In 1937 the Furness Withy Group
had acquired a substantial shareholding in Royal Mail and
in 1955 two of their ships, the Albemarle and the Walsingham,
were transferred to PSNC management for a two year period
operating a Bermuda to Panama service. The Reina del Mar replaced
the Reina del Pacifico in 1955 and the fleet then comprised
13 ships.
The fleet expanded in 1959 when three small cargo motor ships
joined the fleet to replace the Albemarle and Walsingham,
who had returned to Furness Withy, on the Bermuda - Caribbean
ports - Panama service. In the same year H. Leslie Bowes was
appointed Chairman of PSNC and in 1960 became Chairman of
Royal Mail. Also in 1960 the company acquired its first oil
tanker which was named after the founder, William Wheelwright.
The acquisition was purely an investment and the ship was
placed on a long term charter to Shell.
In 1961 a second oil tanker
was similarly acquired as an investment. Named after the company's
first captain, George Peacock, she was chartered to British
Petroleum on a long term basis. Another trading area was denied
to PSNC in 1961 when Fidel Castro became the President of
Cuba.
The Board undertook a lengthy
appraisal of passenger ship operations during 1963 and concluded
that they were no longer a viable proposition. Consequently,
the Reina del Mar was chartered to the Travel Savings Association,
in which the company had a 25% share, for cruising operations.
The company also decided that they longer wished to employ
passenger ship staff and the management of the ship was handed
over to Union-Castle, a partner in the TSA, who had the necessary
skills and infrastructure. Union-Castle eventually purchased
the ship in 1973.
In 1965 Furness Withy, who already held a substantial shareholding
in Royal Mail, made an offer to purchase the remaining equity.
Accepted in the June of that year Royal Mail and its subsidiary
PSNC were integrated into the Furness Withy Group who began
an appraisal of the group's overall tonnage. A policy of inter-group
switching was adopted together with the disposal of older,
less efficient ships. PSNC, because of the heavy competition
to the west coast of South America and unsettled commercial
and political conditions in that area, was a prime candidate
for this treatment.
During 1967-8 the remaining five "S" Class vessels
were disposed of but three Shaw, Saville & Albion motorships
came under PSNC management to replace them. Painted in the
PSNC livery they were given the traditional names Orita (2),
Oropesa (2) and Oroya (4).
John Gawne, an employee of
PSNC since 1934, became Chairman in 1970 and further inter-company
changes took place. Ships continued to be transferred between
companies and ,as technology evolved, new vessels were acquired
which could do the work of several of the older types. The
new self unloaders, high capacity and faster ships, the Orbita
(2), the Orduna (2) and the Ortega (2) joined the fleet in
1973. With some vessels chartered from Furness Withy they
maintained a three weekly service from South Huskisson Dock
at Liverpool.
By the beginning of 1980 the
PSNC fleet was comprised of only five ships, the two years
old Oropesa and Oroya together with the seven years old Orbita
(2),) the Orduna (2) and the Ortega (2). Lloyds Registered
identified the ships as being owned by subsidiary companies
of PSNC. In the April Compania Sud Americana de Vapores purchased
the Orbita and renamed her Andalien. The Ortega was renamed
Andes by PSNC and the two ships operated in tandem each chartering
space from the other to maximise cargo efficiency.
Containerisation was rapidly expanding and eliminating the
need for conventional cargo carriers. By 1983 PSNC was only
operating three ships, the Oroya (5), the Oropesa (4) and
the Andes (2) and in the following year circumstances dictated
that the independent name Pacific Steam Navigation Company
should finally disappear into Furness Withy Shipping. In 1984
a full container ship, the Andes (3), joined the seven member
Europe South America Line (Eurosal) consortium. Feasibility
studies had shown that seven faster, larger and specialised
ships could replace the twenty eight members ships operating
the route.
Later in 1984 Wheelwright House in Liverpool was closed with
the management operations being integrated with Furness Withy's
in Manchester. By 1985 the only visible remains of the former
PSNC were the Oroya (5) and the Andes (3) who were operating
within the Furness Shipping Group with traditional names.
Another great shipping name
which figured so prominently in the development and history
of the South American continent had finally faded into obscurity
- but, hopefully, not forgotten.
At the time when the Pacific
Steam Navigation Company ceased to exist in 1985 the British
Merchant Navy was reduced to 920 ship of which only 689 were
over 500grt. This represented a mere 3% of the world tonnage
whereas in 1900 it comprised 48%.
The history of PSNC and
its' ships has been extracted from
Merchant Fleets 8: Pacific Steam Navigation Co. by Duncan
Haws
to whom we extend our grateful thanks.
Available from TCL PUBLICATIONS
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