North of Scotland, Orkney & Shetland Steam Navigation Company
| Industry | Transport |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1875 |
| Headquarters | Aberdeen, Scotland |
| Products | Ferries, cruises |
The North of Scotland, Orkney & Shetland Steam Navigation Company, which was more usually known as The North Company, its full name rarely being used, was a UK shipping company based in Aberdeen, originally formed in 1875 from a merger of older Scottish shipping companies. The company operated most of the ferries from mainland Scotland to Orkney and Shetland, latterly as P&O Scottish Ferries until 2002, when it was replaced by NorthLink Ferries.
In 1790, the Leith & Clyde Shipping Company operated sailing vessels between the Forth and the Clyde, round the north of Scotland and possibly calling at Orkney.
In 1820 this company joined with the Aberdeen, Dundee & Leith Shipping Company to form the Aberdeen, Leith, Clyde & Tay Shipping Company. A fleet of sailing vessels initially served towns, including Glasgow, Edinburgh, London, Rotterdam (until c.1843) and Liverpool (until 1830). The far flung routes ceased, and most effort was placed on the routes within Scotland. Their first steamer, Velocity (1821), was built to compete with the steamer Tourist which operated between Leith and Aberdeen. Services were extended to Wick (by 1833), Kirkwall and Lerwick (in 1836).
In 1875 the Aberdeen, Leith & Clyde Shipping Co became the North of Scotland, Orkney & Shetland Steam Navigation Company. The new company further expanded the fleet and introduced Norwegian cruising in 1886.
In 1886 the St. Rognvald was advertised to make a special trip to Bergen and "some of the principal fjords and places of interest on the west coast of Norway". This was perhaps the first purposely planned cruise ship voyage and proved so popular with the public that the company quickly advertised a follow-up cruise which was also popular, leading to a further three cruises being arranged for the summer season.
The Company realised that its short duration and relatively affordable cruises were a profitable new venture and the directors quickly ordered a new purpose-built ship, the St. Sunniva, from Hall Russell of Aberdeen, to be delivered in time for the 1887 season. The St. Sunniva was the world's first purpose-built cruise ship and was a great success, so much so the St. Rognvald was obliged to carry out two cruises to accommodate the overflow of bookings.
...
Wikipedia