With the delivery of two more in the series, the Julia S and Sophia V, there are now six identical 740-ton deadweight vessels operating in the Ascube Shipping fleet. They are a unique fleet in British coastal shipping and represent more than a quarter of the new tonnage that has been introduced in this size and class within the last five years. Navimercantile and its sister company, Ascube Shipping, were founded in 1976 and began by chartering their first vessel in October, 1976. This vessel, the first in the series, was introduced at a time when H. P. Drewry, the shipping consultants, were reporting in a study that “with intensified competition for the available traffic, both bulk and non-bulk, the European coastal and short-sea trades have until recently been regarded as an unprofitable sector of the shipping industry, low freight rates (and earnings) discouraging investment in new tonnage, even by established operators. The European coastal trade … has contracted with the greater efficiency of competing land-haulage systems—rail, road and barge—resulting in a steady decline in the volume of traffic transported by sea. It will be difficult to reverse this trend, although coastal shipping has an important role to play in the bulk trades”.

The first ship proved so popular with charterers that the group decided to proceed and purchase the vessel and her sisters (which had originally been ordered by its company that subsequently could not fulfil its contract).

This decision was not made without considerable research into the market which Messrs Drewry confirmed by reporting “there is increasing trade in the commodities which are the basis of European short-sea trading—grain, forest products, coal and coke, ores and fertiliser materials, etc., and this sector is demanding greater specialisation, improved cargo handling etc.”.

The market had traditionally been supplied by a few quite large companies in the United Kingdom, Holland and Germany and a multitude of owner masters. Faced with mounting running costs and caught with their rates down the larger companies had mainly invested in larger tonnage while the others who 25 years ago could have bought a 600-tonner for £75,000-£100,000 were faced with prohibitive replacement costs of up to £1,000 to £1,100 per deadweight tonne.

Fortunately for Navimercantile this created a gap in the market for vessels below 1,000 tonnes, and in particular for those having low air and water draught characteristics. The six vessels are now filling that gap and Navimercantile has found that shippers have been quick to appreciate the advantages and significance of the fleet’s characteristics, size and flexibility.

It is the fleet’s unique characteristics and flexibility that Navimercantile aims to concentrate on. The vessels’ technical characteristics, in particular the large hold with no obstructions, the automatic hatch covers strengthened for deck cargoes of up to 300 tonnes, combined with the low air and water draught, allow a wide variety of cargoes to be carried efficiently and easily. Cargoes such as those requiring totally clean conditions as to moisture and foreign elements are being carried.