Saga of the silver banders

摘要

Not only has Stephenson Clarke Shipping a lengthy heritage, it has also been involved with a surprising variety of ship types. Most familiar are the 'silver banders', so called because of their funnel colours, which dominated the British coastal coal trade for many years. It has also managed a huge fleet of colliers for other owners, run ocean-going bulk carriers and coastal tankers, and been involved in one of the most technically demanding types of ship, the world's first liquid methane carrier. At its peak, at least 100 ships were owned or managed by the company. Needless to say, it started small.