London & Overseas Freighters
Encyclopedia
London & Overseas Freighters Ltd. (LOF) was an ocean-going merchant shipping company that for most of its history was based in the United Kingdom
.
island of Kasos
and his cousin Minas Rethymnis founded a shipbroking
business in London, England. In 1934 Rethymnis & Kulukundis Ltd. (R&K) branched into shipowning, establishing a nominally separate company to own each ship. From 1934 they managed the ships under the name of Counties Ship Management
Ltd (CSM). Some R&K companies grew to own more than one ship, all of which were under CSM management.
In the Second World War
from 1940 onwards CSM was controlled by the Ministry of War Transport. CSM lost several ships during the war and others were damaged. In about 1946 CSM companies began replacing its losses by buying seven Liberty ship
s from the UK Government.
In 1948-49 ten ships from CSM companies were transferred to found a new R&K company, London & Overseas Freighters Ltd. However, in 1950 the CSM fleet was radically expanded with 34 Canadian "Fort and Park" ships
.
During the 1950s LOF became the main R&K company and the CSM fleet was reduced in size. Its last ship was MV Port Campbell, which CSM took over in 1966 and renamed Kings Reach. CSM's history effectively ended with her sale in 1970.
s. However, in 1949-50 LOF took over the dry cargo fleets of three R&K companies: Dorset Steamship Co Ltd, Putney Hill Steamships Co Ltd and Tower Steamship Co Ltd. In order to give the merged fleets a single "house" identity, LOF renamed all of its ships, giving each one a name beginning with "London".
The Pentridge Hill, built in 1941 by Bartram & Sons for Dorset Steamships became the London Dealer. The freighter Richmond Hill, built in 1940 by Bartram & Sons in Sunderland for Putney Hill Steamships became the London Craftsman.
The freighters Coombe Hill and Tower Hill, built by William Doxford & Sons
in Sunderland for Putney Hill Steamships in 1942, became LOF's London Artisan and London Banker respectively.
A number of the CSM ships transferred to LOF were Empire ship
s, built to standard designs during the Second World War. Dorset Steamships' Lulworth Hill, which became LOF's London Builder in 1950, had been completed by the Shipbuilding Corporation Ltd. in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1942 as Empire Mandarin. Another Dorset Steamships' vessel, the Charmouth Hill, which became LOF's London Mariner in 1950, had been completed in Hartlepool
in 1943 as Empire Peak. Tower Steamships' Tower Grange, which became LOF's London Trader, had been completed by the Shipbuilding Corporation Ltd. in 1945 as Empire Morley. Another Putney Hill Steamships vessel, the Putney Hill (II) had been built in 1943 as . She was transferred to LOF in 1949 and at first renamed Castle Hill. In 1950 LOF renamed her again as London Statesman. In 1951 LOF sold her to Panamanian owners who renamed her Morella.
CSM had seven Liberty ship
s, two of which were transferred to LOF. had been built in 1943 and CSM renamed her Primrose Hill in 1947. LOF renamed her London Vendor in 1949 and sold her in 1951. had been built in 1943 and CSM renamed her Mill Hill in 1947. She too was transferred to LOF in 1949 and sold in 1951.
facing forward just below the bridge. The LOF funnel livery was buff, ringed by a white band above a blue band, with a five-pointed red star on the two bands. It was a variant of a livery that some CSM ships had used since the 1930s. The house flag was a pennant
of white above blue bearing a red star. The white and blue referred to the Greek origins of the Kulukundis, Rethymnis and Mavroleon families. The red star made the funnel livery suggest that of a Soviet
merchant fleet, which sometimes caused some confusion.
LOF ships always worked under charter
. Under the terms of some charters, the ship's funnel would be repainted from LOF colours to those of the charterer.
