China Navigation Company

Last updated

The China Navigation Company Limited
Swire Shipping & Swire Bulk
Company typeLiner & dry bulk shipping
Industry shipping
Founded1872
Founder John Samuel Swire
Headquarters
Area served
Asia-Pacific
Key people
  • Sam Swire, chairman
  • Jeremy Sutton, managing director
  • Peter Norborg, chief executive
Parent Swire Group
Website www.swirecnco.com

The China Navigation Company Limited (CNCo) is a London-based holding company of merchant shipping companies Swire Shipping Pte Ltd and Swire Bulk Pte Ltd, both of which are headquartered in Singapore. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

The Swire flag is also the house flag of CNCo. Swire house flag.svg
The Swire flag is also the house flag of CNCo.

CNCo is part of the Swire group and wholly owned by John Swire & Sons Limited. Swire Shipping was formerly known as the China Navigation Company until October 2021, when it was renamed Swire Shipping. [4]

History

1872–1945: Yangtze River origins

Scotts of Greenock, Scotland built the coastal steamship SS Shenking for CNCo in 1931 Shenking (1931) berthed.JPG
Scotts of Greenock, Scotland built the coastal steamship SS Shenking for CNCo in 1931
Taikoo Dockyard built SS Shuntien in Hong Kong in 1934. She was SS Shengking's sister ship. SS Shuntien (1934).jpg
Taikoo Dockyard built SS Shuntien in Hong Kong in 1934. She was SS Shengking's sister ship.

Founded in London in 1872 by John Samuel Swire, CNCo was established with the intent of providing paddle steamer services on the Yangtze River. [5] [6] [7] The company was started with an initial investment of £360,000 provided primarily by John Samuel Swire and William Hudson Swire, along with other shareholders, including the father of James Henry Scott of Scotts' Shipbuilding. [8] [9] [10]

John Swire and Sons (JS&S) initially commissioned the construction of three ships for trade on the Lower Yangtze in 1873. That same year, they also purchased the Union Steam Navigation Company, which included CNCo's first two ships, Tunsin and Glengyle, along with property leases in Shanghai and other river ports. [6] James Henry Scott joined as a partner in 1874, and together with JS&S, they acquired two steamers, named Fuchow and Swatow, from John Scott IV, who also invested in these vessels. [9]

By the mid-1870s, CNCo expanded its operations to the Canton River trade and the Shanghai-Ningbo and Shanghai-Tianjin routes. [11] The company faced intense competition, rate wars, and entered into pool agreements with rival firms, reflecting the volatile nature of the Chinese shipping industry in the late 19th century. [11]

In 1877, CNCo had a fleet of only five ships. [12]

By 1879, Scotts had also provided six steamers to the company, and by 1882, an additional ten were delivered. [13] The five steamships managed by CNCo's managing firm, Butterfield & Swire, and which were primarily serving South China routes, were also integrated into CNCo's own fleet by 1883. [12] CNCo's fleet grew to 29 ships by 1894, serving an extensive network of ports across Asia and other regions. [6] The company faced numerous challenges in the 20th century, including political turbulence and piracy in the Far East, but continued operations through both World Wars. [6]

Initially focusing on the Yangtze River trade, the company expanded its operations to include coastal and regional routes by the late 19th century. [6]

In 1939, CNCo first became involved in the Papua New Guinea trade, which ceased with the start of the war. [14]

In 1940, CNCo was requisitioned by the British Government during the World War II. [6] In 1945, it returned to Shanghai and Hong Kong, and operations gradually resumed. [6] CNCo's business on the North China Coast (from Ningpo north) and the Yangtze River was undertaken from Shanghai, while the South Coast, Canton trade and all Australian, South East Asian, and Philippines routes were handled out of Hong Kong. The growth of CNCo eventually led to shipping becoming the predominant focus for Butterfield & Swire, resulting in the discontinuation of their trading activities after 1902. [15]

1945–present: Post World War II

CNCo re-entered the trade in the 1950s and began new trading routes in the region, from Australia to Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Islands. [14]

Post-World War II, the company innovated in the Pacific trade routes, notably introducing "unitisation" in cargo handling during the 1960s, and later transitioning to full containerisation. [6] The company also diversified into passenger cruising and the dry bulk carrier market, and in the 1980s, ventured into the Very Large Crude Carrier market. [6] The 1990s saw a consolidation of management operations in Sydney, while its New Zealand operations were hinged on its investments in Tasman Asia and Tasman Orient Line. [6]

