Irish Shipping Limited

Irish Shipping Limited was an Irish state-owned deepsea shipping company, formed during World War II for the purpose of supplying the country's import needs. Its ships were usually named after trees. Its contribution to Irish neutrality was recognised by the government after the war. In the post-war years the company continued to operate as a commercial strategic reserve until 1984 when, as a result of taking on a series of expensive long-term time charters, it was forced into liquidation.

Background

Ireland had declared its neutrality when hostilities broke out and in the early years of the war much of its food needs were carried on board allied vessels. The Irish government realised that they needed to be more independent and self-sufficient. In February 1941, Seán Lemass, the Minister for Supplies stated that "The creation of an Irish mercantile marine was necessary, as it was as important for the national safety as the Army".

On March 21, 1941, Irish Shipping Limited was formed as a company wholly owned by the state. It had representatives on its board from the three main Irish shipping companies, Wexford Steamship Company, Limerick Steamship Company and Palgrave Murphy Limited. Unfortunately the new company had a major problem in that it had no ships and needed to acquire some.

The wartime fleet

Ships of all forms and in all conditions were a very scarce resource during the early years of the war. The company management took control of whatever tonnage, in whatever condition, they could lay their hands on. Its first ship was the Irish Poplar which was located in Avilés, Spain as the Greek-flagged "Vassilios Destounis". It had been abandoned following an attack by a German aircraft in the Bay of Biscay and towed into port by Spanish fishermen, where it was purchased by Irish Shipping.

List of ships operated during World War Two

Acquired in 1941

* Irish Poplar (March 1941 - 1949)
* Irish Larch (28 July 1941 - November 1949)
* Irish Beech (13 May 1941 - 1948)
* Irish Elm (August 1941 - 1949)
* Irish Hazel (17 June 1941 - 1949)
* Irish Oak (21 May 1941 - 15 May 1943)
* Irish Pine (21 May 1941 - 16 November 1942)
* Irish Plane (26 December 1941 - 1 February 1941)
* Irish Willow (December 1941 - 1946)
* Irish Fir (14 October 1941 - 1949)

Acquired in 1942

* Irish Rose
* Irish Alder
* Irish Spruce
* Irish Ash

Acquired in 1943

* Irish Cedar

Other ventures

The nature of the conflict and of the state meant that Irish Shipping had some unusual influences on its commercial operations. This lead it into a number of other commercial ventures, most notably marine insurance and ship repair, where it might not necessarily have wanted to be.

A combination of the war, and the fact that Irish vessels were sailing out of convoy, lead to impossibly high premiums for goods carried in Irish ships. This encouraged the company to set up its own successful marine insurance business which it sold to the Insurance Corporation of Ireland after the war.

The post-war years

hips acquired in 1948

As most of the original tonnage was in poor condition, in 1946 the company placed orders for 8 vessels with British yards.
*Irish Rose new build (1948 - )
*Irish Willow new build (1948 - )
*Irish Pine new build (1948 - 1965)

hips acquired in the 1950s

The tankers

The Irish Hawthorn, Irish Blackthorn and Irish Holly were the only tankers ever operated by ISL. Both the "Hawthorn" and "Blackthorn" were sold in 1965.

hips acquired in the 1960s

Two steam turbine ships were owned and operated:
* Irish Spruce
* Irish PoplarDue to the sharp increase in the price of oil and the greater thermal efficiencies of diesel engines, these were the last two steam powered ships to be operated by Irish Shipping.

Two sister ships were operated:
* Irish Plane GRT|10,448.5|metric|first=yes Net T 6,044.7 IHP 8,450 ON 400358
* Irish Cedar GRT|10,477|metric NRT 6,052.98 BHP 7,250The Plane operated on the Casablanca - Dublin - Cork run, importing phosphate fertiliser for several years.

hips acquired in the 1970s

The Star ships and the Elm

Irish Shipping entered a joint venture with the Noewegian Star shipping company and operated two ships;
* The Irish Star
* The Irish StardustA bulk carrier with retractable/stackable car decks was also acquired;
* The Irish Elm GRT|22186.03|metric NRT 14516.91 ON 400577 BHP 18,800

Celtic Bulk Carriers

In the early 1970s ISL set up a joint venture with Reardon Smiths called Celtic Bulk Carriers and between them ordered 12 similar ships from Govan Shipyards in Glasgow. The ships were referred to as "Clyde"-class and the Irish ships were named:
*Irish Pine
*Irish Larch
*Irish Oak GRT|16,703.84|metric Reg T 11360.88 ON 401220
*Irish Maple

The Japanese Ships

The Irish Cedar and Irish Rowan were built in Japan and delivered in 1976.

The Spruce

The company took delivery of their final vessel, the Irish Spruce in 1983. Built in Verolme Cork Dockyards, it was a Panamax bulk carrier of DWT|72,000|metric|first=yes . Its ordering and build were the subject of much controversy with many feeling that the Irish government put undue pressure on the company to place the order in order to keep the dockyard open.

Managed Vessels

The Rock Boats

*Daunt Rock
*Skellig Rock
*Tuskar Rock
*Fastnet Rock

Other Managed Vessels

*Lough Beltra
*Asgard II

Liquidation and aftermath

0n 14 November 1984, the Irish government surprised most observers by placing Irish Shipping Ltd into liquidation. [cite news |url=http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/archive/1984/1115/Pg001.html#Ar00100:2BE1403921BD1832421B426626C3CE2853E12783DB2913EE23E42B25843D3B43513CD3643EC3C04093D33F55D540F5E73B86673D167A34376735E77A0591A30E02200E41A61562221591A31DE2201C324121F26528E3CE2C03E123E3F627040826242B27443D27642B29543D3DA35140E36433A3CF3723E237D48B3B449E3345E236B5F53DB66741067A36F76737777A37676738B77A38B76739277A3937673A877A3ED82240C835 |title=Dáil accepts Irish Shipping liquidation |work=The Irish Times |date=15 November 1984 |accessdate=2008-03-21] [cite web |url=http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/D/0353/D.0353.198411140053.html |title=Official Report (Dáil Éireann), Volume 353, 14 November 1984: Irish Shipping Limited: Motion |publisher=Oireachtas |accessdate=2008-03-21] Maurice Tempany, a senior partner at Ernst & Young was appointed as Official Liquidator. He quickly set about laying-off the staff and making preparations for the sale of the ships. With four ships still owned by the company - Irish Maple, Irish Rowan, Irish Cedar and Irish Spruce - as each came into port it was arrested and eventually sold.

ee also

*Irish neutrality
*The Emergency

External links

* [http://www.irishships.com Irishships]
*http://www.irishseamensrelativesassociation.org/Irish%20Pine%20Crew.htm

References

* Irish Shipping Ltd, H C Spong, World Ship Society, No ISBN
* The Long Watch, Frank Forde, Gill and Macmillan, ISBN 1-902602-42-0