Description

Admin History:

On 2 Oct 1936 Thomas Boyd, then managing director of the Thomas Hamling Trawling Company, and his son, Thomas Wilson Boyd, formed their own company, Boyd Line Ltd., a trawling fishing company based out of Hull. Their first three vessels, constructed specifically for the company were Arctic Ranger, Arctic Pioneer and Arctic Explorer. The company flourished, fishing in the grounds of Bear Island, Iceland and the White Sea and in 1938 added Arctic Trapper, formerly Sprayflower to their fleet. Another vessel, Arctic Hunter, formerly Capel followed. Boyd Line also managed three large German built trawlers for Lever Brothers. At the outbreak of The Second World War all of Boyd Lines vessels were either bought by or requisitioned by the Navy.

Thomas Wilson Boyd joined the R.N.V.R. in 1939, having previously worked for Pickering and Haldane and Hellyer Brothers. After the War he returned to Hull where his father had become managing director of Lord Line (previously Pickering and Haldane) as well as running Boyd Line. They managed 32 vessels but in 1950 Thomas Boyd died and his son T. W. Boyd took over management of Boyd Line and Lord Line. During the next few years, a several vessels were bought and sold from the fleet and by the early 1960s Boyd Line had become a considerable force in fishing. This coincided with the advent of large stern fishing trawlers capable of travelling greater distances to new fishing grounds and freezing their catches whilst at sea. The Arctic Freebooter was the first Boyd Line vessel built with this freezing capability and she made her first voyage in 1966 when the company owned 12 vessels. At this time, Thomas Wilson Boyd Jr., joined the family business and eventually replaced his father as chairman and managing director. By the following year, the company had expanded their interests, becoming part of a consortium operating the Hull Cold Stores next to the Fish Docks. They also owned the fish processing factory, Seakold, jointly with Boston Deep Sea Fisheries as well as associations, shares and directorships in various other companies such as the Hull Fishing Industry Association, and British Trawler Federation.

In 1973 the company was adversely affected by the membership of Britain to the EU. With a significant reduction in quotas, fishing opportunities and the introduction of the 200 mile limit many fishing companies went bust. However, seeing the coming threat posed, Boyd Line purchased Scottish firm, W. M. Liston Ltd., in August 1972 to obtain access to its UK quotas. This brought he fleet number to 16. Throughout the 1970s the company increasingly became involved with offering consultation and management services to other fishing companies and in 1981 they established a separate specialist company Boyd Line Management Services (BLMS) to manage, assist, and develop fishing opportunities internationally.

Despite its best efforts to continue its fishing operations, in 1982, Boyd Line had to sell its two largest freezer trawlers Arctic Gaillard and Arctic Buccaneer to Fletcher Fishing, New Zealand. A successful deal was concluded under which Boyd Line provided shore-based management and sea-going personnel for the vessels. By 1984 Boyd Line was down to only 5 vessels. In 1986 Lionman Ltd., was established to help finance and manage the operations of Arctic Warrior, similarly in 1988 Rayshore Ltd., was created for Arctic Corsair. A year prior Witte Boyd Holdings Ltd., a joint company was formed to help steer the Falklands fishing direction in partnership with the Falkland Islands Government. Boyd Line Pacific Ltd., was also formed to help manage interests in New Zealand and Boyd Line Agency Services Ltd., was established this same year to help staff the Boyd Line Group’s various roles.

In 1993 Boyd Line Ltd., sold its last remaining vessel, Arctic Challenger which enabled Boyd Line to clear all its debts but left its future trading position uncertain. The whole of the company’s income now came from BLMS and vessels under its management.

In 1994 BLMS succeed in obtaining a contract for conversion and ongoing management of Mount Kent for Russian owners which lasted until March 1995. BLMS bought out the remaining shareholders in 1996 due to complaints regarding them no longer receiving any significant profits. During this time, in 1995, the Hull Fishing Industry Training Association was set up and T. W. Boyd was integral to its development. Its role and objective was to recruit and train competent fisherman/engineers for the Hull fishing industry which was struggling to staff its vessels. The association provided training in various marine categories as well as NVQ's. He was also a senior advisor to the newly developing Marine Stewardship Council (MSC).

In 1998, Boyd Line Management Services (Cyprus) was formed which operated and managed Arctic Ranger, ex Rubin for Russian company KARAT, a short-lived venture which ended in 2001. During the late 1990s, Boyd Line also moved to develop its marketing strategy in relation to frozen at sea fish and in 2000, the Frozen At Sea Fillet Association (FASFA) was established. Concentrating on freshness, taste, traceability and production standards the company sought to develop the UK frozen fish market and move public preference away from fresh fish, which in many cases was days old when it reached the supermarkets.

In 2002 Boyd Line Ltd., was sold in a £7 million deal to Eimskip, an Icelandic seafood company and BLMS continued to operate in the North Atlantic. Up to this point the company had been involved with projects in Egypt, New Zealand, Morocco, El Salvador, Nigeria, Falkland Islands, Saudi Arabia, USA, Canada, Kiribati, Chile, Ghana, Russia, China, and UK (MoD & Trinity House).

Description: