The Fleets
The company was formed in 1936 by grain merchants and the merchant bankers Bunge & Co. Their first tramp vessel purchased was the Arctees. She was renamed English Trader. All the company's later vessels had the same suffix.
By 1970 it was far more economical to charter rather than to own vessels and the company sold off all its ships except Essex Trader. The firm was taken over by the Bostrom Group of Sweden in 1971 and the company name was dropped in 1975.
Many thanks to Henk Jungerius and Ted Finch for their assistance in collecting this data. The following list was extracted from various sources. This is not an all inclusive list but should only be used as a guide.
Ships
| Name | Built | Additional Information | GRT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Durham Trader (1) | 1940 | Built by J. Laing & Sons Ltd, Sunderland | ex- Glenwood, 1948 purchased from J.I. Jacobs & Co. renamed Durham Trader, 1958 sold to Great Eastern Shipping Co. renamed Jag Sevak, 15th July 1965 wrecked off Visakhapatnam. | 4,897 |
| Durham Trader (2) | 1959 | Built by Wm Pickersgill & Sons, Sunderland | 1966 sold renamed Miho Pracat, 1983 scrapped at Alang. | 9,189 |
| English Trader | 1934 | Built by Furness Shipbuilding Co. Ltd, Haverton Hill, Middlesbrough | ex- Arctees, 1936 purchased from Isherwood Arcform renamed English Trader, 26th Oct. 1941 wrecked Hammond Knoll, Yarmouth. | 3953 |
| Essex Trader (1) | 1943 | Built by J.L. Thompson & Sons, North Sands, Sunderland | 1958 sold to Esk Shipping Co. renamed Eskcliffe, 1960 sold to Pacific Overseas Nav. renamed Sandra, 1967 scrapped at Kaohsiung. | 7,237 |
| Essex Trader (2) | 1958 | Built by Wm Pickersgill & Sons, Sunderland | 1963 sold renamed Safina E Ismail, 1987 scrapped at Gadani Beach. | 8,455 |
| Essex Trader (3) | 1968 | Built by Austin & Pickersgill Ltd, Southwick | 1971 to Bostrom renamed Vancouver Trader, 1979 sold renamed New Future, 1982 sold renamed Future, 1986 scrapped at Alang. | 13,953 |
| Middlesex Trader (1) | 1942 | Built by J.L. Thompson & Sons, North Sands, Sunderland | 1955 sold to Strovili renamed Strovili, 1956 sold to Anker Kolen Co. renamed Anker, 1958 sold to Pala & Franceschini renamed Carnia, 1965 scrapped at La Spezia. | 7,241 |
| Middlesex Trader (2) | 1963 | Built by Austin & Pickersgill Ltd, Southwick | 1969 sold renamed Homer, 1970 sold renamed Assios, 1978 sold renamed Pollux, 1984 sold renamed Polo, 1985 scrapped at Alang. | 13,461 |
| Scottish Trader (1) | 1938 | Built by J.L. Thompson & Sons, North Sands, Sunderland | 6th Dec. 1941 torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U.131 and lost with all hands. | 4,016 |
| Scottish Trader (2) | 1948 | Built by Lithgows Ltd., Port Glasgow | 1960 sold to North Shipping Co. (H. Roberts & Son), Newcastle renamed North Cambria, 1963 sold to A. Vergottis renamed Bannercliff, 1970 sold to S.A. Daifas renamed Silver Coast, 1973 sold to D. Kalkassinas renamed Granikos, 13th Oct.1973 damaged by fire and explosion at Nuevitas, beached and scrapped at Santander. | 5,590 |
| Scottish Trader (3) | 1962 | Built by Austin & Pickersgill Ltd, Southwick | 1968 sold renamed Federal Tyne, 1971 Federal Salso, 1978 sold renamed Rozelbay, 1982 sold renamed Giuca, 1983 sold renamed Jambi, 1985 scrapped at Sakai. | 11,563 |
| Surrey Trader | 1964 | Built by Austin & Pickersgill Ltd, Southwick | 1970 sold renamed Saturn, 1978 sold renamed Coraje, 1985 scrapped at Xingang. | 13,203 |
| Sussex Trader (1) | 1947 | Built by J. Laing & Sons Ltd, Sunderland | 1954 sold to Malabar SS Co. renamed Janani, 1963 scrapped at Bombay. | 4,221 |
| Sussex Trader (2) | 1957 | Built by Wm Pickersgill & Sons, Sunderland | 1964 sold renamed Herbert Macaulay, 1976 sold renamed Anel d'Azur, 1982 scrapped at Gadani Beach. | 8,449 |
| Welsh Trader (1) | 1938 | Built by J.L. Thompson & Sons, North Sands, Sunderland | 1951 sold to Orion Schiffahrtsgesellschaft, Hamburg, Germany renamed Beteigeuze, 1961 sold to Palomba & d'Amato, Italy renamed Peppino Palomba, 1970 scrapped at La Spezia. | 4,974 |
| Welsh Trader (2) | 1954 | Built by Wm Pickersgill & Sons, Sunderland | 1961 sold to Stephens Sutton renamed Rookley, 1963 sold to J. Manners & Co. renamed London Breeze, 1970 sold to Guan Guan Shipping renamed Golden Bridge, 1977 sold to Vietnamese Government renamed Song Thu Bon, 1980 sold renamed Song, 1980 scrapped at Kaohsiung. | 5,671 |