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
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]
- 57 vessels - four Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs), one North Sea shuttle tanker, 42 medium size crude and product carriers, seven liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers and three new liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carriers
- 24 regional vessels, including coasters
- 100 hydrocarbon-carrying vessels above 600 deadweight tonnes on time charter
Resulting in:[1]
- The shipping of 270 million tonnes of cargo volume
- 7,000 voyages, of which at any time 450-500 cargoes are “on the water”
- On average two thirds of shipments are made by seagoing tankers, the rest via inland and harbour barges
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]
- BP Shipcare Sdn. Bhd. - a lay-up facility located in East Malaysia
- Alaska Tanker Company - minority shareholding in five purpose-built ships to transport crude oil from Alaska to west coast US ports in the US
- China LNG Shipping - 40% shareholding in ship management service to LNG carriers serving the Guangdong LNG terminal
Fleet
| Class | Builder | Type | Ships in Class | Flag | Port of Registry | Year Entered Service | Year of Retirement | 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 2000 2000 |
Active | |
| 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
External links
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