Australian National Line

Australian National Line is a coastal shipping line established by the Government of Australia in 1956. It was sold in 1998 to CMA CGM.

History

Australian National Line was formed on 1 October 1956 as the Australian Coastal Shipping Commission with the passing of the Australian Coastal Shipping Commission Act. The organisation took about forty ships previously operated by the Australian Shipping Board, which had been formed in 1946 by the federal government.
In March 1969, ANL commenced operating services to Japan in a joint venture with K Line.
In 1974, the Australian Coastal Shipping Commission was renamed the Australian Shipping Commission in recognition of its international role, it continued to trade as ANL.
The Australian National Line was an early member of the Australian Shipping and Defence Council which was established by the Government of Australia in 1982.

Privatisation

ANL was converted into a public company in 1989 via the ANL Act 1988, although it remained government-owned. In 1991, the Hawke government announced its intention to privatise ANL following poor financial performance. The Keating government passed the ANL Guarantee Act 1994 and commenced a restructuring of ANL in 1995 to prepare it for sale. A deal to sell it to P&O collapsed after the Maritime Union of Australia threatened a national strike in the lead up to the 1996 Australian federal election.
In December 1998, the Howard government sold ANL's liner shipping business to CMA CGM with two ships: Australian Endeavour and Australian Enterprise. In May 1999, the bulk shipping business was sold to Auscan Self-Unloaders, a subsidiary of Canada Steamship Lines, with two ships: River Torrens and River Yarra.
The residual assets of four leased ships on long-term sub-charter; alumina carriers River Boyne and River Embley and Bass Strait vessels Searoad Tamar and Searoad Mersey, were placed in the custody of the Australian River Company Limited. Searoad Tamar and Searoad Mersey were sold in June and September 2005 to their charterer, Patrick Shipping, while River Embley and River Boyne were sold to Singapore for scrap in May and August 2012. The Australian River Company Limited was wound up in 2015.

Services

Historical

The company entered the ferry business in 1959, when Tasmanian Steamers announced that it would be withdrawing from the Bass Strait. Its ship the Taroona was becoming totally inadequate, only being able to carry 30 cars, which had to be lifted aboard. As no replacement was available, the federal government decided that the Australian National Line should take over, and it would be provided with a subsidy with an order placed with the State Dockyard, Newcastle. The new ship was named Princess of Tasmania, was the first roll on/roll off ferry in the southern hemisphere and the largest. She entered the Melbourne to Devonport route on 23 September 1959. The new ship and route were such a success for the ANL ordered a cargo only ship, to be named Bass Trader.
With the passenger numbers going so well on the Princess of Tasmania and cargo going very well also, ANL decided that a regular passenger service from Sydney to Hobart should be re-established. An order was placed with Cockatoo Docks & Engineering Company. The new ship was christened Empress of Australia on 18 January 1964. Empress of Australia made her maiden voyage from Sydney to Hobart on 16 January 1965. The Empress of Australia operated from Sydney to Hobart and Sydney to Bell Bay/Burnie and back.
With the Princess of Tasmania going so well out of Melbourne, there needed to be more capacity on the route, so ANL ordered a new ship to be built at the State Dockyard. The new ship would be bigger, with smaller passenger capacity but more cargo space, an early example of the Ro/Pax concept. The new ship was launched on 17 February 1969 as the Australian Trader. On 24 June 1969, Australian Trader set out on her maiden voyage to Devonport. The new ship operated a rotation between Bell Bay, Devonport and Burnie.
On 27 June 1972 Princess of Tasmania left Devonport for the final time. ANL sold her to Bahamarine, Nassau and she left Australia on 7 October 1972. When the Princess of Tasmania left the route the Australian Trader swapped with her, and Empress of Australia replaced the Princess of Tasmania on the Melbourne to Devonport route.
ANL were involved in the 1975 Tasman Bridge disaster in Hobart, Tasmania, as the owner/operator of the Lake Illawarra, the bulk carrier which collided with the bridge, and consequently sank.
ANL announced that Australian Trader would be withdrawn from service, being replaced by a new freight only ship named Bass Trader.
On the final arrival of the Australian Trader in Bell Bay the crew went on strike. The ship remained idle there for two months. Finally on 24 September 1976 they gave up and she sailed to Sydney, laid-up and was offered for sale. The sale was completed on 16 January 1977 to the Royal Australian Navy as a training ship.
In 1983 the government of Tasmania were seeking from the federal government funds to charter a supplementary ship, being either Scotia Prince, St Patrick II, Stena Baltica or Odysseus Elytis. This was rejected.
In 1984 ANL announced that it would not be continuing in the ferry business, and the Empress of Australia would be withdrawn in 1985 and sold. This was then put into the hands of the Tasmanian Government which subsequently formed the TT-Line with the federal government agreeing to buy a ship.
The ceasing of the ANL's involvement in the passenger trade allowed it to concentrate solely on bulk freight and cargo. In December 1998, CMA CGM bought ANL's container shipping business and trading name from the federal government.
Commercially, ANL still operates the more traditional north–south directional trades, plus nearly 20 relatively new east–west directional trades riding on the services of CMA CGM.

