| Former type | Subsidiary of United Africa Company (UAC) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Shipping |
| Successor | Ocean Transport & Trading in 1985 |
| Founded | 1911, as Southern Whaling and Sealing Company Ltd |
| Defunct | 1986 |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom |
| Area served | Northern Europe, West Africa and Mediterranean |
| Key people | Frank Samuel (First Chairman) |
| Parent | Unilever |
The Palm Line was a British-owned shipping line that was engaged in the West African trade from 1949, primarily servicing the ports along 5,000 miles of coastline from Morocco in the north to Angola in the far south.
Palm Line was a member of both UK/West Africa Lines Joint Service (UKWAL) and Continent/West Africa Conference (COWAC) together with Elder Dempster, Black Star Line, Nigerian National Shipping Line, Guinea Gulf Line and Norwegian Hoegh Line.
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In the post-war period of the late 1940s, UAC decided to divest its shipping fleet to become an independent company in its own right. On 16 February 1949, an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders was held to set up the new company. This was done by reviving the dormant articles of association of the old Southern Whaling and Sealing Company, which Lever had bought years before, and changing the name to Palm Line.
The name of the new company had not been decided upon without considerable discussion. At one stage the name Sun Line had been put forward. It was Mr Frank Samuel, later to become the new company's first chairman who thought of the name 'Palm'.
It is notable that all Palm Line ships, with the exception of Kano Palm and Katsina Palm, built before 1970 had to be less than 500 ft long in order to navigate the creeks of Nigeria. Draught is another important feature. The coast of West Africa is extremely flat, and the slow-moving rivers and tidal currents have combined to build up long sand bars a mile or two off the coast. To enter most of the rivers, ships must pass over these bars; 27 ft being the maximum draught to serve all ports. Even so, to enter many rivers, - for example the Escravos Bar which leads to Sapele - ships cannot carry more than 4,000 tons since draught is limited to 17 ft.
The palm tree emblem had already been used on a Unilever Ltd house flag designed in 1939.
| Ship | Built | Speed (knots) | Type | GRT | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MV Africa Palm | 1953 | 11 | General Cargo | 5,415 | Built by Short Bros, Sunderland. Sister ship to MV Burutu Palm (1953) Sold in 1972 to Panama and renamed Savoydean |
| MV Africa Palm | 1971 | 14 | General Cargo | 10,008 | ex-Joruna, purchased from Johansen & Knutsen, Oslo in 1974
In 1983 chartered and renamed Santa Barbara Pacific, then reverted to Africa Palm later in 1983 |
| MV Akassa Palm | 1958 | 14 | General Cargo | 9,000 | Built in Germany by Bremer Vulkan Sold in 1972 to Greece and renamed Elemma |
| MV Andoni Palm | 1958 | 14 | General Cargo | 9,000 | Built in Germany by Bremer Vulkan Sold in 1976 to Panama and renamed Mastro Manolis |
| MV Apapa Palm | 1973 | 16 | General Cargo | 9,417 | ex-MV Schauenburg.
She was fitted with a Sulzer two-stroke diesel engine. |
| MV Ashanti Palm | 1947 | General Cargo | 5,123 | ex-Ashantian 18 November 1962 sank in Naples harbour where she had arrived from Leghorn to load 400 tons of general cargo. She dragged her anchor in a fierce gale and drifted onto rocks surrounding the breakwater. There were no casualties. |
|
| MV Badagry Palm | 1956 | 14 | General Cargo | 7,275 | Carried Dr. Kwame Nkrumah to London for the Commonwealth Prime Minister's Conference. Sold in 1972 to Cyprus and renamed Irene's Grace |
| MV Badagry Palm | 1979 | 16 | General Cargo | 12,279 | Built in Sunderland. She carried the very last Doxford ship engine ever built; the J-type. In 1985 she was taken over by UAC, who renamed her Badagry. |
| MV Bamenda Palm | 1956 | 14 | General Cargo | 7,200 | Sold in 1972 to Cyprus and renamed Lenio. |
