Bank Line

Bank Line was a British commercial shipping line associated with shipowner Andrew Weir and his wider shipping interests. Although Weir entered shipowning in 1885 with the purchase of the sailing barque Willowbank, Bank Line Ltd formally came into operation in 1905, when the head office was moved to London near the Baltic Exchange. The company developed from a tramp-shipping operator into an international carrier offering both scheduled liner services and nonscheduled cargo transportation. The line initially operated sailing vessels and later adopted steamships and motor vessels as maritime technology changed. Weir purchased his first steamship, Duneric, in 1896, and acquired dozens of additional steamships before the First World War. Bank Line expanded into routes linking India, Africa, South Africa, Southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands, Europe, the Americas, Australia and New Zealand. Its Pacific Islands business began partly through charter work for Lever Brothers, carrying copra and coconut oil to European factories. The company also managed the fleet of British-Mexican Petroleum Company from 1919, including a group of oil tankers. Fleet renewal was a recurring feature of the business. After the First World War, Bank Line commissioned large series of oil-fired twin-screw motor vessels, including the Inverbank class, and later ordered additional steamships, motorships and cargo vessels from British shipyards. Its vessels were generally identified by names ending in “bank,” although some passenger and specialist vessels used different naming conventions. The line suffered heavy losses during the Second World War, leaving it with a much smaller and aging fleet at the end of the conflict. Postwar rebuilding began with new ships in the early 1950s and accelerated from 1957, when the company ordered large numbers of standardized tweendeck and multipurpose cargo ships. During the 1950s and 1960s, Bank Line was especially active in liner trades through Calcutta and Durban. Its routes connected the Indian subcontinent with eastern, southern and western Africa, Argentina and the west coast of South America. Other services linked the United States Gulf with Australia and New Zealand, while Pacific routes served Papua New Guinea and island territories. As trading patterns changed, the company also adjusted its Asian and Pacific services, including voyages to Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, East Malaysia and Thailand. The company’s later difficulties reflected broad structural changes in shipping rather than a single isolated event. Containerization reduced the competitiveness of traditional break-bulk and tweendeck cargo operations. Bank Line was also affected by declining jute exports through Calcutta, changing destinations for Papua New Guinea copra, and restrictions associated with India’s boycott of trade with apartheid-era South Africa. In 1977 it formed Bank and Savill Line with Shaw, Savill & Albion Line to operate container services between the United States Gulf and Australia and New Zealand, but the service encountered difficulties because shippers in the different regions used incompatible container systems. Bank Line continued to modify its route network in the 1990s, including the development of a westbound round-the-world service using both the Suez and Panama canals. It acquired and chartered additional vessels in the mid-1990s, but the business ultimately became part of the consolidation of the commercial shipping industry. Swire Group bought Bank Line in 2003. The line continued operating for several more years and eventually ceased operations in 2009. Its historical importance lies in the transition it represents from British sail and tramp shipping to global liner operations using standardized motor vessels and, later, attempted container services.

Andrew Weir, who came from Glasgow and a family involved in the cork trade, entered shipowning in 1885 by purchasing the sailing barque Willowbank. He rapidly expanded his sailing fleet, which became the largest fleet operating under the British flag. In 1896 he acquired his first steamship, Duneric, marking the beginning of a transition away from exclusive reliance on sailing vessels. Unlike many of the earlier sailing ships, Duneric did not use the “bank” suffix. Before 1905, many of Weir’s ships were operated through separate one-ship companies. Bank Line Ltd was formally established in 1905, when the head office moved to London. The location near the Baltic Exchange placed the company close to the market where shipping contracts were negotiated. Weir acquired 43 steamships between 1896 and the First World War, while the last of his windjammers had been sold by 1917. Bank Line began as a tramp operator but expanded into liner shipping conferences as steam navigation created more dependable international services. Its routes included India–Africa and South Africa–Southeast Asia. A Pacific Islands service developed through charter work for Lever Brothers, transporting copra and coconut oil to European manufacturing sites. In 1919 Bank Line also took over management of the British-Mexican Petroleum Company fleet, eventually operating 12 tankers. Fleet development continued after the First World War. Bank Line ordered 18 oil-fired twin-screw motor vessels from Harland & Wolff, delivered between 1924 and 1926. These ships formed the Inverbank class and included vessels named after trees and Scottish places. Eight were lost during the Second World War, while Speybank was captured and used as a minelayer. The company also ordered or purchased further steamships, motorships and cargo ships during the interwar period. Between 1934 and 1940, additional cargo vessels were delivered by several British shipbuilders. Some passenger vessels carried indentured Indian labourers to sugar plantations. The Second World War caused severe losses. By the end of the conflict, Bank Line had only 31 ships, including six steamships, and many survivors were more than two decades old. Six new ships were added between 1952 and 1955. A much larger rebuilding programme began in 1957, producing standardized tweendeck vessels from Doxford, Harland & Wolff and Swan Hunter. From 1963, the company added another 36 vessels of more than 15,000 deadweight tons. Its final newbuilding order was placed in 1977 and delivered in 1979. In the postwar decades, Bank Line combined liner and tramp work. Calcutta was central to many services connecting the Indian subcontinent with Africa, Argentina and the west coast of South America. Durban supported Oriental African Line services, including connections with Japan and later Taiwan, the Philippines, East Malaysia and Thailand. The company also operated links from the United States Gulf to Australia and New Zealand, and routes between Papua New Guinea, Pacific islands and Europe. By the 1970s, containerization and changing commodity flows placed pressure on the traditional break-bulk model. Jute exports through Calcutta declined, Papua New Guinea copra increasingly went to Japan rather than Europe, and India’s opposition to apartheid affected trade with South Africa. Bank Line attempted to adapt by participating in Bank and Savill Line, a container venture with Shaw, Savill & Albion. The venture’s operations were complicated by incompatible container systems used in the United States and southern hemisphere trades. In the 1990s, the South Pacific network was reorganized into a westbound round-the-world service using the Suez and Panama canals. Bank Line bought four Finnish-built SA-15 vessels in 1995 and chartered two more. One of these vessels, Boularibank, was attacked by Somali pirates in April 2009 and later rescued by a Russian naval destroyer. The vessel’s captain received the Merchant Navy Medal for exceptional bravery. Swire Group acquired Bank Line in 2003, and the line ceased operations in 2009.

