Avenue Shipping Co
Operator of worldwide cargo liners and occasional tramping services, of London
1924 the shipping agents Birt, Potter & Hughes established the Avenue Shipping Company as their ship-owning division. The shipping company’s name was derived from their London office at 2 Fenchurch Avenue.
During its brief existence, the company operated only a small number of ships
1934 company wound up
1954 the New Zealand Shipping Company revived the Avenue Shipping Company when a need arose to find use for their smaller part-refrigerated ships which had been replaced by new ships in the NZ/East Coast North America trade. The intention was for Avenue Shipping’s service to augment both the NZSCo and Federal Steam's fleets when needed as well as serve on tramping duties.
The new company was put under the management of Trinder Anderson & Company (which was not part of P&O) so that the ships might be more easily chartered to outside companies. The new company was floated on the stock exchange. In their Annual Report on 30 September 1955 the accounts showed there was a loss of approximately £50,000 during their first year although the company saw profits increase over the next few years.
By 1957, Avenue Shipping had a total of seven ships in service; the original five plus the newly-built Donegal and the time chartered Kildare. The new ships were an economic success, and Donegal even inaugurated a route from Australia to New Guinea.
1971 During the re-organization of the P&O Group, Avenue's remaining ships were absorbed into P&O General Cargo Division.
1976 Avenue Shipping was renamed P&O Overseas Holdings Ltd.
See Also
Sources of Information
- P&O Heritage [1]