| MV Bamenda Palm | 1979 | 16 | General Cargo | 11,223 | In 1985 she reverted to Bamenda Palm - from Lloyd Texas - and taken over by UAC. In 1986 she was sold to Cyprus & renamed Arko Glory |
| SS Benin Palm | 1936 | General Cargo | 5,424 | ex-Ethiopian Sold in 1959 to Panama and renamed Faneromeni, but registered in Lebanon |
|
| SS Burutu Palm | 1936 | General Cargo | |||
| MV Burutu Palm | 1953 | General Cargo | 5,415 | Built by Short Bros, Sunderland. Sister ship to MV Africa Palm (1953) Sold in 1967 to Panama and renamed Tyhi |
|
| SS Dahomey Palm | 1937 | General Cargo | 4,876 | ex-Conakrian Sold in 1959 to Wallem & Co., Hong Kong and renamed Southern Mariner |
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| MV Elmina Palm | 1957 | 14 | General Cargo | 8,088 | Unlike the other ships built during this period, she was not fitted with 'deep tanks' for the carriage of vegetable oil. Sold in 1977 to Panama and renamed Cyprus Sky |
| MV Enugu Palm | 1958 | 14 | General Cargo | 7,963 | Sold in 1978 to Kuwait and renamed Athari |
| MV Gambia Palm | 1937 | General Cargo | 5,452 | ex-Gambian. Built in Germany |
|
| MV Ibadan Palm | 1959 | 14 | General Cargo | 8,950 | Built by Swan Hunter on the Tyne, and sister ship of the Ilorin Palm. She had a 4-cylinder 2-stroke Doxford engine. In 1978 she was sold to Kuwaiti owners and renamed Hind |
| MV Ikeja Palm | 1961 | 14 | General Cargo | 8,900 | Built at Swan Hunter shipyard, and sister ship of Ilesha Palm. She had a 4-cylinder 2-stroke Doxford engine. In 1981 she was sold to new owners who registered her in Panama and renamed her GME Palma |
| MV Ilesha Palm | 1961 | 14 | General Cargo | 8,900 | Built at Swan Hunter and sister ship of the Ikeja Palm. She had a 4-cylinder 2-stroke Doxford engine. In 1979 she was sold to Chaldeos Freighters Ltd of Greece. The new owners registered her in Liberia and renamed her Daphnemar. She was handed over in Bombay. |
| MV Ilorin Palm | 1960 | 14 | General Cargo | 8,950 | Built by Swan Hunter and sister ship of the Ibadan Palm. She had a 4-cylinder 2-stroke Doxford engine. In 1979 she was sold to new owners who registered her in Liberia and renamed her Diamant Captain. |
| SS Kano Palm | 1936 | General Cargo | 5,129 | ex-Guinean Sold in 1954 to Panama and renamed St.George, but registered in Greece |
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| MV Kano Palm | 1958 | 14¼ | General Cargo | 12,203 | Sold in 1979 to India and renamed Purna Shanti |
| MV Katsina Palm | 1957 | 14¼ | General Cargo | 12,203 | Sold in 1978 to Singapore and renamed New Dragon |
| MV Kumasi Palm | 1943 | General Cargo | 7,221 | ex-Kumasian Sold in 1960 to Panama and renamed Flower |
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| MV Lagos Palm | 1947 | General Cargo | 5,047 | ex-Lagosian In 1960 renamed Oguta Palm then sold in 1964 to Greece and renamed Heraclitos. |
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| MV Lagos Palm | 1961 | 16 | General Cargo | 8,757 | Built at Swan Hunter and sister ship of the Lobito Palm. She had a 6-cylinder 2-stroke Doxford engine |
| MV Lagos Palm | 1982 | 16 | General Cargo | 15,575 | 1984 chartered to Lloyd Brasileiro and renamed Lloyd Rio. Sold in 1986 to USSR and renamed Boris Andreyev |
| MV Lobito Palm | 1960 | 16 | General Cargo | 8,807 | Built at Swan Hunter and sister ship of the Lagos Palm. She had a 6-cylinder 2-stroke Doxford engine |
| MV Lokoja Palm | 1947 | General Cargo | 5,135 | ex-Zarian Sold in 1966 to Panama and renamed Despina L |
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| MV Lokoja Palm | 1982 | 16 | General Cargo | 15,576 | Spent the majority of her short life with Palm Line chartered to the German company Woermann Line and renamed Wameru In 1984 chartered to Lloyd Brasileiro and renamed Lloyd Australia |
| MV Makeni Palm | 1951 | Bulk Vegetable Oil Carrier (BVOC) | ex-British Rover bought from British Petroleum as a replacement for MV Opobo Palm Sold in 1967 to Panama renamed Kerkennah. |
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| MV Makurdi Palm | 1953 | Bulk Vegetable Oil Carrier (BVOC) | See MV Tema Palm | ||
| MV Matadi Palm | 1948 | Bulk Vegetable Oil Carrier (BVOC) | 6,246 | ex-Matadian Sold for scrap in 1963 |
