BP Shipping

BP Shipping is the maritime arm of British headquartered global oil company, BP. The unit covers the marine transport, logistics and insurance requirements of all BP's global activities.

Formed in 1956 as BP Tanker Company Ltd, its roots go back to the British Tanker Company Ltd, which was formed to carry products for the Anglo-Persian Oil Company. It is hence the oldest continuous business unit in the BP group. The company changed its name to BP Shipping in 1981 to encompass its marine insurance activities, and in 2006 transported 251.7 million tonnes of crude and products, representing around 5% of the world's sea borne oil movements

Origins

British Tanker Company

British Emperor, launched in 1916

Having initially employed independent contractors to carry its oil from Persia (now Iran) back to Europe and into India, in April 1915 the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC) set up the British Tanker Company Limited (BTC) in April 1915, with an initial capital of £100,000. The BTC placed orders with two Tyne based shipbuilders, Armstrong Whitworth and Swan Hunter, for a total of 7 steam-powered oil tankers.

The BTC's first tanker was the 3,663 gross tonnage British Emperor, launched in 1916. The names of all the first 7 ships bore the prefix "British", and all future additions to the fleet have followed the same naming convention. The 60th ship was the new flagship, the 6,998 gross tonnage British Aviator, BTC's first diesel engined oil tanker, and was at that time the most powerful single-screw motor ship in the world.

Through steadying of relationships with the Shah of Iran, APOC managed to strengthen its position within the industry during the Great Depression. With the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, the British government chartered the BTC's whole fleet of 93 vessels, to transport fuel for its armed forces. The fleet lost 41 ships sunk during the war, with 2 others so badly damaged they could only be used as storage hulks.

BP Tanker Company

In November 1954, APOC renamed itself the British Petroleum Company, and in 1955 the BTC became the BP Tanker Company (BPTC). By the end of the 1950s, the BPTC's fleet stood at 146 vessels, including supertankers of 38,000 gross tonnage (67,000 deadweight tonnes), with plans to build tankers of 60,000 gross tonnage (100,000 deadweight tonnes), which would hold more than 25 million US gallons (95,000 m3) of crude oil. In 1981 the company was renamed BP Shipping Ltd to reflect its changing role in managing the tanker fleet.

Operations

Today, while BP Shipping remains responsible within the group for all water-born logistics, much of its fleet capacity is gained through hiring other operators vessels. The result is that it is also responsible for marine assurance on everything that is sited within or floats on water.[1]

Employing 2,800 people based mainly in London, Singapore and Chicago, at the end of 2006 BP Shipping managed:[1]

Resulting in:[1]

The marine insurance activity covers 800-900 miscellaneous craft such as tugs, crew boats, barges and seismic vessels used in support of BP group business around the world. All are vetted, with policy being that BP Shipping considers a vessel to be unacceptable unless positively identified otherwise. Of the 4,700 inspections in 2006, half resulted in an initial rejection.[1]

Other marine holdings include:[1]

Fleet

Retired Fleet

Class Builder Type Ships in Class Flag Port of Registry Service Fate
P Class Samsung Heavy Industries Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC) British Pride
British Progress
British Purpose
 Isle of Man Douglas, Isle of Man 2000 - 2016
2000 - 2016
2000 - 2016

Active Fleet

Class Builder Type Ships in Class Flag Port of Registry Year Entered Service Year of Retirement Fate
Tree Class Tsuneishi Shipbuilding Co. Aframax British Beech
British Hazel
British Holly
British Vine
 Isle of Man Douglas, Isle of Man 2003
2004
2004
2004
Active
Bird Class Samsung Heavy Industries Aframax British Osprey
British Swift
British Robin
British Curlew
British Cormorant
British Gannet
British Mallard
British Merlin
British Cygnet
British Falcon
British Eagle
British Kestrel
 Isle of Man Douglas, Isle of Man 2003
2003
2003
2004
2005
2005
2005
2005
2005
2006
2006
2006
Active
E Class Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Medium Range Products Tanker British Esteem
British Explorer
British Envoy
British Ensign
British Emissary
 United Kingdom
 Isle of Man
London UK
London UK
Douglas, Isle of Man
London, UK
2003
2003
2006
2006
2007
Active
Virtue Class Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Large Range Product Tanker British Integrity
British Liberty
British Loyalty
British Security
British Tenacity
British Unity
British Fidelity
British Chivalry
British Courtesy
British Harmony
British Serenity
British Tranquility
 Isle of Man Douglas, Isle of Man 2004
2004
2004
2004
2004
2004
2004
2005
2005
2005
2005
2005
Active
C Class Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) Carrier British Commerce
British Courage
British Councillor
 Isle of Man Douglas, Isle of Man 2006
2006
2007
Active
Trader Class Samsung Heavy Industries LNG carrier British Trader
British Innovator
British Merchant
 Isle of Man Douglas, Isle of Man 2002
2002
2003
Active. First Spot-market LNG carriers.
Gem Class Hyundai Heavy Industries LNG carrier British Emerald
British Diamond
British Ruby
British Sapphire
 Isle of Man Douglas, Isle of Man 2007
2008
2008
2008
Active. First Dual-Fuel Diesel-Electric (DFDE) LNG carriers.
Kawasaki Heavy Industries LNG carrier Northwest Shearwater  Bermuda Hamilton, Bermuda 1991 Active. Operated vessel for North West Shelf Venture.
Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Shuttle Tanker (DP2) Loch Rannoch  United Kingdom Lerwick, Shetland 1998

As of Sept 2013, the Loch Rannoch was handed back to its owners, Knutsen OAS.

Barge Breko Nieuwbouw B.V. Lubricating Oil Victoria
Vanora
 Netherlands Rotterdam, Netherlands 2005
2006
Active. Operated by Verenigde Tankrederij B.V.
Project Neptune STX Offshore and Shipbuilding Co. Ltd Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC) 14 ships to be built from 2014 Under construction[2]
Project Triton Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Product Tanker 14 ships to be built from 2015 Under construction[2]
Project Delphi Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering LNG carrier 6 ships to be built from 2015 Under construction[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "BP Shipping". BP Group. Archived from the original on 22 July 2010. Retrieved 24 July 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 "BP Shipping 100" (PDF). BP.com. Retrieved 29 June 2015.

External links

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