BHP Shipping
title: "BHP Shipping" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["bhp", "shipping-companies-of-australia", "ships-of-bhp-shipping"] topic_path: "geography/australia" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BHP_Shipping" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
BHP Shipping was an Australian ship transport and shipbuilding arm of BHP.
BHP Shipping traces its origins to 1915 when BHP chartered the SS Emerald Wings to transport its first load of iron ore from Whyalla to Newcastle on 19 January 1915. In 1917, shipping agent William Scott Fell & Co arranged for BHP to purchase a share in the steamer SS Koolonga. BHP purchased the ship outright on 30 July 1918 and it was renamed SS Iron Monarch. The BHP Shipping Department was formed on that date, headed up by who had previously assisted in the shipping arrangements for the 1909 Nimrod Expedition and served on the Advisory Committee to the 1917 Ross Sea Party rescue. Captain William Halley, former master of the Emerald Wings, became Marine Superintendent of the Shipping Department. BHP Shipping was established as a subsidiary shipping line for the parent company in 1921.
As early as 1923 the company considered building its own ships but instead decided to manufacture steel hull plates, a major customer being the Commonwealth Shipping Line. However, in 1939 the company accepted a government request to establish a shipbuilding facility at Whyalla. By 1940 the BHP Whyalla Shipyard had five slipways capable of building ships up to 15,000GT. The first ship constructed at the shipyard was HMAS Whyalla. Between 1941 and 1978, the shipyard produced 63 vessels, of which 15 were built as BHP property. BHP shipping also chartered additional vessels constructed in Whyalla.
Following World War 2, BHP Shipping acquired more bulk carries to carry iron ore, coal and steel products. The ships increased in size up to the 1980s when demand for steel began to decline. From that time some of the ships were used to carry coal, coke and iron ore to export customers.
In December 1983, BHP Shipping was absorbed into BHP Transport Ltd.
BHP Shipping transferred wharves and shore operations to each refinery site ahead of the demerger of BlueScope in 2002. BlueScope also inherited several of the ships.
The remaining fleet is part of BHP Transport and Logistics Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of BHP.
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Fleet summary
::data[format=table]
| Name | Type | Entered BHP service | Left BHP service | Disposition | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SS Emerald Wings (later SS Iron Baron) | General cargo | {{dts | format=dmy | 1915 | }} (chartered) |
| (purchased) | Sold to E B Aaby | ||||
| {{ship | SS | Southborough | 6}} | General cargo | {{dts |
| (1st) | General cargo | {{dts | format=dmy | 1916 | }} |
| {{ship | SS | Omana | 6}} | General cargo | |
| SS Koolonga (later SS Iron Monarch) | General cargo | (part purchased) | |||
| (purchased outright) | {{dts | format=dmy | 1937 | }} | Sold to Madrigal & Co |
| (1st) | General cargo | {{dts | format=dmy | 1919 | }} |
| {{ship | SS | Grelwin | 6}} (sometimes written as Grelwyn) | General cargo | |
| SS Westborough | Steel cargo | Returned to Hopkins, Jones & Co | Sunk off Stavanger on 4 April 1943 | ||
| {{ship | SS | Iron Knob | 6}} | General cargo | |
| {{ship | SS | Iron Crown | 6}} | General cargo | {{dts |
| {{ship | SS | Iron Master | 6}} | General cargo | |
| (2nd) | Bulk cargo | Sold to Cambray Prince Steamship Co Ltd | Broken up December 1959 | ||
| SS Iron Warrior (1st) | General cargo | {{dts | format=dmy | 1925 | }} |
| (2nd) | General cargo | {{dts | format=dmy | 1930 | }} |
| (2nd) | Ore carrier | {{dts | format=dmy | 1936 | }} |
| Ore carrier | {{dts | format=dmy | 1936 | }} | |
| Ore carrier | {{dts | format=dmy | 1937 | }} | |