LOF employed UK officers on salaries but used crew from Asia hired on contracts for limited periods. This allowed it to pay crew wages lower than those agreed between the General Council of British Shipping
and the National Union of Seamen
. At different times in LOF's history the crews were drawn from either the Far East
or the Indian subcontinent
.
in 1950. LOF became a public company in 1951. In 1952 Furness completed two more tankers for LOF, the London Victory (I) and London Majesty. In the same year Sir James Laing and Sons Ltd on the River Wear
in Sunderland, completed two tankers for LOF: the London Glory (I) and London Spirit (I).
LOF had intended to operate a mixed fleet of tankers and dry cargo ships. However, the costs of buying new tankers rose considerably so by the end of 1953 LOF sold all of its dry cargo ships. Furness completed the London Splendour (I) in 1953, London Loyalty in 1954 and London Integrity in 1955. In 1959 the Admiralty
took over the Loyalty and Integrity as bareboat charters for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary
, who renamed them RFA Brambleleaf and RFA Bayleaf
respectively.
founded a subsidiary, London & Overseas Tankers, in Bermuda
. LOT took a 50% interest in another Bermudian company, London & Overseas Bulk Carriers. LOT ordered six tankers and LOBC ordered two bulk carrier
s.
In 1957 LOF led a consortium of three companies that took over the Austin & Pickersgill
shipyard in Sunderland. In 1968 A&P took over another Wearside
shipyard, Bartram & Sons Ltd. In 1970 LOF bought out its partners to take 100% ownership of A&P.
LOF continued to buy new tankers. Furness Shipbuilding completed the London Tradition in 1957 and the London Explorer in 1959, and Koninklijke Maatschappij on the Scheldt
in Flushing, Netherlands
, completed the London Harmony in 1959. Uddevallavarvet AB of Uddevalla
in Sweden completed the tanker London Independence in 1961. Rheinstahl Nordseewerke
of Emden
in Germany completed the Overseas Adventurer for LOT in 1963.
LOF returned to dry cargo ships in 1963 with the London Craftsman, London Statesman
and London Tradesman all from Uddevallavarvet and London Banker (II) from Bijker's Aannemingsbedrijk of Gorinchem
on the IJssel
in the Netherlands
. Koninklijke Maatschappij completed the London Advocate in 1964 and Uddevallavarvet completed the London Citizen in 1965. LOF's shift of emphasis to dry cargo continued when Industria Navali Meccaniche Affini in La Spezia
, Italy, converted three LOF tankers to bulk carriers: the London Splendour (I) in 1966 and the London Tradition and London Explorer in 1967.
LOF transferred Mayfair Tankers to the flag of convenience
of Liberia
. The bulk carrier London Splendour (I) was registered in Liberia as the Mayfair Splendour in 1970. In 1972 the Ministry of Defence
returned the London Loyalty to LOF, who immediately transferred her to Mayfair Tankers and registered her in Liberia as the Mayfair Loyalty.
Eventually LOF stopped operating ships via its Mayfair Tankers subsidiary. However, LOF continued transferring some ships to London & Overseas Tankers in order to pay less tax. These ships included the Overseas Adventurer, Overseas Ambassador, Overseas Argonaut, Overseas Courier, Overseas Discoverer, Overseas Explorer and Overseas Pioneer.
of Malmö
in Sweden completed LOF's first supertanker, named the London Pride (II) as a replacement of the tanker of the same name launched in 1950. At 255090 long tons (285,701.7 ST) deadweight
she was a VLCC, larger than any other LOF ship before or since.
On 10 July 1972 the London Statesman was unloading a cargon of rice at Nha Trang
in South Vietnam
when her engine room
flooded and she sank by the stern. Sabotage by the Viet Cong was suspected. On 31 July she was refloated and towed to Singapore
for repairs. She remained in the LOF fleet until 1979.
In 1973 the MoD returned the London Integrity. However, in the same year it bareboat chartered the Overseas Adventurer as the RFA Cherryleaf
.
