BP Shipping
Introduction '''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, 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===''British Emperor'', launched in 1916Having 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 seven 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 World War II 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 two 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  of crude oil. A significant development of the tanker fleet was seen in the building of the ''British Admiral'', the first 100,000 dwt tanker built in Europe and launched at Barrow-in-Furness in 1965 by Elizabeth II.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.Employing 2,800 people based mainly in London, Singapore and Chicago, at the end of 2006 BP Shipping managed:*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 charterResulting in:*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 bargesThe 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.Other marine holdings include:*BP Shipcare: a lay-up facility located in East Malaysia*Alaska Tanker Company: minority shareholding in four purpose-built ships of 110,693 GT retained on time charter to transport crude oil from Alaska to US west coast  ports. The ships are ''Alaskan Legend'', ''Alaskan Explorer'', ''Alaskan Frontier'' and ''Alaskan Navigator''. *China LNG Shipping: 40% shareholding in ship management service to LNG carriers serving the Guangdong LNG terminal
Fleet ===Retired ships===ClassBuilderTypeShipsFlagPort of RegistryServiceNotes Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Shuttle Tanker (DP2) ''Loch Rannoch''  Lerwick, Shetland 1998–2013 Returned to owners, Knutsen OAS, September 2013P ClassSamsung Heavy IndustriesVLCC ''British Pioneer''Douglas, Isle of Man 1999–2011 Renamed ''Ridgebury Pioneer''Scrapped 2018''British Pride'' 2000–2016 Renamed  ''Ridgebury Pride'' ''British Progress'' 2000–2016 Renamed ''Ridgebury Progress'' ''British Purpose'' 2000–2016 Renamed ''Ridgebury Purpose''Tree ClassTsuneishi ShipbuildingAframax''British Beech''Douglas, Isle of Man 2003–2015 renamed ''Sea Beech'' ''British Hazel'' 2004–2016 renamed ''Sea Hazel'' ''British Holly'' 2004–2016 renamed ''Sea Holly'' ''British Vine'' 2004–2016 renamed ''Sea Vine''===Active ships===ClassBuilderTypeShips in ClassFlagPort of Registry in ServiceNotesBird ClassSamsung Heavy IndustriesAframax''British Osprey''Douglas, Isle of Man2003 ''British Swift''2003 ''British Robin''2003''British Curlew''2004 ''British Cormorant''2005 ''British Gannet''2005 ''British Mallard''2005 ''British Merlin''2005 ''British Cygnet''2005 ''British Falcon''2006 ''British Eagle''2006 ''British Kestrel''2006E ClassHyundai Mipo DockyardMedium Range Products Tanker''British Esteem''London2003 ''British Explorer''2003 ''British Envoy''Douglas, Isle of Man2006 ''British Ensign''2006 ''British Emissary''  London2007Virtue ClassHyundai Mipo DockyardLarge Range Product Tanker ''British Integrity''Douglas, Isle of Man2004 ''British Liberty''2004''British Loyalty''2004 ''British Security''2004 ''British Tenacity''2004 ''British Unity''2004 ''British Fidelity''2004 ''British Chivalry''2005 ''British Courtesy''2005 ''British Harmony''2005 ''British Serenity''2005 ''British Tranquility''2005C ClassMitsubishi Heavy IndustriesLiquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) Carrier''British Commerce''Douglas, Isle of Man2006 ''British Courage''2006 ''British Councillor''2007Trader ClassSamsung Heavy IndustriesLNG carrier''British Trader''Douglas, Isle of Man2002First Spot-market LNG carriers. ''British Innovator''2002 ''British Merchant''2003Gem ClassHyundai Heavy IndustriesLNG carrier ''British Emerald''Douglas, Isle of Man2007First Dual-Fuel Diesel-Electric (DFDE) LNG carriers. ''British Diamond''2008 ''British Ruby''2008 ''British Sapphire''2008 Kawasaki Heavy Industries LNG carrier ''Northwest Shearwater''  Hamilton, Bermuda1991 Vessel operated for North West Shelf Venture.BargeBreko NieuwbouwLubricating Oil ''Victoria''Rotterdam, Netherlands2005Operated by Verenigde Tankrederij ''Vanora''2006V ClassDaewoo Shipbuilding and Marine EngineeringVLCC ''British Venture''Douglas, Isle of Man2013 ''British Vantage''2013R ClassSTX Offshore & ShipbuildingAframax ''British Respect''Douglas, Isle of Man2016 ''British Resource''2016 ''British Regard''2016 ''British Renown''2016 ''British Rigour''2016 ''British Restraint''2016 ''British Reliance''2016 ''British Resolution''2016 ''British Reason''2016Century ClassSTX Offshore & ShipbuildingSuezmax ''British Century''Douglas, Isle of Man2017 ''British Heritage''2017 ''British Tradition''2017Mariner ClassHyundai Mipo DockyardProduct Tanker ''British Mariner''Douglas, Isle of Man2016 ''British Navigator''2016 ''British Seafarer''2016 ''British Sailor''2016 ''British Cadet''2016 ''British Captain''2017 ''British Chief''2017 ''British Officer''2017 ''British Engineer''2017Cloud ClassHyundai Mipo DockyardHandysize ''British Cumulus''Douglas, Isle of Man2016 ''British Nimbus''2016 ''British Stratus''2017 ''British Altus''2017 ''British Cirrus''2017Partnership ClassDaewoo Shipbuilding & Marine EngineeringLNG carrier ''British Partner''  Douglas, Isle of Man2018 ''British Achiever''2018 ''British Contributor''2018 ''British Listener''2019 ''British Mentor''2019 ''British Sponsor''2019
References
External links * BP Shipping