ships were often transferred back and forth between the subsidiary companies. Postwar Another building programme was enacted to replace wartime losses, supplemented by the purchase or hire of existing ships including Empire ships such as Empire Castle and Empire Strength from the Ministry of War Transport. In 1952 Austasia Line was formed to operate services between Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Australia, while Blue Star Line took over the North American routes previously operated by Donaldson Line in 1954. In 1957 Blue Star Line joined with three other shipping companies, the New Zealand Shipping Company, Port Line and Shaw, Savill & Albion to form the Crusader Shipping Company, and in 1965 entered a partnership with Italian shippers to form Calmeda S.p.A. di Nav, Cagliari. Blue Star Line now had global interests, with ports of call on the Pacific North American coast, in Japan, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, South America and Italy. They were also one of the major shareholders, along with several other large shipping firms, in British United Airways. Reorganisation and decline Blue Star Line divested itself of its holdings in British United Airways in 1968 and became one of the founding partners that year in Associated Container Transportation (ACT), along with the Ben Line, Cunard (Port Line), Harrison Line and Ellerman Lines. Blue Star Line gradually moved towards containerization, ending its passenger services to South America in 1972. Blue Star took over ACT's Pacific Australia Container Express (PACE) line which operated between the USA and Australia. In 1982–83 Blue Star Line assisted in the defence of the Falkland Islands by managing the barracks ship at Port Stanley. Also managed MV Avelona Star at the time under requisition of MOD. Blue Star Line was bought by P&O Nedlloyd in 1998, which acquired the name and most of the assets, with the exception of most of the reefer ships, which were kept by the Vestey Group under the name Albion Reefers, and then merged with Hamburg Süd's reefer fleet under the name Star Reefers. Star Reefers was sold in July 2001 to Norwegian interests, and then subsequently merged with NYK Group as NYK Star Reefers Ltd. The Blue Star Line ships bought by P&O Nedlloyd, which included those operated as part of ACT, continued in service with P&O Nedlloyd under Blue Star Line names and liveries. Some of the original Blue Star vessels sold to P&O Nedlloyd traded until February 2003