LOF modernised its dry cargo fleet with four new SD14
shelter deck ships built by its A&P subsidiary: the London Cavalier, London Fusilier and London Grenadier in 1972 and the London Bombardier in 1973. LOF then entered the bulk carrier
tramp trade with three new B26 bulk carriers built by A&P: the London Baron, London Earl and London Viscount, all built in 1977.
and the 1977 nationalisation of the UK's shipbuilding industry
. LOF laid up a number of its ships in a bay near Piraeus in Greece, including the London Pride (II) in 1981. LOF sold the London Pride (II) in 1982 and she was scrapped in the Far East in 1983.
LOF returned to smaller tankers with the Panamax
-sized London Victory (II) and London Spirit (II) completed by Mitsui
in Japan in 1982. These were joined by the London Enterprise (II), completed by Hitachi
in Japan in 1983. After about 1986 the business began to recover. In 1989 Chevron
made a two-year charter for the London Victory, later expanded into a five-year charter for both the her and her sister ship the London Spirit.
In 1992 LOF moved to Bermuda
to restructure its debts. Mitsui completed three new Suezmax
tankers for the fleet: the London Pride (III) in 1993 for charter to Chevron and the London Glory (III) and London Splendour (II) in 1995 for spot market
tramp trading. LOF reported increased profits in 1994 and 1995.
In June 1995 Chevron's charters of the London Spirit and London Victory expired. Chevron closed two of its refineries that year and did not renew the charters. In August 1996 LOF reported lower profits and in December of that year LOF reported that it was struggling to resist a hostile takeover.
Frontline renamed the Suezmax tankers London Pride (III), London Glory (III) and London Splendour (II) as the Front Pride, Front Glory and Front Splendour respectively. As of June 2010 all three tankers are still listed in the Frontline fleet.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Counties Ship Management
In 1920 Manuel Kulukundis from the AegeanAegean Sea
The Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
island of Kasos
Kasos
Kasos is a Greek island municipality in the Dodecanese. It is the southernmost island in the Aegean Sea, and is part of the Karpathos peripheral unit. As of 2001, its population was 990. The island has been called in , .-Geography:...
and his cousin Minas Rethymnis founded a shipbroking
Shipbroking
Shipbroking is a financial service, which forms part of the global shipping industry. Shipbrokers are specialist intermediaries/negotiators between shipowners and charterers who use ships to transport cargo, or between buyers and sellers of ships.Some brokerage firms have developed into large...
business in London, England. In 1934 Rethymnis & Kulukundis Ltd. (R&K) branched into shipowning, establishing a nominally separate company to own each ship. From 1934 they managed the ships under the name of Counties Ship Management
Counties Ship Management
Counties Ship Management Co. Ltd. was an ocean-going merchant shipping company based in the United Kingdom. During the Second World War CSM merchant ships made a substantial contribution to supplying the British war effort, at a cost of 13 ships lost and 163 officers and men killed.-Founding of...
Ltd (CSM). Some R&K companies grew to own more than one ship, all of which were under CSM management.
In the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
from 1940 onwards CSM was controlled by the Ministry of War Transport. CSM lost several ships during the war and others were damaged. In about 1946 CSM companies began replacing its losses by buying seven Liberty ship
Liberty ship
Liberty ships were cargo ships built in the United States during World War II. Though British in conception, they were adapted by the U.S. as they were cheap and quick to build, and came to symbolize U.S. wartime industrial output. Based on vessels ordered by Britain to replace ships torpedoed by...
s from the UK Government.
In 1948-49 ten ships from CSM companies were transferred to found a new R&K company, London & Overseas Freighters Ltd. However, in 1950 the CSM fleet was radically expanded with 34 Canadian "Fort and Park" ships
Park ship
Park Ships were merchant steamships constructed for Canada’s Merchant Navy during World War II. Park ships were the Canadian equivalent of the American Liberty Ships and the British Fort ships. All three shared a similar design by J.L...
.
During the 1950s LOF became the main R&K company and the CSM fleet was reduced in size. Its last ship was MV Port Campbell, which CSM took over in 1966 and renamed Kings Reach. CSM's history effectively ended with her sale in 1970.
