COMMON BROTHERS PLC.

The livery is variously attributed to Hindustan alone or jointly with Common Brothers. Ocean Ships 1967 assigns this funnel to Hindustan, Burnside and North Shipping; LJC assigns it to Burnside. A black-and-white photograph of Selvistan confirms the funnel.

Reed depicts the black funnel band wider than the white one.

For many years the management pennant flew above the house flag of the managed company. Initially it reproduced Common Brothers’ own house flag, as C175; within a few years the company logo was added at the hoist, as C174. Brown depicts Australia China Line with H277 above its flag in 1951 and C175 in 1958.

Common Brothers originated as J.W. Squance & Co., renamed in 1906 after Captain Squance retired. The register gives 1893 as its formation date, also the date assigned to Hindustan Steam Shipping. Rosanoski infers that the business traded through Hindustan. Lloyd’s states that it was known as Hindustan until 1968, but Hindustan remained separately listed as a shipowner through 1978–79.

Hindustan acquired more than 90% shareholder acceptance for its North Shipping bid in 1963–64, bought Hopemount in June 1966, and obtained 51% of Burnside from Associated Shipbuilders during 1966. Other interests included Caribbean Trailer Express and the acquired Shipcraft Agency. The later ownership chronology differs between sources: a 1985 account gives Norex a 53.8% holding, while Lloyd’s describes Kristian Siem control from 1981 to 1988 followed by Norex.

Australia China Line was formed jointly with Jardine, Matheson in 1946; Common Brothers’ share passed to Indo-China Steam Navigation in 1951. Its wider operating interests included Hindustan, Burnside, North Shipping, Kuwait Oil Tanker, Lowland Tanker, Newfoundland Refineries, Northumbrian Shipping and Vallum, as well as Caribbean Trailer Express for a period. Northumbrian dates to 1925. Common Brothers (Management) and Chimo operated parts of the fleet, and Dorchester Maritime was named as manager in 1998. Most fleet names ended in “stan”.

U.K., Newcastle and Sunderland; later London.