Strategies, market concentration and hegemony in chemical parcel tanker shipping, 1960–1985

Abstract

The article analyses the emergence of chemical shipping as a specialised shipping segment. In the 1950s and 1960s seaborne transport of chemicals was characterised by rapid technological development, based on the introduction of parcel tankers, which could carry chemicals in bulk. By the early 1970s two Norwegian companies had built up substantial market shares, but were challenged by financially stronger British companies. The article traces the background of the main companies involved in chemical shipping in the 1970s, by which stage market concentration was evident. We look at their entry into the market and their strategies. First mover advantages, determination to remain market leaders, fleet structure and timing go a long way to explaining why by the mid-1980s the Norwegians had managed to fend off the British challenge.