Fleet

MULTI-PURPOSE VESSELS
MIHOS

CHALLENGERS

B170s

S-CLASS

CHIEF-CLASS - New Chief-Class Vessels, delivery 2015


BULK CARRIERS

Notable former vessels

A. & J. Inglis of Glasgow built the sidewheel river steamship PS Hankow for the China Navigation Co in 1874 PS Hankow.jpg
A. & J. Inglis of Glasgow built the sidewheel river steamship PS Hankow for the China Navigation Co in 1874
John Swire's subsidiary Taikoo Dockyard in Hong Kong built SS Whang Pu for China Navigation Co in 1920 Whang-Pu port.jpg
John Swire's subsidiary Taikoo Dockyard in Hong Kong built SS Whang Pu for China Navigation Co in 1920
Anshun lying on her side in Milne Bay, New Guinea 1942. HMAS Anshun wreck.jpeg
Anshun lying on her side in Milne Bay, New Guinea 1942.
Taikoo Dockyard built the riverboat MV Wulin for the China Navigation Co in 1935 MV Wulin.jpg
Taikoo Dockyard built the riverboat MV Wulin for the China Navigation Co in 1935

Related Research Articles

USS <i>Dale</i> (DD-290) Clemson-class destroyer

The third USS Dale (DD-290) was a Clemson-class destroyer in the United States Navy. She was named for Richard Dale.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CP Ships</span> Canadian shipping company

CP Ships was a large Canadian shipping company established in the 19th century. From the late 1880s until after World War II, the company was Canada's largest operator of Atlantic and Pacific steamships. Many immigrants travelled on CP ships from Europe to Canada. In 1914 the sinking of the Canadian Pacific steamship RMS Empress of Ireland just before World War I became largest maritime disaster in Canadian history. The company provided Canadian Merchant Navy vessels in World Wars I and II. Twelve vessels were lost due to enemy action in World War II, including the RMS Empress of Britain, which was the largest ship ever sunk by a German U-boat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taikoo Dockyard</span>

Taikoo Dockyard and Engineering Company was a dockyard in what is now Taikoo Shing, MTR Tai Koo station and part of Taikoo Place of Quarry Bay on the Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong.

SS Antenor was a UK steam turbine passenger and refrigerated cargo liner launched in 1924. She was the third of five ships to bear the name.

USS <i>Samar</i> (PG-41) Gunboat of the United States Navy

USS Samar (PG-41) was a gunboat of the United States Navy. She was initially built for the Spanish Navy, but was captured during the Spanish–American War and taken into service with the US Navy. Samar had two sister-ships which also served in the US Navy, USS Pampanga (PG-39) and USS Paragua.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Koninklijke Paketvaart-Maatschappij</span> Former shipping company based in the Dutch East Indies

Koninklijke Paketvaart-Maatschappij, was a Dutch shipping line in the Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia. It traded form 1888 to 1966. It was the dominant inter-island shipping line in the Dutch East Indies in the last half-century of the colonial era.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American-Hawaiian Steamship Company</span>

The American-Hawaiian Steamship Company was founded in 1899 to carry cargos of sugar from Hawaii to the United States and manufactured goods back to Hawaii. Brothers-in-law George Dearborn and Lewis Henry Lapham were the key players in the founding of the company. The company began in 1899 with three ships, operated nine by 1904 and was operating seventeen by 1911 with three on order.

SS <i>Tasman</i> (1921) Dutch vessel under Allied command in the South Pacific during World War II

SS Tasman was a 4,922 gross register tons (GRT) Dutch steamship built by Earle's Shipbuilding and Engineering Company Limited, Hull in 1921 for Koninklijke Paketvaart-Maatschappij (KPM), Batavia. With outbreak of the war in the Pacific and the fall of the Dutch East Indies, Tasman was one of 21 KPM vessels that sought refuge in Australia. These ships became the core of the initial Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA) command's permanent local fleet under U.S. Army control. After general service as a transport, the ship was converted to a hospital ship at Melbourne. The ship, under the Dutch flag and Dutch certification under the Hague Convention, served the remainder of the war as a Dutch hospital ship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allied Chinese Ships</span>

The terms Allied Chinese Ships and Allied China Fleet refer to 32 vessels of the Hong Kong-based China Navigation Company requisitioned by the Royal Navy and the Royal Australian Navy during World War II. Following the Battle of Singapore in early 1942, many of the requisitioned ships joined the Allied retreat to Australia. Six were acquired by the Royal Australian Navy; four of these were commissioned as auxiliary warships, while two served as Victualing Supply Issuing Ships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indo-China Steam Navigation Company Ltd.</span> Hong Kong-based shipping line

The Indo-China Steam Navigation Company, Limited (ICSNC), was established in 1873 as a subsidiary of Hong Kong based Jardine, Matheson & Co., one of the largest trading companies in the Far East at that time.