Foundation of LOF
In 1948 the cousins founded a new company, London & Overseas Freighters Ltd, with the intention of owning tramp oil tankerOil tanker
An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a merchant ship designed for the bulk transport of oil. There are two basic types of oil tankers: the crude tanker and the product tanker. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined crude oil from its point of extraction to refineries...
s. However, in 1949-50 LOF took over the dry cargo fleets of three R&K companies: Dorset Steamship Co Ltd, Putney Hill Steamships Co Ltd and Tower Steamship Co Ltd. In order to give the merged fleets a single "house" identity, LOF renamed all of its ships, giving each one a name beginning with "London".
The Pentridge Hill, built in 1941 by Bartram & Sons for Dorset Steamships became the London Dealer. The freighter Richmond Hill, built in 1940 by Bartram & Sons in Sunderland for Putney Hill Steamships became the London Craftsman.
The freighters Coombe Hill and Tower Hill, built by William Doxford & Sons
William Doxford & Sons
William Doxford & Sons Ltd, often referred to simply as Doxford, was a British shipbuilding company.-History:The Company was established by William Doxford in 1840. From 1870 it was based in Pallion, Sunderland, on the River Wear in Northeast England. The Company was managed by William Doxford's...
in Sunderland for Putney Hill Steamships in 1942, became LOF's London Artisan and London Banker respectively.
A number of the CSM ships transferred to LOF were Empire ship
Empire ship
The Empire ships were a series of ships in the service of the British Government. Their names were all prefixed with "Empire". Mostly they were used during World War II by the Ministry of War Transport , who owned the ships but contracted out their management to various shipping lines. Some ships...
s, built to standard designs during the Second World War. Dorset Steamships' Lulworth Hill, which became LOF's London Builder in 1950, had been completed by the Shipbuilding Corporation Ltd. in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1942 as Empire Mandarin. Another Dorset Steamships' vessel, the Charmouth Hill, which became LOF's London Mariner in 1950, had been completed in Hartlepool
Hartlepool
Hartlepool is a town and port in North East England.It was founded in the 7th century AD, around the Northumbrian monastery of Hartlepool Abbey. The village grew during the Middle Ages and developed a harbour which served as the official port of the County Palatine of Durham. A railway link from...
in 1943 as Empire Peak. Tower Steamships' Tower Grange, which became LOF's London Trader, had been completed by the Shipbuilding Corporation Ltd. in 1945 as Empire Morley. Another Putney Hill Steamships vessel, the Putney Hill (II) had been built in 1943 as . She was transferred to LOF in 1949 and at first renamed Castle Hill. In 1950 LOF renamed her again as London Statesman. In 1951 LOF sold her to Panamanian owners who renamed her Morella.
CSM had seven Liberty ship
Liberty ship
Liberty ships were cargo ships built in the United States during World War II. Though British in conception, they were adapted by the U.S. as they were cheap and quick to build, and came to symbolize U.S. wartime industrial output. Based on vessels ordered by Britain to replace ships torpedoed by...
s, two of which were transferred to LOF. had been built in 1943 and CSM renamed her Primrose Hill in 1947. LOF renamed her London Vendor in 1949 and sold her in 1951. had been built in 1943 and CSM renamed her Mill Hill in 1947. She too was transferred to LOF in 1949 and sold in 1951.
Livery and personnel
LOF ships' hulls were red below the waterline and black above. The ships had white superstructures and carried the coat of arms of the City of LondonCity of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
facing forward just below the bridge. The LOF funnel livery was buff, ringed by a white band above a blue band, with a five-pointed red star on the two bands. It was a variant of a livery that some CSM ships had used since the 1930s. The house flag was a pennant
Pennon
A pennon was one of the principal three varieties of flags carried during the Middle Ages . Pennoncells and streamers or pendants are considered as minor varieties of this style of flag. The pennon is a flag resembling the guidon in shape, but only half the size...
of white above blue bearing a red star. The white and blue referred to the Greek origins of the Kulukundis, Rethymnis and Mavroleon families. The red star made the funnel livery suggest that of a Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
merchant fleet, which sometimes caused some confusion.