| (1st) | Ore carrier | {{dts | format=dmy | 1937 | }} |
| {{ship | SS | Kenilworth | 6}} | General cargo | {{dts |
| (2nd) | Ore carrier | {{dts | format=dmy | 1972 | |
| (originally SS Iron Duke II) | Ore carrier | Sold to Pac Trade Navigation Co | Broken up September 1971 | ||
| {{ship | SS | Iron Yampi | 6}} | General cargo | |
| {{ship | SS | Iron Kimberley | 6}} | General cargo | |
| {{ship | SS | Bellerby | 6}} | General cargo | (chartered) |
| {{ship | SS | Iron Derby | 6}} | General cargo | {{dts |
| {{ship | SS | Iron Wyndham | 6}} | General cargo | {{dts |
| (1st) | General cargo | Sold to Selco (Hong Kong) Ltd | Broken up July 1979 | ||
| SS Iron Knight (2nd) | General cargo | {{dts | format=dmy | 1971 | |
| {{ship | SS | Iron Spencer | 6}} (1st) | Ore carrier | {{dts |
| {{ship | SS | Iron Flinders | 6}} (1st) | Ore carrier | {{dts |
| {{ship | SS | Age | 6}} | General cargo | (chartered) |
| {{ship | SS | Iron Dampier | 6}} (1st) | Ore carrier | {{dts |
| SS Iron Warrior (2nd) | General cargo | Sold to Hi-Firm Corporation | Broken up July 1975 | ||
| MV Iron Clipper | Bulk carrier | (chartered) | Returned to Anglo-Pacific Shipping Company Ltd | Broken up May 1984 | |
| MV Iron Cavalier | Bulk carrier | (chartered) | Returned to Anglo-Pacific Shipping Company Ltd | Broken up May 1984 | |
| {{ship | SS | Iron Hunter | 6}} | Ore carrier | |
| {{ship | MV | Iron Endeavour | 6}} | Panamax bulk carrier | {{dts |
| {{ship | MV | Iron Somersby | 6}} | Bulk carrier | {{dts |
| {{ship | MV | Iron Banbury | 6}} | General cargo | {{dts |
| (3rd) | General cargo | (chartered) | |||
| (purchased) | Sold to Epping Marine Co Ltd | Broken up Obtober 1986 | |||
| MV Iron Parkgate | Bulk carrier | (chartered) | Returned to Nytoncrest Pty Ltd | Broken up July 1985 | |
| {{ship | MV | Iron Sirius | 6}} | Bulk carrier | (chartered) |
| (3rd) | General cargo/ro-ro | {{dts | format=dmy | 2002 | |
| (2nd) | General cargo/ro-ro | {{dts | format=dmy | 1974 | }} |
| MV Iron Cumberland | Bulk carrier | (chartered) | Returned to Glentara Ltd | Sank near the Pitcairn Islands on 14 June 1987 | |
| {{ship | MV | Iron Arnhem | 6}} | General cargo/ro-ro | |
| {{ship | MV | Iron York | 6}} | General cargo/ro-ro | |
| {{ship | MV | Iron Kestrel | 6}} | Bulk carrier | (chartered) |
| {{ship | MV | Iron Kerry-Kirby | 6}} | Bulk carrier | (chartered) |
| {{ship | MV | Iron Capricorn | 6}} | Bulk carrier | |
| {{ship | MV | Mundoora | 6}} | General cargo | (chartered) |
| MV Iron Mittagong | Ore carrier | (chartered) | Returned to Bulkships Ltd | Broken up December 1982 | |
| MV Iron Gerrigong | Ore carrier | (chartered) | Returned to Bulkships Ltd | Broken up October 1985 | |
| MV Iron Bogong | Bulk carrier | (chartered) | |||
| (purchased) | Sold to China Dismantled Vessels Trading Corp | Broken up March 1983 | |||
| {{ship | MV | Iron Carpentaria | 6}} | Bulk carrier | |
| {{ship | MV | Iron Curtis | 6}} | Bulk carrier | |
| {{ship | MV | Iron Shortland | 6}} | Bulk carrier | {{dts |
| {{ship | MV | Iron Sturt | 6}} | Bulk chemical tanker | {{dts |
| MV Iron Myarra | Ore carrier | (chartered) | Returned to Alcoa Australia | Broken up October 1983 | |
| (4th) | Bulk carrier | {{dts | format=dmy | 1980 | }} |
| {{ship | MV | Iron Whyalla | 6}} (2nd) | Bulk carrier | {{dts |
| {{ship | MV | Iron Spencer | 6}} (2nd) | Bulk carrier | {{dts |
| {{ship | MV | Iron Prince | 6}} (3rd) | Bulk carrier | {{dts |
| {{ship | MV | Iron Newcastle | 6}} | Bulk carrier | {{dts |
| {{ship | MV | Iron Kembla | 6}} | Bulk carrier | {{dts |
| {{ship | MV | Iron Pacific | 6}} | Bulk carrier | |
| :: |
References
References
- Sir Douglas Mawson. (n.d.). "The Home of the Blizzard, being the story of the Australasian Antarctic expedition, 1911–1914 Vol. I". Ballantyne Press.
- (March 1917). "The Relief of Shackleton's Ross Sea Party". The Geographical Journal.
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