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| MV Matadi Palm | 1970 | 16 | Bulk Vegetable Oil Carrier (BVOC) | 13,700 | She had a 4-cylinder 2-stroke Doxford engine. Only 483 ft long, but with 28 separate tanks to carry several small parcels of oil cargo, for example, groundnut oil, palm kernel oil and palm oil may be shipped in different grades. For a long period in 1970's, following the 1966 National Union of Seaman strike, all deck crew (not officers) were from Galicia in Spain rather than from the British Shipping Federation. |
| SS Mendi Palm | 1936 | General Cargo | 5,419 | ex-Leonian Sold in 1959 to Panama and renamed Rio Yape |
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| MV Niger Palm | 1948 | General Cargo | 5,202 | ex-Nigerian Sold in 1966 to Panama and renamed Triana, but registered in Liberia |
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| MV Oguta Palm | 1943 | General Cargo | 7,221 | ex-Lafian Sold in 1960 to Aristidis SS Co, Piraeues |
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| MV Opobo Palm | 1942 | Bulk Vegetable Oil Carrier (BVOC) | 6,083 | ex-Congonian. Built at Swan Hunters on the Tyne Sold 1961 to Windward Shipping Co., Hong Kong and renamed Winwar |
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| MV Sapele Palm | 1954 | General Cargo | Built in Bremerhaven, Germany Sailed under the German flag & operated by a subsidiary company Ölhandel-und Transport-Gesellshaft |
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| MV Takoradi Palm | 1937 | General Cargo | 5,452 | ex-Takoradian. Built in Germany |
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| MV Tema Palm | 1953 | Bulk Vegetable Oil Tanker | 6,255 | Built in Germany Sailed under the German flag & operated by a subsidiary company Ölhandel-und Transport-Gesellshaft |
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| SS Volta Palm | 1936 | General Cargo | 5,129 | ex-Liberian Sold in 1954 to Finland and renamed Hermes |
Built in 1973 by the H. Cegielski shipyard in Gdansk, Poland as MV Schauenburg. Bought by Palm line in 1977 from H. Schuldt Hamburg and renamed Apapa Palm.
She was one of a batch of six sister ships, two of which were the Shonga and Sherbro belonging to Elder Dempster Lines, part of Blue Funnel Line. The Ministry of Defence requisitioned both Shonga & Sherbro for duty in the Falklands War. At the time Apapa Palm was laid up in Antwerp.
Built by Hyundai of South Korea in 1979. On 18 December 1980 she appeared in an article on the front page of the UK Sunday Express newspaper under the headline "Drama At Sea As Gales Sweep Coast". Bamenda Palm had accidentally rammed a Romanian fish factory ship whilst entering Carrick Roads, Falmouth harbour during the early hours in a southerly force 9 gale. The fish-factory ship was holed just below the water-line midships on the port side by the bulbous bow of the Bamenda Palm[1]. Her Master was George Holeyman.
In May 1984 she was chartered to Lloyd Brasiliero, Rio de Janeiro and renamed Lloyd Texas, whilst in South Shields dry dock. As Lloyd Texas she sailed from South Shields to Teesport, Middlesbrough to load cement for the new RAF runway in Ascension Island.
The first British cargo ship to make extensive use of aluminium in her superstructure - which made an extra 55 tons available for cargo deadweight - and later Palm Line ships followed this design.
A purpose-built Bulk Vegetable Oil Tanker (BVOC), she carried refined vegetable oils such as rape seed oil from northern Europe to West Africa, and returned with mainly unrefined palm oil or coconut oil.
She was built without double-bottoms for the cargo tanks, so although each tank had permanent steam coils installed - in order to maintain the oil at a constant carriage temperature of 96F, with the temperature being raised to 110F-120F for discharge. This did not wholly compensate for the lack of a double-bottom and made discharging the unrefined oil in N.Europe during winter time more difficult. Getting the remainder of the expensive oil from the bottom of each tank was an arduous, manual and messy job called puddling.