LOF ships always worked under charter
Chartering (shipping)
Chartering is an activity within the shipping industry. In some cases a charterer may own cargo and employ a shipbroker to find a ship to deliver the cargo for a certain price, called freight rate. Freight rates may be on a per-ton basis over a certain route or alternatively may be expressed in...
. Under the terms of some charters, the ship's funnel would be repainted from LOF colours to those of the charterer.
LOF employed UK officers on salaries but used crew from Asia hired on contracts for limited periods. This allowed it to pay crew wages lower than those agreed between the General Council of British Shipping
Shipping Federation
For the Shipping Federation of British Columbia, see British Columbia Maritime Employers' Association.The Shipping Federation was an association of employers in the shipping industry. It was formed in 1890 in response to the London Dock Strike of 1889 and the successes of the National Union of...
and the National Union of Seamen
National Union of Seamen
The National Union of Seamen was the principal trade union of merchant seafarers in the United Kingdom from the late 1880s to 1990. In 1990, the union amalgamated with the National Union of Railwaymen to form the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers .- The National Amalgamated...
. At different times in LOF's history the crews were drawn from either the Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
or the Indian subcontinent
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
.
LOF's first tankers
LOF ordered new tanker ships, the first of which were the London Pride (I) and London Enterprise (I) completed by Furness Shipbuilding at Stockton-on-TeesStockton-on-Tees
Stockton-on-Tees is a market town in north east England. It is the major settlement in the unitary authority and borough of Stockton-on-Tees. For ceremonial purposes, the borough is split between County Durham and North Yorkshire as it also incorporates a number of smaller towns including...
in 1950. LOF became a public company in 1951. In 1952 Furness completed two more tankers for LOF, the London Victory (I) and London Majesty. In the same year Sir James Laing and Sons Ltd on the River Wear
River Wear
The River Wear is located in North East England, rising in the Pennines and flowing eastwards, mostly through County Durham, to the North Sea at Sunderland.-Geology and history:...
in Sunderland, completed two tankers for LOF: the London Glory (I) and London Spirit (I).
LOF had intended to operate a mixed fleet of tankers and dry cargo ships. However, the costs of buying new tankers rose considerably so by the end of 1953 LOF sold all of its dry cargo ships. Furness completed the London Splendour (I) in 1953, London Loyalty in 1954 and London Integrity in 1955. In 1959 the Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
took over the Loyalty and Integrity as bareboat charters for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary
Royal Fleet Auxiliary
The Royal Fleet Auxiliary is a civilian-manned fleet owned by the British Ministry of Defence. The RFA enables ships of the United Kingdom Royal Navy to maintain operations around the world. Its primary role is to supply the Royal Navy with fuel, ammunition and supplies, normally by replenishment...
, who renamed them RFA Brambleleaf and RFA Bayleaf
RFA Bayleaf (A79)
RFA Bayleaf was a Leaf-class support tanker of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, and the second ship to bear the name.Bayleaf was launched by the Furness Shipbuilding Company of Stockton-on-Tees. She was launched as the civilian London Integrity for London & Overseas Freighters in 1954 and completed in...
respectively.
Expansion and diversification
In 1956 LOF in association with Philip Hill, Higginson & Co LtdHill Samuel
Hill Samuel is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lloyds TSB's Offshore Private Banking unit. It was formerly a leading British merchant bank and financial services firm before the takeover by TSB Group Plc. in 1987, which itself merged with Lloyds Bank to become Lloyds TSB in 1995.-History:In 1832,...
founded a subsidiary, London & Overseas Tankers, in Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
. LOT took a 50% interest in another Bermudian company, London & Overseas Bulk Carriers. LOT ordered six tankers and LOBC ordered two bulk carrier
Bulk carrier
A bulk carrier, bulk freighter, or bulker is a merchant ship specially designed to transport unpackaged bulk cargo, such as grains, coal, ore, and cement in its cargo holds. Since the first specialized bulk carrier was built in 1852, economic forces have fueled the development of these ships,...
s.
