Houlder Line

The Houlder Line were a number of related British Shipping companies originally established by the Houlder brothers.^[1]

Houlder Brothers & Co. was formed in London 1856 and operated in the market for chartered tonnage. In 1861 the company acquired the Golden Horn, which they used on the North Atlantic routes to the United States. The company later expanded to service routes to New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific Islands.^[1] From 1875 to 1880 the company worked with John T. Arundel & Co. in a guano mining business on Flint Island in the Pacific Ocean. In 1881 the company entered the passenger and cargo trade to the River Plate.^[1]

The Furness-Houlder Argentine Line was a joint venture between Houlder Brothers Ltd and the Furness Withy shipping company, established in 1914.^[2]

In 1987 Houlder Line ceases to exist and continues as an independent engineering consultancy Houlder Ltd

Ships Operated by Houlder Line

• SS Canonesa was operated by the Houlder Line and was torpedoed in the North Atlantic in 1940.^[3]
• MV El Argentino was operated by the Houlder Line. She was bombed and sunk west of Lisbon in 1943 with the loss of four crew.
• STV Royston Grange was a British cargo liner owned and operated by the Houlder Line. She was destroyed by fire after a collision in the Rio de la Plata on 11 May 1972. She was the first British ship to be lost with all hands since World War II.
• Oswestry Grange a coal carrier is the last ship of the Houlder line. She was sold in 1985.

References