• 2009

  Operations end

  [1]Bank Lineen.wikipedia.org

  Bank Line ceased operations after more than a century of commercial shipping activity.

• 2003

  Swire Group acquisition

  [1]Bank Lineen.wikipedia.org

  Swire Group acquired Bank Line.

• 1995

  SA-15 vessels acquired

  [1]Bank Lineen.wikipedia.org

  Bank Line bought four Finnish-built SA-15 ships and chartered two additional vessels.

• 1979

  Final Bank Line newbuildings delivered

  [1]Bank Lineen.wikipedia.org

  The last six multipurpose ships ordered by Bank Line were delivered. They were known as the Fish class because their names included fish names.

• 1977

  Bank and Savill Line established

  [1]Bank Lineen.wikipedia.org

  Bank Line and Shaw, Savill & Albion Line created a container operation linking the United States Gulf with Australia and New Zealand.

• 1957

  Major postwar fleet expansion begins

  [1]Bank Lineen.wikipedia.org

  Bank Line began a major programme of standardized tweendeck vessel construction, followed by further large orders in the 1960s.

• 1924

  Inverbank-class motor vessels enter service

  [1]Bank Lineen.wikipedia.org

  The first of 18 oil-fired twin-screw motor vessels ordered from Harland & Wolff entered service, with deliveries continuing through 1926.

• 1919

  British-Mexican Petroleum fleet management begins

  [1]Bank Lineen.wikipedia.org

  Bank Line took over management of the British-Mexican Petroleum Company fleet and ultimately operated 12 tankers.

• 1905

  Bank Line Ltd formally established

  [1]Bank Lineen.wikipedia.org

  Bank Line Ltd began formal operations after the head office moved to London.

• 1896

  First steamship acquired

  [1]Bank Lineen.wikipedia.org

  Weir purchased Duneric, his first steamship, initiating the fleet’s transition toward steam propulsion.

• 1885

  Andrew Weir enters shipowning

  [1]Bank Lineen.wikipedia.org

  Andrew Weir purchased the sailing barque Willowbank, beginning the shipowning career from which Bank Line later developed.

International commercial cargo carrier combining scheduled liner services with tramp and multipurpose shipping.

• Commercial shipping · 1905

  Tramp shipping

  Bank Line’s early business was based on tramp shipping, in which vessels were deployed according to cargo opportunities rather than fixed schedules. This model allowed the company to serve varied commodities and ports while it built a larger international fleet.

• Commercial shipping

  Liner services

  The company later joined liner shipping conferences and developed scheduled services connecting India, Africa, South America, the Pacific Islands, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and the United States Gulf. Many services were designed around break-bulk and general cargo rather than modern containerized freight.

• Commodity shipping

  Pacific Islands service

  Bank Line operated Pacific Islands routes that initially carried copra and coconut oil for Lever Brothers. The service connected remote Pacific locations with European industrial markets and became one of the company’s distinctive trading networks.

• Tanker shipping · 1919

  Tanker fleet management

  From 1919, Bank Line managed the fleet of British-Mexican Petroleum Company and eventually operated 12 steam tankers. This expanded the company beyond dry cargo into petroleum transportation and fleet management.

• Container shipping · 1977

  Bank and Savill container service

  The Bank and Savill Line was created in 1977 with Shaw, Savill & Albion Line to provide container services between the United States Gulf and Australia and New Zealand. The operation faced commercial and technical difficulties because the participating trades used incompatible container systems.

• Liner shipping · 1990

  Round-the-world South Pacific service

  During the 1990s, Bank Line reorganized its South Pacific route into a westbound round-the-world service using both the Suez and Panama canals. The redesign was an attempt to maintain network efficiency amid changing cargo patterns.

• 2003

  Sell Bank Line to Swire GroupM&A

  Background

  Bank Line operated in a shipping industry increasingly shaped by consolidation and the shift toward containerized logistics.

  Action taken

  Swire Group acquired Bank Line.

  Aftermath

  Bank Line continued for several years under the new ownership before ceasing operations in 2009.

  Source

• 1990

  Reorganize the South Pacific networkStrategy

  Background

  Bank Line’s Pacific and Australian-New Zealand services faced changing cargo patterns and operating economics.

  Action taken

  The company developed a westbound round-the-world service using both the Suez and Panama canals.

  Aftermath

  The route redesign represented a later attempt to preserve global network coverage before the company’s eventual cessation of operations.

  Source

• 1977

  Enter container shipping through Bank and Savill LineStrategy

  Background

  Containerization was weakening the traditional break-bulk shipping model, while Bank Line needed a way to serve established United States Gulf, Australian and New Zealand trades.

  Action taken

  Bank Line partnered with Shaw, Savill & Albion Line to form Bank and Savill Line and commissioned three container vessels for the route.

  Aftermath

  The venture encountered difficulties because container systems used by southern hemisphere and United States shippers were not compatible.

  Source

1. 1Bank Lineen.wikipedia.org