In 1957 LOF led a consortium of three companies that took over the Austin & Pickersgill
A&P Group
A&P Group Ltd is the largest ship repair and conversion company in the UK, with three shipyards located in Hebburn, Middlesbrough and Falmouth. The Company undertakes a wide variety of maintenance and repair work on commercial and military ships with projects ranging from a two day alongside repair...
shipyard in Sunderland. In 1968 A&P took over another Wearside
River Wear
The River Wear is located in North East England, rising in the Pennines and flowing eastwards, mostly through County Durham, to the North Sea at Sunderland.-Geology and history:...
shipyard, Bartram & Sons Ltd. In 1970 LOF bought out its partners to take 100% ownership of A&P.
LOF continued to buy new tankers. Furness Shipbuilding completed the London Tradition in 1957 and the London Explorer in 1959, and Koninklijke Maatschappij on the Scheldt
Scheldt
The Scheldt is a 350 km long river in northern France, western Belgium and the southwestern part of the Netherlands...
in Flushing, Netherlands
Flushing, Netherlands
Vlissingen is a municipality and a city in the southwestern Netherlands on the former island of Walcheren. With its strategic location between the Scheldt river and the North Sea, Vlissingen has been an important harbour for centuries. It was granted city rights in 1315. In the 17th century...
, completed the London Harmony in 1959. Uddevallavarvet AB of Uddevalla
Uddevalla
Uddevalla is a city and the seat of Uddevalla Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 30,513 inhabitants in 2005.It is located at the bay Byfjorden, of the south-eastern part of the sea known as Skagerrak...
in Sweden completed the tanker London Independence in 1961. Rheinstahl Nordseewerke
Nordseewerke
Nordseewerke is a shipbuilding company located in Emden, Germany. The name Nordseewerke means "North Sea shipyard" in German. The shipyard employs some 1,400 people and is the second-largest plant in Emden, following Volkswagen...
of Emden
Emden
Emden is a city and seaport in the northwest of Germany, on the river Ems. It is the main city of the region of East Frisia; in 2006, the city had a total population of 51,692.-History:...
in Germany completed the Overseas Adventurer for LOT in 1963.
LOF returned to dry cargo ships in 1963 with the London Craftsman, London Statesman
MV London Statesman
MV London Statesman was a dry cargo ship built by Uddevallavarvet AB, Uddevalla in Sweden for London & Overseas Freighters . She was launched on 30 January 1963 and completed on 26 June of that year...
and London Tradesman all from Uddevallavarvet and London Banker (II) from Bijker's Aannemingsbedrijk of Gorinchem
Gorinchem
Gorinchem , also called Gorkum , is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of 21.99 km² of which 3.03 km² is water...
on the IJssel
IJssel
River IJssel , sometimes called Gelderse IJssel to avoid confusion with its Hollandse IJssel namesake in the west of the Netherlands, is a branch of the Rhine in the Dutch provinces of Gelderland and Overijssel...
in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. Koninklijke Maatschappij completed the London Advocate in 1964 and Uddevallavarvet completed the London Citizen in 1965. LOF's shift of emphasis to dry cargo continued when Industria Navali Meccaniche Affini in La Spezia
La Spezia
La Spezia , at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the Liguria region of northern Italy, is the capital city of the province of La Spezia. Located between Genoa and Pisa on the Ligurian Sea, it is one of the main Italian military and commercial harbours and hosts one of Italy's biggest military...
, Italy, converted three LOF tankers to bulk carriers: the London Splendour (I) in 1966 and the London Tradition and London Explorer in 1967.
