Clan Line goes back to birth of steam

Press, 24 June 1978, Page 16

Clan Line goes back to birth of steam

One of Britain’s greatest shipping companies, the Clan Line, will celebrate its centenary this year. On September 16, 1878, the Clan Alpine, the first of six initial sturdy steamers for the Clan Line, was launched from the Linthouse shipyard of Alexander Stephen and Son. She was, of course, not at all like the modern Clan Alpine, seen in the photograph.

Little is seen of Clan Line vessels in New Zealand, but earlier this century Geo. H. Scales, Ltd, the shipping agent and shipowner, chartered, among others, Clan Line and Ben Line steamers to take wool verseas. Two of these, the Clan Macauley and Clan Sutherland, visited this, country in 1908.

Those who work with shipping at Lyttelton will recall in more recent years the visit of the 16knot, 9292-ton (gross)

motor vessel Clan Farquhatson, commanded by Captain J. V. Findlay. This attractive cargo liner, with the distinctive black funnel and two red bands, arrived at Lyttelton 14 years ago to discharge general cargo from Britain under charter to the former New Zealand Shipping Co.

The Clan Line is the larger partner in what is today known as the British and Commonwealth Shipping Company, Ltd, and her smaller associates are the small surviving fleets of the Union Castle Line and the King Line. Last but not least in this group, whose amalgamation took place 22 years ago, is the container vessel Encounter Bay, managed by Overseas Containers, Ltd, and no stranger to Cashin Quay. Officers in the British and Commonwealth group are interchangeable through the combined fleets, but the Clan Line still has its individuality. British and foreign maritime history is charged with inspiring stories erf how great shipping groups had small beginnings. The Clan Line was formed a century ago when Charles William Cayzer, with his partner, Captain William Irvine, founded Clan Line steamers. In 1843, Charles Cayzer went to work in India. He was only 18. In 1876 he returned to Britain to settle in Liverpool. This was the age of change. Steam was coming into its own. Only a few years earlier the Suez Canal had been opened, providing quicker access to India and the Far East.

Charles Cayzer soon became a partner in Rudstad and Cayzer, ship stores merchants. After Cayzer privately acquired two small ships the firm of Rudstad and Cayzer came to an end abrujptly. It became C. W. Cayzer and Company — shipowner, provision and bonded store merchant, ship chandler and sailmaker. Clan Line Steamers was born when Cayzer invited a friend from his days in India to be a part-

net. At first the name was Cayzer, Irvine, and Company, but Captain William Irvine died the next year, and Cayzer carried on alone.

For most of its life, the Clan Line has been entrenched in trade between Britain, South Africa, East Africa, Mauritius, and India. It played a major part in the development of all these areas. It formerly traded with Australia, too, but since the introduction of container vessels in the Australia trade its Australian calls have been eliminated. Clan Line vessels are of exceptionally sturdy build. This is a Clan Line specification which has existed for 100 years. They handle heavy cargo and most general and refrigerated cargo. They look well at sea, and sit well in the water when fully loaded.

By

JOHN LESLIE

During the weary Depression years of the 19305, when hundreds of British and foreign ships were laid up and theire crews paid off, the Clan Line was one of the few British companies which survived without having cme ship laid up.

Its record in two world wars is impressive too, When war broke out in 1914 the Clan Line had 56 ships. Half erf these were sunk, but through building the Clan Line, by the end of the war, had replaced all its losses with speedier and more modern vessels.

At the beginning of World War II the Clan Line had a- fine fleet of 58 ships; of these, 36 were lost. More than 600 officers and crew were killed and more than 100 taken prisoner. The Clan Line built five new ships during the war and acquired 26 war*built Government ships. Between 1946 and 1949 the company built another nine new ships, most of them in its own shipyard, the Greenock Dockyard Company. In the early 1950 s the Clan Line acquired two tankers, the Scottish Lion and Scottish Eagle. The Clan line grew rapidly in its early years. Before it was 12 months old its vessels were sailing every fortnight for India.

A good trade with South Africa was well established, and Charles Cayzer turned his attention to Scotland. There were no sailings to South Africa from Scottish or north of England ports and shippers there had to meet the high costs of transporting export goods to the southern ports.

