Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited

 “B.H.P”’s shipping ownership dates from late 1917, following some years of chartering and nominee-participation. The company, incorporated in August 1885, needed to link its Port Pirie smelting operations and Newcastle coal resources, and its ships all bore the prefix word “Iron”. Between the wars the company Australian Iron & Steel became a BHP subsidiary. The company Interstate Steamships Pty Limited worked in close association with BHP for many years. As the Second World War opened the Company had eight ships in service:

Owned by Interstate Steamships Limited

As well, they took delivery of two new-builds during the war years: Iron Monarch (b.1943 gt.4816 svce.1943-1972) and Iron Duke (b.1943 gt 4818 svce 1943-1970).

Iron Chieftain, en route Newcastle-Whyalla at night on 3 June1942, was torpedoed and sunk east of Sydney by Japanese submarine I.24. Her Master and Chief Engineer were among the twelve crew lost. The thirty-seven survivors were rescued from raft and lifeboat by HMAS Bingera (see “A.U.S.N.” story). Iron Knight, fully laden with iron ore, while lead ship of Convoy OC8, was torpedoed and sunk by submarine I.21 off Eden. The sinking was immediate, the crew loss totaling thirty-six including the Master. Fourteen survivors were taken from a raft, to Sydney. Interstate Steamships’ Iron Crown, laden with iron ore was torpedoed by submarine I.27 on 4 June 1942 off Cape Howe, Victoria, with thirty-eight of its forty-two crew lost.

BHP’s and the nation’s war effort were further affected by other shipping losses of foreign ships engaged on the specialist iron ore/coal trade. On 12 June 1942, off Sydney, the Panamanian ship Guatemala, bound from Newcastle to Whyalla carrying coke, and on 11 April 1943, off Lord Howe Island, the Yugoslav Recina bound Whyalla-Newcastle carrying ironstone were torpedoed. They were among a number of ships made available to Australia by the British Ministry of War Transport.