The Fleets

Glen Line

In 1867 Alan C. Gow took delivery of a sailing ship which he used on the Glasgow / Liverpool - Cape Horn - Chile trade. The following year he purchased a second vessel and started the practise of naming his ships GLEN______. The opening of the Suez Canal was a large factor in the decision to operate steamships in the China tea trade and the company started this operation in 1870 and moved their home port to London. James McGregor was put in charge of the company's steamship activities and by 1880 had become the senior partner and the company became McGregor, Gow & Company. South America sailings ceased the same year and the company concentrated on the India and Far East routes. In 1910 Glen Line Ltd was formed and came under the control of Elder Dempster & Co. in 1911. Glen and Shire Lines were fused in 1912 but remained in the ownership of their original firms, but in 1920 the two companies were amalgamated. In 1931 the Kylsant shipping empire which owned Elder Dempster & Co. and the Glen and Shire Lines collapsed and in 1935 Alfred Holt & Co. (Blue Funnel Line) purchased both the Glen and Shire Lines and the ships were re-registered at Liverpool instead of London. From then, ships were frequently transferred between Glen, Shire, Blue Funnel Lines and China Mutual S.N.Co.

In 1972 the name of the owning company became Ocean Transport & Trading Co. and in 1974 joined forces with William Thomson's Ben Line to operate Ben-Ocean Services. By 1978 the last of the Glen Line ships had been sold, Glen Line became a non-shipowning name and in 1990 the name and corporate assets of Glen Line Ltd were purchased by Curnow Shipping Ltd., Cornwall.

Many thanks to Ted Finch for his assistance in collecting this data. The following list was extracted from various sources. This is not an all inclusive list but should only be used as a guide. If you would like to know more about a vessel, visit the Ship Descriptions (onsite) or Immigrant Ship web site.

Routes:

• Sail
  • 1869-1880 Glasgow - Liverpool - South America
                       Glasgow - Liverpool - South America - Woosung, China - UK.
• Steam
  • 1870           London - Madras - Calcutta
  • 1871-1907 (Glasgow) - London - (Hamburg) - Penang - Singapore - China - London - (Continent) - (UK East Coast ports)
  • 1907-1935 London - (Continent) - Genoa - (Mediterranean ports) - Peneng - Singapore - (Manila) - Hong Kong - Shanghai - Japan.
  • 1935-1978 Alfred Holt policy was for Glen Line to serve London and the East Coast ports and Blue Funnel to cover the West Coast ports.
                      Middlesbrough - Immingham - Hamburg - Rotterdam - Antwerp - London - (Marseilles) - (Genoa) - Port Said - Penang - Singapore - Hong Kong - Manila - (Chinese ports) - Shanghai - (Japanese ports) - Kobe - Vladivostok or Shanghai - Dairen.
                      Returning via the same ports plus Colombo - Port Said - Alexandria - North Africa - Genoa - (Marseilles) - London - Rotterdam - Hamburg - Antwerp - UK East Coast ports.
                      The express service collected cargo in Europe and usually called at Singapore - Hong Kong - Shanghai - Kobe.

Funnel: Red with black top. Fleet:

Note - China Mutual S.N.Co was a subsidiary company of Blue Funnel Line.
* For details of WAR ships, see http://www.mariners-l.freeserve.co.uk/WWlStandardBuilt.htm

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Last updated: May 16, 2008 and maintained by and M. Kohli