In 1950 the company moved its management and administrative
operation to larger premises at 16 St Helens Place, London.
Around the same time Blue Funnel started to operate a secondary
service out of London using a number of Liberty ships which
were given Glen and Shire names. Whereas most shipping companies
would charter ships between subsidiaries without changing the
name and livery Alfred Holt & Co's policy was to keep the
identities of its two operations completely separate and totally
identifiable. Blue Funnel ships operating out of Liverpool would
always have blue funnels and mythological names, Glen Line ships
operating out of London would always have red funnels and Glen
and Shire names. The interchange of ships continued throughout
the 1950's and it was once suggested that if a Blue Funnel ship
was diverted to London it would be repainted and renamed before
arrival. One joker also suggested that, if the berth in the
Royal Docks was advised in advance the company could save money
by painting only one side of the funnel.
Mr C.E Wurtzburg was succeeded by Sir Herbert
McDavid as managing Director in in 1952 at a time when the fleet
numbered 15 ships.
In 1959 Glen Line's main competitor to the
Far East, William Thompson's Ben Line, introduced the 20 knot
Benloyal onto the route which reduced the passage time between
London and Hong Kong to 19 days and between London and Shanghai
to 21 Days. Three more ships of a similar class were planned
and Blue Funnel was unable to compete so faster ships were ordered
for Glen Line. Four new ships to comprise the 'Glenlyon' class
were ordered, two to be built at the Fairfield Yard and two
in Holland in order to hasten delivery. The ships were larger
than any in the fleet at the time and were capable of 24 knots
although the service speed was specified as 20 knots. The additional
built in speed was to compete with the new 'K' Class ships being
introduced by the Japanese company Nippon Yusen Kaisha. However,
four faster ships could replace 5 slower ones with the consequential
savings in operating costs.
The first of the four new ships, the Glenogle,
was completed in 1962 and commenced her maiden voyage to the
Far East in the October of that year. The order was completed
in 1963 when the Glenfalloch was delivered and the company was
able to maintain an express with two sailings per month out
of London. But there was still a marginal imbalance as some
of the ships in the fleet were still only capable of 18 knots
and this was remedied by deploying a ninth ship on an intermediate
service which called at lesser ports.
Mr W.H.McNeil replaced Sir Herbert McDavid
in 1965 and plans were formulated to smooth out the operating
irregularities. By this time changes were taking place in the
shipping industry. Additional speed was required to meet the
competition from Europe and Japan, British ships were becoming
increasingly costly to crew and the new concept of containerisation
was beginning to emerge. To meet the changes Glen's parent company,
Ocean Steam Ship Company, acquired a 49% holding in Overseas
Containers Ltd, a company formed in partnership with P&O,
Furness Withy and British & Commonwealth. Although the fleet
stood at 15 ships it was recognised that, as the new container
ships came into service, these ships would become surplus to
requirements. However, in the short term, it was still necessary
to meet the competition and up to date tonnage had to be acquired.
By 1966 eight ships were under construction,
four for Blue Funnel (the 'Priam' class) and four for Glen Line,
the 'Glenlomond' Class. They were modern and fast with a service
speed of 21 knots. Operating with the four 'Glenlyon' class
vessels Glen Line was able to operate a weekly service out of
London and, with a fleet of fourteen ships, have six additional
vessels to operate other services. The Glenalmond began operating
in September 1966 and arrival of the new vessels allowed the
former Blue Funnel tonnage to transfer back to Liverpool.
The Six Day Arab-Israeli war which closed
the Suez Canal in June 1967 seriously dislocated Glen Line's
services causing them to go via the Cape of Good Hope which
added to operating costs and increased freight rates. On shore
rationalisation was being planned and the parent company incorporated
Ocean Fleets Ltd to be responsible for all personnel, buildings
and ship management. In 1969 Mr H.O. Karten was appointed Chairman
and Managing Director of Glen Line while over in Liverpool the
entire Holt Fleet was being assembled under the umbrella of
Ocean Steam Ship Co. Ltd with certain shore based operations
being amalgamated. Fortunately, being London based, Glen Line
escaped the changes
By 1970 trade with China had become virtually
non-existent having been replaced with trade from Singapore,
Hong Kong and Japan. Consequently, regular sailings to Shanghai
were discontinued and, in the December, the Glenearn was withdrawn
although her sistership , the Glengyle, survived a little longer
as Blue Funnel's Deucalion. In the same year four of Blue Funnel's
'P' Class ships were transferred and renamed the Glenfruin,
the Glenroy, the Glenbeg and the Glenlochy.
A big corporate reorganisation took place
in 1972 when the Alfred Holt group became OCEAN TRANSPORT &
TRADING CO. LTD with the fleets being managed in six separate
departments. The non-container and non-specialist fleets Glen
Line, Blue Funnel and Elder Dempster were managed by Liner Shipping.
The last ship to join the fleet, albeit for only a few months
before going to the breaker's yard, was the Glenbeg a 'P' Class
Blue Funnel vessel. Tradition was finally abandoned in 1974
when the Flintshire was transferred to the Dutch subsidiary,
N.S.M.'Oceaan', without a change of livery or name.
In the same way that Glen Line and Shire Line
joined forces many years previous, in 1974 Ocean Transport &
Trading Co Ltd, comprising Blue Funnel, Glen Line and N.S.M.
'Oceaan', linked with William Thompson's Ben Line to form BEN-OCEAN
SERVICES. Glen Line supplied its quota of express vessels but
the management of the service was undertaken by Ben Line and
the ships were given the Ben Line pale yellow funnel.
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