Fleet summary

This is a list of ships owned or operated by ANL between its formation in 1956 and privatisation in 1998.

Name	Type	Entered ANL service	Left ANL service	Disposition	Fate
Baralga	General cargo			Sold to Nilmore	Scrapped 1980
Bilkurra	General cargo			Sold to Malaysian International Shipping	Scrapped 1974
Binburra	General cargo			Sold to Malaysian International Shipping	Scrapped 1974
Boonaroo	General cargo			Sold to Collin Navigation Co	Scrapped 1985
Bulwarra	General cargo			Sold to Collin Navigation Co	Ran aground off Keelung and broke apart on 22 October 1971, total loss
Dalby	General cargo			Sold to Cronulla Cia Nav	Ran aground off Keelung on 14 November 1971, abandoned as total loss
Dandenong	General cargo			Sold to Jones Brothers Coal	Scrapped 1971
Daylesford	General cargo			Sold to Fung Shing Navigation Co	Scrapped 1972
Delungra	General cargo			Sold to H & S Credits	Scrapped 1974
Denman	General cargo			Sold to Eddie Steamships	Scrapped 1970
Dubbo	General cargo			Sold to Australia Pacific Co	Scrapped 1969
Edenhope	General cargo			Sold to Bougainville Trading Co	Scrapped 1979
Elmore	General cargo			Sold to John Burke	Scrapped 1987
Enfield	General cargo			Sold to Legaspi Oil Co	Deregistered 2008 in Manila, Philippines. Still afloat.
Eugowra	General cargo			Sold to Pacific Islands Shipping Co	Scrapped 1974
Euroa	General cargo			Sold to Keith Hollands Shipping Co	Scrapped 1980
Inyula	Bulk carrier			Sold to Octamaris Maritime Corporation	Sank in the Black Sea December 1977 in bad weather
Lake Barrine	Bulk carrier			Sold to Drillships	Scrapped 1982
Lake Eyre	Bulk carrier			Sold to Century Shipping Lines	Scrapped 1975
Nilpina	General cargo			Sold to Simanggang Sawmill Co	Sank off Little Andaman Island on 22 June 1985.
Noongah	General cargo		25 August 1969	-	Sank off Smoky Cape in heavy seas with the loss of 21 crew
Ransdorp	Tanker			Sold to Dent & Graham	Sank in the Tasman Sea on 18 March 1961
River Burdekin	General cargo			Sold to Indonesian government	Scrapped 1971
River Burnett	General cargo			Sold to Australine Shipping Co	Scrapped 1973
River Clarence	General cargo			Sold to World-Wide SS Co	Scrapped 1968
River Derwent	General cargo			Interstate Steamships	Ran aground during Typhoon Wanda, refloated and scrapped 1962
River Fitzroy	General cargo			Sold to Amakasu Sangyo Kisen K K	Scrapped March 1963
River Glenelg	General cargo			Sold to Hang Fung Shipping & Trading Co	Scrapped January 1963
River Hunter	General cargo			Sold to Albert Sims	Scrapped 1960
River Loddon	General cargo			Sold to Amakasu Sangyo Kisen K K	Scrapped March 1963
River Mitta	General cargo			Sold to Hang Fung Shipping & Trading Co	Scrapped 1959
River Murchison	General cargo			Sold to Amakasu Sangyo Kisen K K	Scrapped March 1963
River Murray	General cargo			Sold to Albert Sims	Scrapped 1959
River Murrumbidgee	General cargo			Sold to Amakasu Sangyo Kisen K K	Scrapped March 1963
River Norman	General cargo			Sold to Wallem & Co	Ran aground during Typhoon Wanda, refloated and scrapped 1962