Mayfair Tankers
In the 1960s LOF created a subsidiary in Greece, Mayfair Tankers, to benefit from the lower taxes in that country. In 1965 LOF transferred at least three tankers to its subsidiary. The London Endurance became the Erato, the London Glory became the Giannina and the London Spirit became the Salamis. The Erato and Giannina were scrapped in Spain in 1969 and the Salamis was scrapped in Taiwan in 1970.LOF transferred Mayfair Tankers to the flag of convenience
Flag of convenience
The term flag of convenience describes the business practice of registering a merchant ship in a sovereign state different from that of the ship's owners, and flying that state's civil ensign on the ship. Ships are registered under flags of convenience to reduce operating costs or avoid the...
of Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
. The bulk carrier London Splendour (I) was registered in Liberia as the Mayfair Splendour in 1970. In 1972 the Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
returned the London Loyalty to LOF, who immediately transferred her to Mayfair Tankers and registered her in Liberia as the Mayfair Loyalty.
Eventually LOF stopped operating ships via its Mayfair Tankers subsidiary. However, LOF continued transferring some ships to London & Overseas Tankers in order to pay less tax. These ships included the Overseas Adventurer, Overseas Ambassador, Overseas Argonaut, Overseas Courier, Overseas Discoverer, Overseas Explorer and Overseas Pioneer.
The 1970s
In 1971 KockumsKockums
Kockums AB is a shipyard in Malmö, Sweden owned by the German shipyard Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft in Kiel. HDW itself is a subsidiary of the German ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems....
of Malmö
Malmö
Malmö , in the southernmost province of Scania, is the third most populous city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg.Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County...
in Sweden completed LOF's first supertanker, named the London Pride (II) as a replacement of the tanker of the same name launched in 1950. At 255090 long tons (285,701.7 ST) deadweight
Deadweight tonnage
Deadweight tonnage is a measure of how much weight a ship is carrying or can safely carry. It is the sum of the weights of cargo, fuel, fresh water, ballast water, provisions, passengers, and crew...
she was a VLCC, larger than any other LOF ship before or since.
On 10 July 1972 the London Statesman was unloading a cargon of rice at Nha Trang
Nha Trang
Nha Trang is a coastal city and capital of Khanh Hoa province, on the South Central Coast of Vietnam. It is bounded on the North by Ninh Hoà district, on the East by the South China Sea, on the South by Cam Ranh town and on the West by Diên Khánh district...
in South Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
when her engine room
Engine room
On a ship, the engine room, or ER, commonly refers to the machinery spaces of a vessel. To increase the safety and damage survivability of a vessel, the machinery necessary for operations may be segregated into various spaces, the engine room is one of these spaces, and is generally the largest...
flooded and she sank by the stern. Sabotage by the Viet Cong was suspected. On 31 July she was refloated and towed to Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
for repairs. She remained in the LOF fleet until 1979.
In 1973 the MoD returned the London Integrity. However, in the same year it bareboat chartered the Overseas Adventurer as the RFA Cherryleaf
RFA Cherryleaf (A82)
RFA Cherryleaf was a Leaf-class small fleet tanker of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, the third ship to bear this name.She was launched in Emden, Germany in 1962 as Overseas Adventurer for a subsidiary of London & Overseas Freighters...
.
LOF modernised its dry cargo fleet with four new SD14
SD14
SD14 can refer to:*Sigma SD14 digital single-lens reflex camera produced by the Sigma Corporation of Japan* The SD14 cargo ship built by Austin & Pickersgill...
shelter deck ships built by its A&P subsidiary: the London Cavalier, London Fusilier and London Grenadier in 1972 and the London Bombardier in 1973. LOF then entered the bulk carrier
Bulk carrier
A bulk carrier, bulk freighter, or bulker is a merchant ship specially designed to transport unpackaged bulk cargo, such as grains, coal, ore, and cement in its cargo holds. Since the first specialized bulk carrier was built in 1852, economic forces have fueled the development of these ships,...
tramp trade with three new B26 bulk carriers built by A&P: the London Baron, London Earl and London Viscount, all built in 1977.
