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In 1878
Thomas and
Christopher Furness commenced shipowning, in 1883 Christopher Furness
purchased
an interest in the shipyard of Edward Withy and in 1884 bought the
company
outright. In 1885 Christopher Furness collaborated with Thomas Wilson
to form
the Wilson-Furness Line to operate services between Newcastle
and New York.
By 1891 the fleet contained 18 ships and Furness, Withy & Co was
founded.
The first subsidiary company was formed in 1892 as the Chesapeake &
Ohio
Steamship Co. Ltd and a joint service to Boston
was started with Frederick Leyland & Co. In 1896 the Wilsons &
Furness-Leyland Line was formed. A new firm, Manchester Liners Ltd was
formed
in 1898 and the rights of the Canadian & Newfoundland SS Co, were
acquired
the same year. The Wilsons & Furness-Leyland Line with their London - New York
service
was sold in 1901 to the International Mercantile Marine Co., but in
1902
Furness, Withy purchased Gulf Line Ltd with their trade to South Africa and Australia.
Management of Neptune
S.N. Co. was taken over in 1906 and the fleet was purchased in 1910.
The same
year, Agincourt SS Co. and Norfolk & North American Steam
Navigation
Company were acquired. In 1911 a 50% holding in Houlder Bros & Co.
was
purchased plus the coastal London Welsh SS Co. 1912 saw the purchase of
George
Warren's White Diamond Steamship Company. and a new company, George
Warren
& Co. (Liverpool) Ltd was formed.
A half
share in Johnston Line was purchased in 1914 and in 1916 Prince Line
Ltd was
bought. By this time the Furness, Withy group owned 215 ships.
Rio Cape Line was formed in
1917 and Bermuda & West Indies
Steamship
Company. in 1921. In 1922 Warren Line Ltd was formed and London Welsh
Co. was
sold to Coast Lines Ltd. 1928 saw a share in Cairn Line purchased and
in 1929
Gulf Line was placed in voluntary liquidation and their ships
transferred to
Bermuda & West Indies SS Co. The same year Bowring’s Red Cross Line
was
taken over.
On the collapse of the Kylsant shipping empire, Furness, Withy obtained
control
of Shaw, Savill & Albion Line in 1933 and in 1934 Johnston-Warren
Line was
formed with the amalgamation of Johnston, Warren and Neptune Steam
Navigation
Company. A substantial holding in Royal Mail Lines was obtained in 1937
(the
remaining shares were purchased in 1965) and in 1939 the management of
Bowater
SS Co was taken over. Full control of Houlder Bros was obtained in 1968
and
Kaye, Son & Co acquired in 1973.
Furness,
Withy & Co was
sold to C. Y. Tung, Hong Kong in 1980 but the new owners gradually
disposed of
the ships and in 1990, the Tung group sold Furness, Withy (Shipping)
Ltd to
Rudolf A. Oetker who controlled Hamburg South America Line. In 1998 the
name of
the firm reverted to Furness, Withy & Co, Ltd and today has been
merged within
the Hamburg Sud Group. Thus Furness Withy ceased to exist as an
independent
company.
<>However as a subsidiary of
Hamburg Sud and the Oetker Group, a last vestige of Furness Withy
continues to survive in the form of Furness Withy (Chartering) Ltd.
Furness Withy Chartering continues to specialise in its core
business activity of bulk carrier ship and cargo operating. This is
mainly centred on the Melbourne office of Furness Withy Australia. In
addition to the commercial teams established in Melbourne and London,
all ship operations are supervised from both Furness Withy offices by
an in-house team of Master Mariners. The strategic location of these
two offices ensures cargo transportation and ship operations are
closely monitored at all times between East and West hemispheres to
achieve optimum performance. The company is also active in dry cargo
shipbroking through its subsidiary Furness-Houlder Shipbroking,
servicing shipowner and charterer clients worldwide. Additionally, the
company has a significant presence in bunker broking through Furness
Withy Bunkers which provides bunker broking services worldwide. Both of
these broking activities are controlled from the London office.
Thus the
Furness Withy Group, one of
Britain's great shipping groups, disappeared due to mergers and
consolidation in the shipping industry and globalisation. It is truly
the end of a glorious era.
Hamburg Sud Group
www.hamburgsud.com
Furness Withy (Chartering) Ltd
www.furnesswithy.co.uk
Furness Withy Bunkers
www.fwbunkers.com
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