Talinga	Bulk carrier			Sold to Elios Compania Navigation	Ran aground during Typhoon Rose, refloated and scrapped 1972
Timbarra	Bulk carrier			Sold to Montauk Maritime	Scrapped 1973
Tyalla	Bulk carrier			Sold to Cambray Prince Steamship Co	Formerly repair ship HMS Dullisk Cove. Scrapped 1962
Wangara	General cargo			Sold to Western Australian Coastal Shipping Commission	Comveryed to a barge 1983
Windarra	General cargo			Sold to Collin Navigation Co	Scrapped 1980
Yanderra	Bulk carrier			Sold to Collin Navigation Co	Scrapped 1976
Yarrunga	Bulk carrier			Sold to Corona Navigation Co	Sank in the Persian Gulf 4 May 1975 after cargo caught fire
Iranda	Bulk carrier			Sold to Jollyboat	Scrapped 1982
North Esk	General cargo			Sold to West Pacific Shipping	Scrapped 1984
Lake Boga	Bulk carrier		29 March 1978	Sold to International Activity Shipping & Investment Co	Scrapped 1984
Lake Boga	Bulk carrier			Sold to Tien Tai Shipping Co	Scrapped May 1978
Illowra	Bulk carrier			Sold to Athenmar Shipping Co	Scrapped 1982
Lake Illawarra	Bulk carrier		5 January 1975	-	Sank after colliding with the Tasman Bridge
Lake Colac	General cargo			Sold to Maliac Shipping Corporation	Scrapped 1979
Lake Macquarie	Bulk carrier			Sold to Project and Services	Scrapped 1982
South Esk	General cargo			Sold to Eastern Shipping Lines	Sank in the South China Sea on 16 February 1980
Lake Macquarie	Bulk carrier			Sold to Bluewater Bay Maritime	Scrapped 1981
Princess of Tasmania	Passenger and roll-on/roll-off			Sold to Bahamarine	Scrapped 2005
Mount Keira	Ore carrier			Sold to Agile Shipping Co	Scrapped 1983
Mount Kembla	Ore carrier			Sold to Drillships	Scrapped 1988
Bass Trader	Roll-on/roll-off			Sold to Halley Enterprise Shipping Co, Panama as Halley	Scrapped 1984
Merino	General cargo			Sold to Carpentaria Holdings	Scuttled in the Arafura Sea on 17 December 1986
Jeparit	General and bulk cargo			Sold to Massis Charity Shipping Co	Scrapped 1993
Musgrave Range	Ore carrier			Sold to Zea Shipping Co	Scrapped 1983
Empress of Australia	Passenger and roll-on/roll-off			Sold to Sun Cruises Maritime	Sank in the Strait of Malacca on 23 August 1992
Darling River	Bulk carrier			Sold to Malcome Collins	Scrapped June 1979
Australian Trader	Passenger and roll-on/roll-off			Sold to the Royal Australian Navy	Scrapped 2004
Australian Enterprise	Container and roll-on/roll-off		1 January 1986	-	Scrapped 1986
Australian Endeavour	Container		1 June 1985	-	Scrapped 1985
Brisbane Trader	Container and roll-on/roll-off		10 December 1986	Sold to Mastrogiorgis Shipping Co	Scrapped 2010
Sydney Trader	Container and roll-on/roll-off			-	Scrapped 1984
Tolga	Bulk carrier			Returned to Arctic Shipping Co	Scrapped 1994
Yarra River	Bulk carrier			-	Scrapped 1982
Townsville Trader	Container and roll-on/roll-off			-	Scrapped 1984
Darwin Trader	Container and bulk carrier			-	Still in service
Echuca	Container			Sold to Wan Hai Steamship Co	Still in service
Allunga	Container and roll-on/roll-off			-	Scrapped 1986
