Dates: 1932 -
Elder Dempster Lines was a British shipping company which operated from 1932 to 2000, although its origins stretch back into the mid-19th century.
Elder Dempster and Company started trading as the African Steamship Company in 1852. Elder Dempster Shipping Limited was formed in 1899, and in 1932 this company, together with the African Steamship Company, and the British & African Steam Navigation Company, came under the Elder Dempster Lines name.
The company operated from British ports, mainly Liverpool, where it was based, to West African destinations. It operated three liners, the flagship Aureol, together with the Accra and Apapa, to Ghana and Nigeria, as well as many other freight and mail ships.
The company expanded, taking over a number of other shipping companies between 1951 and 1965, when it came under the ownership of the Ocean Steamship Company (Blue Funnel Line). The end for the Elder Dempster Lines name came in 1989 when it was bought by the French firm Delmas-Vieljeux, although the company continued as a shipping agents until 2000 when it was wound up.
