Clan Line of Steamers Limited

The Clan Line was founded in 1877 in Liverpool as C. W. Cayzer & Company, trading from the UK to India. The company became Cayzer, Irvine & Company in 1878 when Captain William Irvine joined the firm. In 1881 the Clan Line Association of Steamers was formed and, with an influential Glasgow businessman joining the firm, the company was moved to Glasgow. Clan Line head office was established at 109 Hope Street, Glasgow. New ships were built and managed for the Association by Cayzer Irvine, with Cayzer retaining ownership of the original six Clan ships.

In 1890 the name of the company became The Clan Line of Steamers Limited with Cayzer holding majority interest. The company purchased the Persian Gulf Steam Ship Company in 1894 and their fleet of four ships. Fare at this time from Liverpool to Madras or Calcutta was £45 first class and £30 second class.

The company became Cayzer, Irvine & Company, Limited, in 1907 and in 1918 the assets of the Scottish Shire Line were acquired. The same year the Houston Line was taken over together with the British and South American Steam Navigation Company, but all three of these companies retained their own system of ship naming, colors and liveries.

In 1956 a merger took place between the Clan and Union-Castle groups (including King Line and Bullard King & Company) to form the British & Commonwealth Shipping Limited and many transfers between component companies within the group took place after this date.

The South African based subsidiary Springbok Shipping Company was formed in 1959 to operate South African services and several Clan ships were transferred to this new company, which in 1961 became part of Safmarine. Hector Whaling came into the group in 1962.

In 1981, the Clan Line ceased trading but Cayzer Irvine managed ships until 1987, including the Stirling Universal for Union-Castle from 1981-1987. When Cayzer sold the British & Commonwealth Shipping Company Cayzer Irvine changed its name to C I Shipping, Limited and managed the ship for a further year prior to its sale to Iran in 1988.

 (Thanks to Vic McClymont for input on the history of this line.)

The above information was extracted from the Ships List Website.

Clan Davidson had two ships in the line named after us. Both had interesting histories as seen below. If anyone has any additional information please let the webmaster know so it can also be included.

Clan Davidson (I) was built in 1911 weighed in at 5,058 tons. She was torpedoed and sunk off Sicily with 14 lives lost during WWI in 1917.

Clan Davidson II on the River Mersey of Birkenhead.  Picture by John Clarkson, Preston. Date unknown

Clan Davidson (II) had a little bit of a longer history. The following was extracted from the Shipping Today and Yesterday June 2002 Issue No. 148

The following was taken from the Merchant Navy Officer website.

Three of the CLAN Cameron class steamers were requisitioned by the Admiralty while still on the stocks at Greenock Dockyard and were completed as H.M.S. ATHENE, H.M.S. ENGADINE and H.M.S. BONAVENTURE, the first two as seaplane depot ships. H.M.S. BONAVENTURE was commissioned into the Royal Navy on 23rd January 1943 as a depot ship for ‘X’ craft midget submarines and for the next two years operated from secret hideouts on the coast of Scotland for operations against enemy occupied Norway. On 22nd September 1943 her midget submarines made the daring attack on the Tirpitz in Altenfjord and she also conducted all the training for midget and human torpedoes. She carried out in total, three operations off the Norwegian Coast and then her craft took part in the D- Day operations. H.M.S. BONAVENTURE sailed for the Pacific on 21st February 1945, with a second flotilla of midget submarines for operations against the Japanese. A few weeks before Japan surrendered they penetrated the defences of the Jahore Strait and torpedoed the Japanese cruiser Takao. They also cut the marine cable between Singapore – Saigon – Japan, which forced the enemy to use radio, which could be picked up and deciphered by the Allies. She also flew the flag of an American Admiral commanding submarines of the U.S. seventh fleet for a while. The Officers and Men of the flotilla won four Victoria Crosses. After the war had ended she was used as a Navy Transport steaming over 60,000 miles between Australia, Japan, China, Malaya and the Philippines. She rescued 85 survivors and a dog from the frigate H.M.S. AIRE, aground on the notorious Bombay Reef, on Christmas Eve 1946. Bombay Reef lies just off the main Hong Kong to Singapore shipping lanes. In spring of 1947 the H.M.S. BONAVENTURE returned home for a thorough overhaul before returning to Clan Line service in early 1948 as CLAN DAVIDSON.2

The Clan Davidson as the H.M.S. BONADVENTURE during WWII with submarines around her

Another picture of the Clan Davidson after the war