Mount Newman	Bulk carrier			Returned to Pacific Maritime Services	Scrapped 1996
Alnwick Castle	Bulk carrier			Returned to Ben Line	Scrapped 1996
Tambo River	Bulk carrier			Returned to Northern Bulk Carriers	Scrapped 1998
MSC Australian Exporter	Container			Returned to Mediterranean Shipping Co	Scrapped 1999
Lysaght Endeavour	Roll-on/roll-off		10 June 1987	-	Scrapped 1987
Lysaght Enterprise	Roll-on/roll-off			-	Scrapped February 1987
Australian Emblem	Container and roll-on/roll-off		17 April 1988	Returned to Kawasaki Heavy Industries	Scrapped 1997
Melbourne Trader	Roll-on/roll-off			Sold to Bulk Enterprise	Still in service
MSC Australian Explorer	Container			-	Scrapped 1986
Stirling Range	Bulk carrier			Sold to Antigoni Shipping Co	Sunk 21 November 1983 in the Iran–Iraq War
Australian Escort	Container and roll-on/roll-off			-	Renamed Anro Melbourne
Bass Trader	Roll-on/roll-off			Sold to Strintzis Lines	Still in service
Australian Pioneer	Bulk carrier			Sold to Shanghai Ocean Shipping Co	Still in service
Australian Prospector	Bulk carrier			Sold to Trikappa	Scrapped 1999
Australian Venture	Container			Sold to Lavicer Investments Corp	Scrapped 2006
Anro Australia	Container			Sold to Ruby Enterprises	Scrapped June 1997
Flinders Range	Bulk carrier		2 January 1987	Sold to China Shipping Group	Still in service
Australian Purpose	Bulk carrier			Sold to Lavicer Investments Corp	Scrapped 2006
Lake Barrine	Bulk carrier			Sold to Societe Mo Car	Still in service
Lake Eildon	Bulk carrier			Sold to Queensland Lime & Cement	Scrapped 2008
Lake Eyre	Bulk carrier			Sold to Julia Shipping	Still in service
Lake Hume	Bulk carrier			Sold to Clarry Shipping	Still in service
Australian Progress	Bulk carrier			Sold to Treasure Sea Shipping	Scrapped 2002
Selwyn Range	Bulk carrier			Sold to CSL Pacific	Still in service
Cape Hawke	Bulk carrier			Returned to British Phosphate Commission	Scrapped 1987
Baron Murray	Bulk carrier			Returned to Otway Shipping Co	Scrapped 2003
Cape Otway	Bulk carrier			Returned to British Phosphate Commission	Scrapped 2008
River Boyne	Ore carrier		-	-	Still in service
River Embley	Ore carrier		-	-	Still in service
River Yarra	Ore carrier			Sold to Canada Steamship Lines	Still in service
Australian Trader	Container	1 February 1985	19 January 1997	Sold to Hub Line	Still in service
Australian Advance	Container			Returned to United Arab Shipping Co	Still in service
Tranztas Trader	General cargo			Sold to Littleton Services	Sank off Vietnam on 16 December 2010
Anro Melbourne	Container and roll-on/roll-off			Sold to Plixia Trading	Scrapped 1998
Australian Searoad	Roll-on/roll-off			Returned to Pacific Intercontinental Co	Still in service
Australian Express	General cargo	6 September 1989	3 February 1990	Returned to Nanyuan Shipping	Still in service
Australian Endeavour	Container		-	-	Still in service as ANL Australia
Australian Endurance	Container			Sold to Koala Shipping	Still in service
Australian Enterprise	Container		-	-	Still in service as ANL Explorer