Welsh Ore Carriers
LOF bought a 50% share in Welsh Ore Carriers in 1961 and a further 1% in 1969. Under LOF control WOC bought new ships from A&P and Bartram including Welsh Herald in 1963, the SD14 shelter deck cargo ships Welsh Trident in 1973 and Welsh Troubadour in 1974 and the B26 bulk carrier Welsh Voyager in 1977. WOC was renamed Welsh Overseas Freighters in 1977 and LOF bought the remaining 49% of shares from the West Wales Steamship Co in 1982. By then WOC had sold its SD14's, but Welsh Voyager entered the LOF fleet as London Voyager.Adversity & restructuring
LOF's profitability was reduced by the 1973 oil crisis1973 oil crisis
The 1973 oil crisis started in October 1973, when the members of Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries or the OAPEC proclaimed an oil embargo. This was "in response to the U.S. decision to re-supply the Israeli military" during the Yom Kippur war. It lasted until March 1974. With the...
and the 1977 nationalisation of the UK's shipbuilding industry
Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Act 1977
The Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Act 1977 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that nationalised large parts of the UK aerospace and shipbuilding industries and established two corporations, British Aerospace and British Shipbuilders ....
. LOF laid up a number of its ships in a bay near Piraeus in Greece, including the London Pride (II) in 1981. LOF sold the London Pride (II) in 1982 and she was scrapped in the Far East in 1983.
LOF returned to smaller tankers with the Panamax
Panamax
Panamax and New Panamax are popular terms for the size limits for ships traveling through the Panama Canal. Formally, the limits and requirements are published by the Panama Canal Authority titled "Vessel Requirements"...
-sized London Victory (II) and London Spirit (II) completed by Mitsui
Mitsui
is one of the largest corporate conglomerates in Japan and one of the largest publicly traded companies in the world.-History:Founded by Mitsui Takatoshi , who was the fourth son of a shopkeeper in Matsusaka, in what is now today's Mie prefecture...
in Japan in 1982. These were joined by the London Enterprise (II), completed by Hitachi
Hitachi
Hitachi is a multinational corporation specializing in high-technology.Hitachi may also refer to:*Hitachi, Ibaraki, Japan*Hitachi province, former province of Japan*Prince Hitachi and Princess Hitachi, members of the Japanese imperial family...
in Japan in 1983. After about 1986 the business began to recover. In 1989 Chevron
Chevron Corporation
Chevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporation headquartered in San Ramon, California, United States and active in more than 180 countries. It is engaged in every aspect of the oil, gas, and geothermal energy industries, including exploration and production; refining,...
made a two-year charter for the London Victory, later expanded into a five-year charter for both the her and her sister ship the London Spirit.
In 1992 LOF moved to Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
to restructure its debts. Mitsui completed three new Suezmax
Suezmax
Suezmax is a naval architecture term for the largest ship measurements capable of transiting the Suez Canal, and is almost exclusively used in reference to tankers. Since the canal has no locks, the only serious limiting factors are draft , and height due to the Suez Canal Bridge...
tankers for the fleet: the London Pride (III) in 1993 for charter to Chevron and the London Glory (III) and London Splendour (II) in 1995 for spot market
Spot market
The spot market or cash market is a public financial market, in which financial instruments or commodities are traded for immediate delivery. It contrasts with a futures market in which delivery is due at a later date...
tramp trading. LOF reported increased profits in 1994 and 1995.
In June 1995 Chevron's charters of the London Spirit and London Victory expired. Chevron closed two of its refineries that year and did not renew the charters. In August 1996 LOF reported lower profits and in December of that year LOF reported that it was struggling to resist a hostile takeover.
Sale of the fleet
In 1997 a Swedish shipping company, Frontline Shipping AB, also moved its operations to Bermuda. Frontline took a 51% controlling share in LOF, ending its independent history 49 years after its incorporation.Frontline renamed the Suezmax tankers London Pride (III), London Glory (III) and London Splendour (II) as the Front Pride, Front Glory and Front Splendour respectively. As of June 2010 all three tankers are still listed in the Frontline fleet.