The first vessel, the Gujarat, was completed in December 1923
and continued the company's venture into the passenger carrying
business. Two further ships, the Kathiawar and the Luxmi joined
the Gujarat on the Rangoon to South Africa service and, in addition
to carrying up to 6,550 tons of cargo, had accommodation for
12 first class and 20 second class passengers.
Also in the early 1920's the company expanded
its tanker operations through the management of the British-Mexican
Petroleum Co. Ltd. By 1926 the fleet had risen to 12 tank steamers,
each with the prefix "Inver"and 11 barges for harbour
service. Seven of the ships had been laid down before the war
as standard cargo ships and were converted by fitting large
cylindrical tanks in the cargo spaces and carrying oil in the
double bottom tanks. They were fairly successful but it soon
proved necessary to build ships specifically for carrying oil
products.
In 1934 three elegant motorships built by Workman, Clark (1928)
Ltd at Belfast, the Isipingo, the Inchanga and the Incomati
joined the fleet. Named after a coastal area south of Durban,
a hilly plane inland of Durban and a river running from the
Transvaal to Mozambique, respectively, they were a contrast
to Bank Line's traditionally austere looking fleet. Painted
white with a buff band round the hull, green boot topping and
a small buff, blacked top funnel, the raked masts gave the vessels
a yacht like appearance. The first-class accommodation for 50
passengers was spacious with the ambience of an English country
house. The lounge, flanked by enclosed tea terraces, had large
forward facing windows and was furnished with a light green
and pastel colour scheme which offered escape from the heat
out on deck. All the first-class cabins had an outside window
and a private shower and toilet. Unusually for a British ship
she was equipped with a large outdoor swimming pool and there
was also a barber's shop which was frequently visited by officers
of other British ships. Accommodation for the 20 second class
passengers was situated aft and up to 500 'natives' were carried
in the tween decks.
2nd Lord Inverforth Hon.Roy Weir Hon. Vincent Weir
During the Second World War the company lost
a number of ships as a result of enemy action and, consequently,
in the late 1940's and early 1950's there was an extensive program
to replace and modernise the fleet. There was a steady flow
of new motorships from the yard of Harland & Wolff Ltd and
William Doxford & Sons, and, in addition, the company purchased
12 "Liberty" steamships from the United States as
well as several more that had been laid down at the end of the
war for other owners.
Under the guiding hand of Lord Inverforth
the company built up a substantial insurance underwriting and
broking department and, together with extensive activity in
commodities including nitrate , coal, oil and grain, extended
its influence throughout the world with the opening of branches
and subsidiary companies.
During his active business life Andrew Weir
was highly respected so much so that he was elected President
of the Institute of Marine Engineers and was one of the very
few honorary members of the Baltic Exchange. Before his death
on 17th September, 1955 Lord Inverforth saw his two grandsons,
the Hon. Roy and the Hon. Vincent, taking an active interest
in the company he had founded 70 years previously.
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