Firm remembered with name of ship

Memories of the Furness Withy group, once a major British shipping empire whose interests included shipbuilding, will be re-kindled when the bulk carrier Furness Hartlepool visits Ravensbourne this week.

This newcomer's name has special historical significance with the origins of the group.

It all started at West Hartlepool in 1891, when Christopher Furness, born there on April 23, 1852, merged his shipping and trading interests with Edward Withy's Irvine Shipbuilding and Engineering Company.

The yard built several ships for the infant Furness Withy concern, then for many other owners before it ceased operations in the early 1920s.

By then the new Furness Shipbuilding Company's yard at Haverton Hill-on-Tees had completed its first ship, the 5762gt steamer Benares, in September, 1920, for Swedish owners.

The yard closed in January, 1980, by which time it was trading under the title of Smith's Dock Company Ltd.

Over the years the Furness Withy group gained control of several companies.

Its operations ranged from passenger and cargo liners, to bulk, gas and ore carriers, container ships, tankers and tramps, all of which sailed under the colours and fleets of member companies.

The parent company itself ran services from United Kingdom ports to Atlantic and Pacific coast ports of North America.

Manchester Liners operated services from Manchester to Canada and the Great Lakes.

The South American trades were catered for by Pacific Steam Navigation, Royal Mail Lines, and Houlder Bros, a company that had associations with the New Zealand trade early last century.

Several of its cargo liners and tramps operated by subsidiaries seen here between 1949 and 1975 were on charter to the Shaw, Savill & Albion Company, which represented the group in the Australia and New Zealand trades.

From time to time this company would charter from within the group vessels from the Johnston Warren or Prince Line fleets.

A major upset in the history of the Furness Withy group came in April, 1980, when along with more than 50 vessels, it was acquired by the C.

Y.

Tung group.

Over the next few years names of companies represented passed into history and most of the acquired ships were disposed of.

What was left of this major British enterprise was acquired by the Hamburg-Sud group in 1986.

One of the interesting additions to its fleet was the Shaw Savill container ship Dunedin, built in 1980.

After being lengthened in 1986 it re-entered service as Monte Pascoal, later called here as Columbus Olivos, and in its final years as MSC Jessica.

But the German company has not abandoned the Furness Withy name.

It lives on as Furness Withy Chartering.

Furness Hartlepool is one of a fleet of chartered vessels operated by its subsidiary Furness Withy Australia that mainly transports bulk cargoes between Australia and Europe.

The Furness Hartlepool is a 30,027gt, 52,200dwt, 15.4 knot vessel owned by the Takanawa Line Inc of Imabari and registered at Panama.

Built in the Philippines, it was delivered in June, 2006, from the Cebu yard of Tsuneishi Heavy Industries Inc, an offshoot of the Japanese shipbuilding firm at Numakuma.

On its first visit to Hartlepool on April 2, 2007, the bulk carrier generated considerable interest.

One of the largest vessels able to call there, it brought back memories of the Furness Withy history when it berthed at the very site once occupied by the Irvine shipyard.

There was something of a change from German-owned container ships when a German-owned log ship visited last week.

Sporting the funnel markings of Egon Oldendorff of Lubeck, the Liberian-flag Lucas Oldendorff loaded cargo for China.

The 19,882gt, 31,643dwt vessel was built by the Saiki shipyard and delivered on February, 2002.