Cayzer sensed an opportunity for his ships, and in 1881 the Clan Lamont inaugurated a service to South Africa. The trade boomed, and he extended his fleet services to Delagoa Bay, Beira, and Mauritius. Within a year he had started a new Clan Line service to Colombo. Madras, and Calcutta, and

moved the company’s head office from Liverpool to Glasgow.

New ventures were always sought, and in 1883 the company became interested in carrying pilgriiris between India and Jeddah, en route to Mecca. The Clan Lamont was chartered for several pilgrim trips. In 1893, the Clan Line began a joint service with the Union Castle Line between New York and South and East African ports. During the company’s earlier days, cargo was not the Clan Line’s sole concern. Some of the fleet had splendid passen* ger accommodation. As the company’s fleet increased in size, less at* tention was given to the passenger side, although for many years accommodation for a dozen persons was provided. Un-

fortunately this facility is being abolished in ships world-wide. It was an ideal way to travel. The company concentrated on its freight aspect.

In 1901 there was a further development in trade with the Indian sub-conti-nent. The completion of the Assam-Bengal railway boosted the export of tea and jute, and the Clan Menzies inaugurated this trade. In 1903, 15 Clan Line vessels loaded at Chittagong for Britain. South African trade was also booming, and the company's vessels were sailing for Britain loaded down to their marks. From South Africa they sometimes went on to Mauritious. Batavia or India. They took tea, hides, cotton, sugar, and grain to Britain via the Suez Canal.

During the Boer War, Clan Line steamers were much in demand for trooping and the carriage of freight. Thus deprived of some of its fleet, the company embarked on another major building campaign, and always ready to adopt new ideas, introduced the ship style known as the "turret ship,” by no means a beautiful one. The first of the company’s turret ships, the Clan Macdonald, was introduced in 1896. The idea was to reduce Suez Canal dues by decreasing the ship’s “measured beam” across the main deck. Turret ships, described as "ugly brutes,” had their largest beam measurement at water level. They caused a lot of controversy, but the Clan Line used some of these vessels until the late 19205.

On September 28, 1916, Cayzer —by then, Sir Cnarles —died at his Perthshire home. He had been knighted in 1897, and later made a baronet. He had also served as member of Parliament for Bar-row-in-Furness for a

period. In 1918, the Clan Line obtained control of the

Scottish Shire Line, which had large interests in the Australian trade. Months later, the Houston Line was also acquired.

After the end of World War I, the threads of former trade had to be picked up. The Clan Line played a major part in the refrigerated trade from South Afirca, notably the export of fruit, apart from general cargo lines. The Clan Line was noted for the massive lifting gear carried aboard its ships. When the Clan Mactaggart and Clan Mactavish came into service in 1949, each was provided with a heavy lift derrick capable of hoisting 125 tons. Subsequently, the Clan Sutherland had a derrick with a 180-ton lifting capacity. As the use of electric power developed overseas, the Clan Line took some very heavy machinery front Britian to the developing countries. On one occasion a Clan Line vessel took two steel furnaces to Australia for use at Broken Hill in New South Wales. The whole consignment, broken down into components weighing as much as 120 tons each, totalled 1300 tons. It is thought that this is the largest single shipment of two furnaces in bne ship.

In 1955 talks between the Clan Line and the Union Castle Line resulted in a merger, forming the British and Commonwealth Shipping Company, Ltd. Today the Clan Line has 15 conventional cargo liners, and dominates the group. The name Clan Alpine recurs in this article. One of the vessels bearing this name ended her days on dry land, after a freak accident.

On the night of October 31, 1960, the coastal areas and islands in the vicinity of the port of Chittagong were devasted by a cyclone. In Chittagong harbour shipping suffered great damage, and only one vessel remained at her moorings.

The Clan Alpine was at the mouth of the Kamaphuli River, awaiting a berth. During the night she was driven from her moorings and carried eight miles, ending up in a paddy field north of the port.

When daylight came and the flood receded, the crew were astonished to find that their ship was high and dry, half a mile from the sea. So that the cargo could be discharged, a road was built alongside the Clan Alpine. All the cargo was safely unloaded by the ship’s gear and delivered to its destination. Fresh water, fresh vegetables and other supplies were brought regularly to the ship.

Nobody was hurt, but the underwriters wrote h.r off as a "constructive total loss,” and thus the useful life of a British merchant vessel ended in a paddy field. As far as is known, she is still there, unless she has been dismantled for scrap.