HMAS <i>Whang Pu</i>

HMAS Whang Pu (FY-03) or SS Wang Phu was a 3,204 ton riverboat of the China Navigation Company that was commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) in the Second World War. Her Chinese name translates to "Happy Times". She was one of a group of vessels called the "China Fleet" requisitioned for the RAN in similar circumstances.

<i>SS Coast Farmer</i>

Coast Farmer, gaining the name in 1937 and previously bearing the names Point Arena (1928) and Riverside Bridge (1920), was a U.S. Shipping Board Emergency Fleet Corporation Design 1023 ship ordered under the name Minnewawa and built as hull #103 by Submarine Boat Company, Newark, New Jersey in 1920 Coast Farmer is noted as being a part of the Pensacola Convoy landing the supplies and troops intended for the Philippines in Darwin, Australia after being diverted on the news of the attack on Pearl Harbor. The ship became even more notable being the first of only three ships successfully running the Japanese blockade into the Philippines; leaving Brisbane February 1942. Coast Farmer was torpedoed and sunk off Jervis Bay, New South Wales on 20 July 1942.

<i>Dona Nati</i> (1939)

Dona Nati was one of three identical cargo ships built in 1939 by Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico, San Marco, Trieste, Italy, for the De La Rama Steamship Company, Inc., Iloilo, Philippines, intended for service between the Philippines West Coast and North America. The ship was engaged in normal commerce until it became a key player in events in the Philippines after December 7, 1941, and the Japanese invasion of the islands. Dona Nati had arrived in Manila along with the ships President Grant, John Lykes, Cape Fairweather, and American Leader in a convoy escorted by the USS Boise (CL-47) on December 4, 1941. She had escaped to Australia where she became particularly notable as being one of only three ships to successfully run the Japanese blockade in attempts to supply the forces cut off in the Philippines. The ship was retained under Army control and on April 28, 1943, was one of twenty-eight vessels forming the fleet available to the Southwest Pacific command under General MacArthur.

SS <i>Shuntien</i> (1934) Cargo and passenger ship

SS Shuntien was a 3,059 GRT coastal passenger and cargo liner of the British-owned The China Navigation Company Ltd (CNC). She was built in Hong Kong in 1934 and sunk by enemy action in the Mediterranean Sea with great loss of life in 1941. A Royal Navy corvette rescued most of Shuntien's survivors, but a few hours later the corvette too was sunk and no-one survived.

SS <i>Registan</i>

Registan, built 1910, was the first name for a ship serving fifty years under the later names Guantanamo, USS Guantanamo (ID-1637), Comerio, Vittorin, Grey Lag and finally Hai Lung until scrapping in 1960. The ship transported gunpowder and munitions during World War I as USS Guantanamo and as a cargo ship during World War II for the War Shipping Administration (WSA). After 12 October 1943 the ship was assigned to the Southwest Pacific Area command's permanent local fleet as the United States Army transport Grey Lag with that fleet's number X-101. In April 1945 she was one of the transports towing large barges from Australia and New Guinea to the Philippines after that concept to mitigate shipping shortages had been proven feasible. In 1946 the ship was sold to the Republic of China and renamed Hai Lung.

SS <i>Karsik</i> (1938)

SS Karsik was a German-built cargo steamship. Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau (Deschimag) built her as Soneck for Deutsche Dampfschifffahrts-Gesellschaft "Hansa" in 1938.

SS <i>Japara</i> (1930)

SS Japara was a freighter of 3,323 GRT built by Mach. Fabr. & Scheepswerf P. Smit Jr., Rotterdam in 1930 and operated by Koninklijke Paketvaart-Maatschappij (KPM) in the Dutch East Indies trade. The 1930 Japara was operating with the United States Army permanent local fleet of the U.S. Army Forces in Australia (USAFIA) from 1942 until 1945 even while the larger ship, 9,312 GRT MS Japara (1938), was active in Army service oceanwide. Japara of 1930 played an important logistics role in the New Guinea Campaign.

