Last modified: 2024-03-09 by ian macdonald
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image by Miles Li, 4 August 2023
Shun Cheong Steam Navigation Company was established by Hui Oi Chow
(1881-1966), in the French Leased Territory of Kouang-Tchéou-Wan (present-day
Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province, China), during the 1930s. Later it was
incorporated as Shun Cheong Steam Navigation Company, Limited in Hong Kong on 27
September 1952. Its founder's third, youngest and last surviving son, Hui Sai
Fun (1921-2018), sold off its entire fleet in 1987. The company technically
still exists today, although its sister companies, which have substantial real
estate portfolios, are responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Hui
business dynasty.
Miles Li, 4 August 2023
Sinotrans Group was founded in China in 1950. Sinotrans Shipping was
established in Hong Kong in January 2003 as a subsidiary of Sinotrans
Group.
Sinotrans Group operates 34 vessels, including 26 dry bulkers.
A photography of the vessel "Great Ambition", shown on the front page
of the company website, shows the company house flag as blue with the
company emblem in white.
The company emblem shows a stylized representation of the Earth, with
in the middle a ribbon bearing the company name.
Source: Sinotrans Shipping website
Ivan Sache, 8 March 2008
image by Miles Li, 18 February 2024
Source: Brown's Flags and Funnels of Shipping Companies of the
World [lgr95]
image by Miles Li, 18 February 2024
Flag of Star Ferry, circa 1950s.
image by Miles Li, 26 May 2016
It is diagonally divided in quarters (per-saltire) white on top and bottom
and red on either side with a blue vertical stripe down the middle. With the
stripe it begins to look a little like a union jack.
Nathan Augustine, 18 April 1996
The Swire Group is a diversified company in Hong Kong, involved in
manufacturing, real estate and shipping.
John Swire & Sons Ltd. date from 1875 and the colours were originally
associated with The China Navigation Co. Ltd. which was formed in 1872. The
Liverpool Chamber of Commerce Chart of 1885 shows the flag in the name of
Swire and thereafter sources ascribe it to China Navigation with Swires as
managers. At some point Swires have taken over China Navigation and it now
operates as one of their subsidiaries with the flag being common to the group.
Both companies originated in the U.K. with Swire still being based there, the
group being international, and China Navigation are still located in Hong
Kong.
Neale Rosanoski, 23 January 2003
When the China Navigation Company was founded in 1872, its main competitor
was the American-owned Shanghai Steam Navigation Company,
whose house flag was per saltire, white at the chief and the base, blue at the
hoist and the fly. The house flag of the China Navigation Company, as originally
designed by John Samuel Swire, was to be deliberately similar to that of its
main competitor, except substituting blue with red. Before it was adopted
however, John Samuel Swire had a change of mind, and added a blue vertical
stripe to his design, thus giving birth to the house flag of the China
Navigation Company and of the Swire Group.
https://www.swire.com/ourjourney/mobile/en/story/1872.php
Miles Li,
17 July 2023
image by Jan Mertens, 13 April 2011
One day I came across this Shipspotting photo showing ‘Toko HK’, a container
ship bearing on the funnel a green rectangle sporting a white serifed ‘T’:
http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/photo.php?lid=426323 while a genuine
flag drawing for "Toho Line" appears on a container (clickable
photo).
The firm no longer exists, having merged with Waiwell Shipping Co. into
Sinotrans (HK) Shipping Ltd, Hong Kong in 2003. Obverse
the symbolic merger of logos - one of them the green house flag - on this page:
http://www.sinotrans-logistics.com/aboutus.asp
Well, I could have known - Josef Nüsse renewed website shows just this flag in
table format, about half way down on this page, next to
Sinotrans:
http://www.flagpole.de/flaggen/welt/asien-ii/
No idea when Toho was founded, photos on the ‘net show general bulk and
container ships mainly of the eighties. Still, a more blocky initial ‘T’ could
once have been used if we may go by the funnel:
http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/photo.php?lid=212423
Jan Mertens, 13 April 2011
In 1995 they relocated to Canada and changed
name to Valles Steamship (Canada) Inc.
Neale Rosanoski, 23 January 2003