Adelaide Steamship Company

Adelaide Steamship Company
IndustryCargo
FoundedSeptember 1875
Defunct2006
SuccessorMaersk Line
Headquarters
Adelaide
Area served
Australia
Adelaide Steamship Company building, Currie Street, Adelaide in 1917 (built 1903, dem. 1986)
The Adelaide Steamship Company Charles D'Ebro designed building in Melbourne during the early 1900s

The Adelaide Steamship Company was an Australian shipping company, later a diversified industrial and logistics conglomerate. It was formed by a group of South Australian businessmen in 1875. Their aim was to control the transport of goods between Adelaide and Melbourne and profit from the need for an efficient and comfortable passenger service.[1] For its first 100 years, the company's main activities were conventional shipping operations on the Australian coast, primary products, consumer cargoes and extensive passenger services.

In the 1930s and 1940s, the company diversified into the airline operations, towage, shipbuilding, and the shipping of salt, coal and sugar.[2] Adelaide Airways was formed in 1935, and purchased West Australian Airways before merging with Holyman's Airways to form Australian National Airways (ANA) in 1936. ANA was sold to Ansett Transport Industries in 1957.[3]

In 1964, the interstate fleet merged with McIlwraith, McEacharn & Co, and the partnership developed the world's first purpose-built container ships.[3][4][5][6] In 1973, the company ceased its shipbuilding operations, and in 1977, in its 103rd year of operation, sold its shipping-related businesses and ceased its connection with ship owning and operating.[7] It did, however, retain its interests in tugboat operations.

In the 1970s and 1980s, with John Spalvins[8] at the helm, the company became a corporate raider with a portfolio financed by huge borrowings. The recession of the early 1990s caused lenders, over 200 banks, to demand the return of their assets.[9][10] This forced the liquidation of the portfolio.[11][12][13]

With the completion of the liquidation, on 30 April 1997 the company was renamed Residual Assco Group Limited[14] in order that the Adelaide Steamship name could be reused. Residual Assco was delisted on 24 December 1999.[3][15] In June 1997, the tug boat operations were floated on the Australian Stock Exchange under the name Adsteam Marine.[3] In 2001, Adsteam Marine acquired its joint venture partner (and major rival as the premier Australian towage operator), Howard Smith. Adsteam Marine became the largest towage operator in Australia and the United Kingdom, with further extensive operations in the South Pacific.[16] In 2006, Adsteam Marine was acquired as the Pacific arm of the world's largest shipping company, AP Moeller-Maersk,[6][17] thus removing the Adelaide Steamship name from the Australian Stock Exchange and Australian Company registers.

  1. ^ Bach, John (1976). A Maritime History of Australia. Thomas Nelson (Australia). ISBN 978-0-17-005087-6.
  2. ^ "Adelaide Steamship Co Ltd (former) (entry 600381)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 11 July 2009.
  3. ^ a b c d The Adelaide Steamship Company history Archived 10 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine (2008). Shipping Line Histories: The Ocean Liner Virtual Museum. oceanlinermuseum.co.uk Retrieved on 6 July 2009.
  4. ^ The Adelaide Steamship Coy Ltd, Steamship buildings (2009). Picture Australia. Retrieved on 23 June 2009.
  5. ^ Made in Australia – Global Solutions From Down Under Archived 18 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine. (2005). Australia's Official World Expo Business Publication. Retrieved 23 June 2009.
  6. ^ a b Hopkins, Phillip (2006). Adsteam shares make waves after great Dane's $693m takeover bid Archived 27 July 2006 at the Wayback Machine. 4 July 2006, The Age: Business. Retrieved 23 June 2009.
  7. ^ Adelaide Steamship Co. Archived 9 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine (2007). The Ships List. Retrieved 23 June 2009.
  8. ^ Clarke et al. (2003) Corporate Collapse, pg.xiii
  9. ^ Macfarlane, Ian (2006). The real reasons why it was the 1990s recession we had to have Archived 28 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine. 9 December 2006. The Age: Business. Retrieved 26 June 2009. (Ian Macfarlane was Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), Australia's central bank, from 1996 to 17 September 2006.)
  10. ^ Sexton, Elisabeth (2007). Fresh twist in IEL's monster tax case Archived 31 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine. 28 December 2007. Brisbane Times Online. Retrieved 27 June 2009.
  11. ^ Fleming, Grant; Merrett, David; Ville, Simon (2004). The Big End of Town: Big Business and Corporate Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia. Cambridge University Press. p. 184. ISBN 978-1-139-45213-7.
  12. ^ Gettler, Leon (2004). Ex-Spalvins company forced to take $234m tax bill on board Archived 25 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 25 June 2009.
  13. ^ Randall, Jeff (2005). Wizards from Oz could fall as flat as Eddie the Eagle Archived 12 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Telegraph Online. Retrieved 27 July 2009.
  14. ^ The Adelaide Steamship Company Limited (AST) Archived 12 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine, 30 April 1997, Delisted Australian companies, delisted.com.au. Retrieved 12 July 2009.
  15. ^ Residual Assco Group Limited (RAG) Archived 12 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine, 24 December 1999, Delisted Australian companies, delisted.com.au. Retrieved on 12 July 2009.
    A subsequent entry dated 3 April 2007 states: " company is an unlisted public company awaiting resolution of outstanding tax issues – it may then be wound up – shareholders are unlikely to receive any return but they can contact the company on 02 9258 8833 or Registries Ltd on 02 9290 9600".
  16. ^ Gaston, Jack & Ware, Hugh (2001). One World, One Tug Company? Archived 21 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine Marcon International, Inc. Retrieved 25 June 2009.
  17. ^ Adsteam Marine (ADZ) Archived 6 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine delisted.com.au Retrieved on 22 July 2009. "Delisted following compulsory acquisition by Svitzer Australasia Services Pty Limited 17 May 2007."