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Swire Pacific Offshore is a division of
Swire Pacific Ltd, a publicly listed Hong Kong company, the major
shareholder being John Swire and Sons, and although the group has
interests as diverse as sugar refining and airlines, they started off as
shipping agents and ship-owners. In 1872 John Swire formed The China
Navigation Company, known to this day by some as Butterfield and Swire,
after the shipping agency venture which took John Swire to the far east in
1866. Butterfield left the firm in 1869, which shows what long memories
seafarers have. The company has remained in
shipping ever since and in the 1970s entered the offshore industry in
partnership with Northern Offshore, the initial fleet of six vessels being
based in Dubai. Further Japanese construction increased the size of the
fleet and in addition the company began to purchase European built tonnage
for more arduous activities, principally UT704s. They also brought some
vessels back to Europe including the Atlantic Guardian a post Cullen
Standby Vessel innovatively converted from a well stimulation vessel.
These early forays into the North Sea were managed on behalf of Swires by
the now defunct BP Shipping.
Associated Companies:
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