Blue Star Line

The Blue Star Line was a British passenger and cargo shipping company formed in 1911, being in operation until 1998.

Formation

thumb|Trojan Star, built in France in 1916 and bought by a Blue Star-controlled company in 1924

thumb|Plans for the liners [[SS Avila Star|Avila and Avelona, built in 1926–27]]

Blue Star Line was formed as an initiative by the Vestey Brothers, a Liverpool-based butchers company, who had founded the Union Cold Storage Company to take advantage of refrigeration practices. They developed a large importation business, shipping frozen meat from South America to Britain, initially from Argentina on ships of the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, and other shipping lines that called at South American ports. The high prices charged for transport by these companies led the Vestey brothers to start to operate their own ships. They chartered their first ships from 1904, and began to buy their own ships from 1909 onwards. The Blue Star Line was officially inaugurated on 28 July 1911, initially using second-hand ships. They ordered their first new ship in 1914, and by the outbreak of the First World War were operating twelve refrigerated cargo ships. These were initially prefixed 'Brod', e.g. Brodfield, Brodholme and Brodland. Ships of the company were identifiable by their red funnels with black tops and narrow white and black bands, with a white circle with blue five-pointed star on the red background. Their hull colours were either black or black with a white band, and red boot-topping.

The new service was a challenge to both foreign competitors and the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, whose Royal Mail Ships had been the premier UK carrier of mail, passengers and some cargoes between Britain, Brazil and the River Plate for 75 years. RMSP Chairman Lord Kylsant called the Blue Star ships "very keen competition" even though at the very same time his company introduced two larger and more luxurious new ocean liners for passenger and refrigerated cargo on the route, the (completed 1926) and (completed 1927).

In 1929 Blue Star added "Star" to the end of the name of each of its ships. This may have been partly to help distinguish Blue Star from Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, whose ships bore similar Spanish names. RMSP was an old company with a distinguished history, but had got into difficulties and collapsed amid financial scandal in 1932.

Because the Imperial Star-class were refrigerated and in merchant shipping terms relatively fast, several sailed in high-risk convoys to relieve the siege of Malta. and took part in Operation Substance in July 1941, Imperial Star and were in Operation Halberd the following month, and in August 1942 Melbourne Star and served in Operation Pedestal. In February 1942 another ship of the same class, , successfully evacuated an estimated 2,160 people from the fall of Singapore.

thumb|left| after her bow was rebuilt in 1943. She had been damaged by a torpedo during [[Operation Pedestal to relieve the siege of Malta in 1942.]]

Blue Star suffered heavy losses. 29 ships were sunk: a total of . They included all of the Luxury Five liners, and two Empire ships that the company was managing for the Ministry of War Transport. Another 16 vessels, including three more Empire ships under Blue Star management, were seriously damaged. By the end of hostilities only 12 "Star" ships remained in the fleet. 646 Blue Star personnel, 272 passengers and 78 DEMS gunners were killed.

Blue Star Line bought Lamport and Holt Line in 1944 and Booth Steamship Company in 1946, and ships were often transferred back and forth between the subsidiary companies. Also managed MV Avelona Star at the time under requisition of MOD.

thumb|left|Scottish Star in the Solent, 1993

Blue Star Line was bought by P&O Nedlloyd in 1998, which acquired the name and most of the assets, with the exception of most of the reefer ships, which were kept by the Vestey Group under the name Albion Reefers, and then merged with Hamburg Süd's reefer fleet under the name Star Reefers.