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British Tanker Company
British Tanker Company Limited was the maritime transport arm of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, the forerunner of BP. Formed in 1915 with an initial fleet of seven oil tankers, the British Tanker Company became the BP Tanker Company in 1955.
From the moment oil was discovered in Persia (now Iran) in May 1908, the issue arose of how best to ship it back to Britain. The Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC) initially employed independent contractors; principally the Asiatic Petroleum Company, a subsidiary of Shell, to carry the oil by sea. In 1912 the company acquired its first ocean going ship, the SS Ferrara, a conventional freighter that carried oil products in metal cases. Tankers were unable to berth in Abadan owing to a natural sand bar off the coast known as the Shatt-al-Arab Bar, and often had to anchor up to 40 miles from the port. This meant oil had to be lightered out to the ships. Accordingly, APOC made two further shipping purchases, a barge Friesland and a tug Sirdar-i-Naphte. This situation remained until the mid 1920s when the bar was eventually dredged to allow ships direct access to the port.
However, the directors of APOC soon decided it would be better for the company to possess its own fleet of tankers. It set up the British Tanker Company Limited (BTC) in April 1915, with an initial capital of £100,000. The BTC placed orders with two Tyneside based shipbuilders, Armstrong Whitworth and Swan Hunter, for a total of seven steam-powered oil tankers. The names of the first ships bore the prefix British, and most future additions to the fleet followed the same naming convention. This acknowledged the fact that the British government had invested heavily in the fledgling company to ensure a supply of fuel oil for the Royal Navy.
BTC's first tanker was the 3,663 grt British Emperor, launched in 1916. She was employed to take oil from Abadan to the ports of Bombay, Karachi, Madras and Calcutta. She was the only BTC vessel not to be chartered by the Admiralty in World War I. Her career eventually ended in 1941, when she was sunk by the Pinguin, after evading all the Pinguin's attempts to capture her intact.
BTC's share capital was doubled to £200,000 in 1916, and further increased to £3,000,000 in November 1917.
In 1917 APOC made a successful offer to the British government for the assets of the former German-owned Benzin und Petroleum BP AG seized on the outbreak of war. This included the associate Petroleum Steamship Company (PSSC) whose 13 oil tankers passed into BTC ownership. The same year BTC was chosen by the Royal Navy to manage seven Royal Fleet Auxiliary tankers, giving it management experience that proved valuable post-war. The PSSC, now a subsidiary of BTC, took over ownership of the locally manned and managed fleet of small craft operating at Abadan.
By 1919 the fleet had grown to 25 ships, a motley collection of new and second hand vessels including the Scandinavia, the only sailing ship ever operated by BTC.
Over the next decade, the demand for oil grew throughout the industrialised world, and BTC expanded its fleet accordingly. By 1924 the fleet numbered 60 vessels. The 60th ship was the new flagship, the 6,998 grt British Aviator. She was the BTC's first diesel engined oil tanker, and was at that time the most powerful single-screw motor ship in the world. A significant event was the signing of a contract with P&O in 1923 to supply bunkering facilities for the latter's ships.
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British Tanker Company
British Tanker Company Limited was the maritime transport arm of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, the forerunner of BP. Formed in 1915 with an initial fleet of seven oil tankers, the British Tanker Company became the BP Tanker Company in 1955.
From the moment oil was discovered in Persia (now Iran) in May 1908, the issue arose of how best to ship it back to Britain. The Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC) initially employed independent contractors; principally the Asiatic Petroleum Company, a subsidiary of Shell, to carry the oil by sea. In 1912 the company acquired its first ocean going ship, the SS Ferrara, a conventional freighter that carried oil products in metal cases. Tankers were unable to berth in Abadan owing to a natural sand bar off the coast known as the Shatt-al-Arab Bar, and often had to anchor up to 40 miles from the port. This meant oil had to be lightered out to the ships. Accordingly, APOC made two further shipping purchases, a barge Friesland and a tug Sirdar-i-Naphte. This situation remained until the mid 1920s when the bar was eventually dredged to allow ships direct access to the port.
However, the directors of APOC soon decided it would be better for the company to possess its own fleet of tankers. It set up the British Tanker Company Limited (BTC) in April 1915, with an initial capital of £100,000. The BTC placed orders with two Tyneside based shipbuilders, Armstrong Whitworth and Swan Hunter, for a total of seven steam-powered oil tankers. The names of the first ships bore the prefix British, and most future additions to the fleet followed the same naming convention. This acknowledged the fact that the British government had invested heavily in the fledgling company to ensure a supply of fuel oil for the Royal Navy.
BTC's first tanker was the 3,663 grt British Emperor, launched in 1916. She was employed to take oil from Abadan to the ports of Bombay, Karachi, Madras and Calcutta. She was the only BTC vessel not to be chartered by the Admiralty in World War I. Her career eventually ended in 1941, when she was sunk by the Pinguin, after evading all the Pinguin's attempts to capture her intact.
BTC's share capital was doubled to £200,000 in 1916, and further increased to £3,000,000 in November 1917.
In 1917 APOC made a successful offer to the British government for the assets of the former German-owned Benzin und Petroleum BP AG seized on the outbreak of war. This included the associate Petroleum Steamship Company (PSSC) whose 13 oil tankers passed into BTC ownership. The same year BTC was chosen by the Royal Navy to manage seven Royal Fleet Auxiliary tankers, giving it management experience that proved valuable post-war. The PSSC, now a subsidiary of BTC, took over ownership of the locally manned and managed fleet of small craft operating at Abadan.
By 1919 the fleet had grown to 25 ships, a motley collection of new and second hand vessels including the Scandinavia, the only sailing ship ever operated by BTC.
Over the next decade, the demand for oil grew throughout the industrialised world, and BTC expanded its fleet accordingly. By 1924 the fleet numbered 60 vessels. The 60th ship was the new flagship, the 6,998 grt British Aviator. She was the BTC's first diesel engined oil tanker, and was at that time the most powerful single-screw motor ship in the world. A significant event was the signing of a contract with P&O in 1923 to supply bunkering facilities for the latter's ships.