John Samuel Swire (1825-1898) was a British businessman. He grew his family business, the Swire Group, and expanded the cotton and sugar trade with China. He established the Taikoo Sugar Refinery in Hong Kong and The China Navigation Company on the Yangtze river. He was the instigator and founding chairman of the China and Japan Conference. This shipping cartel existed from 1879 to 2008 and was a major component of the shipping industry from the Far East to Europe.

HMS <i>Ladybird</i> (1950) Royal Navy base ship during the Korean War

HMS Ladybird started life as MV Wusueh, a ferry built for the lower reaches of the Yangtze River between Shanghai and Hankow, operated by the China Navigation Company (CNCo), run by the British businessman John Samuel Swire.

SSVizcaya (ex-Chusan) was a steel-hulled, steam freighter that operated in the Commonwealth of the Philippines. She was scuttled at Manila in December 1941.

References

  1. "China Navigation charts steady course". South China Morning Post . 11 August 2015.
  2. "CHINA NAVIGATION COMPANY LIMITED(THE) overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk.
  3. "Our Journey". Swire Bulk. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  4. "China Navigation rebrands as Swire Shipping". 18 October 2021.
  5. Marriner, S; Hyde, F (1967). 'The Senior' John Samuel Swire 1825–1898. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "CHINA NAVIGATION COMPANY - John Swire & Sons Ltd Archive - Archives Hub".
  7. Jones, Geoffrey (17 April 2000). "Merchants to multinationals : British trading companies in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries". Oxford [UK] ; New York : Oxford University Press via Internet Archive.
  8. "Steamship Enterprise In Nineteenth-Century China | Journal of Asian Studies | Duke University Press".
  9. 1 2 Johnman, Lewis; Murphy, Hugh (18 October 2017). "Scott Lithgow: Dejá Vu All Over Again! The Rise and Fall of a Shipbuilding Company". Liverpool University Press.
  10. Cowan, Charles Donald (15 April 1964). "The economic development of China and Japan; studies in economic history and political economy". London, Allen & Unwin.
  11. 1 2 "A guide to the papers of John Swire and Sons Ltd". digital.soas.ac.uk.
  12. 1 2 https://read.dukeupress.edu/journal-of-asian-studies/article-abstract/18/4/435/325704/Steamship-Enterprise-In-Nineteenth-Century-China?redirectedFrom=fulltext
  13. Johnman, Lewis; Murphy, Hugh (18 October 2017). "Scott Lithgow: Dejá Vu All Over Again! The Rise and Fall of a Shipbuilding Company". Liverpool University Press via Google Books.
  14. 1 2 "New Guinea Australia Line - CHINA NAVIGATION COMPANY - John Swire & Sons Ltd Archive - Archives Hub".
  15. Hyde, Francis Edwin (17 April 1957). "Blue funnel : a history of Alfred Holt and Company of Liverpool from 1865 to 1914, by Francis E. Hyde ; with the assistance of J.R. Harris. --". Liverpool : Liverpool University Press via Internet Archive.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 "The China Navigation Company Fleet". China Navigation Co. Archived from the original on 12 October 2014. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  17. "The China Navigation Co - MS Changsha & Taiyuan".
  18. Lloyds (1942–1943). "Lloyd's Register 1942—43, Anhui" (PDF). Lloyd's Register (through PlimsollShipData). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 April 2014. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
  19. Morton, Lewis (1993). The War in the Pacific: The Fall Of The Philippines. United States Army In World War II. Washington, D.C.: Center Of Military History, United States Army. p. 395. LCCN   53063678. Archived from the original on 24 October 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
  20. Masterson 1949, pp. 27, 320, 324, 326, 383, 338, Appendix 30 p. 1.
  21. Lloyds (1942–1943). "Lloyd's Register 1942—43, Hanyang" (PDF). Lloyd's Register (through PlimsollShipData). Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 April 2014. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  22. Masterson 1949, pp. 27, 320, 324, 326, 332, 338, Appendix 30 p. 3.
  23. Lloyds (1942–1943). "Lloyd's Register 1942—43, Yochow" (PDF). Lloyd's Register (through PlimsollShipData). Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 April 2014. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  24. Masterson 1949, pp. 27, 320, 324, 326, 332, 338, 381, Appendix 30 p. 6.

Further reading