A shipping line is a business that operates ships.
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Large-scale shipping lines became widespread in the nineteenth century, after the development of the steamship in 1783. At first, Great Britain was the centr of development; in 1819, the first steamship crossing of the Atlantic Ocean took place and by 1833, shipping lines had begun to operate steamships between Britain and British Empire possessions such as India and Canada.[1] Three major British shipping lines were founded in the 1830s: the British and American Steam Navigation Company, the Great Western Steamship Company and the Peninsular Steam Navigation Company.[1]