Abstract
This article explores the link between the building of the pioneering motor ship Jutlandia by Barclay Curle & Co. Ltd in 1912 for the East Asiatic Company of Copenhagen and the Burmeister & Wain oil engines which powered it, notably through Scottish shale oil. It traces the difficulties in building and installing machinery that was unfamiliar to Clydeside engineers and the impact that the ultimate success of the vessel had on marine engine building on the Clyde. After the Burmeister & Wain licence was awarded to Harland and Wolff, the North British Diesel Engine Works was created as a joint venture between Barclay Curle and Swan Hunter, brokered by the oil and shipping broker Frederick Lane and financed by oil industry capital. Despite early promise, the First World War and state control of the shale oil industry hampered the wholesale adoption of shale oil fuelled commercial motor shipping.
Published Version
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