. was renamed Dee Navigation Co.
1980 Houlder Offshore acquired 50 percent of Comex Diving and increased its investment in Comex S.A. This would enable the establishment of a UK centre for underwater technology[3]
1980 C. Y. Tung of Hong Kong took over Furness, Withy and associated companies; the remaining Houlder Line ships were transferred to Furness, Withy (Shipping) Ltd.
See Also
Sources of Information
- Houlder Brothers [1]