World’s Oldest Shipping Company Closes

The world’s oldest shipping company is going out of business, according to Bloomberg. Stephenson Clarke Shipping, a British company with roots going back to 1730 has sold off its last vessel.

It is a clear illustration of the troubles facing the UK shipping industry. Facing competition from Asia and with a global economy in recession, bulk transporters have been hit particularly hard. The Baltic Dry Index, which measures rates to ship commodities like grains and coal, is down a massive 55 percent this year. Shipping rates have fallen in four out of the past five years. It is “one of the worst [slumps] experienced for many years,” the shipping company said.

Since World War ii, Britain has embraced a foreign policy that has steadily changed it from the greatest mercantile nation in man’s history to one that has thrown its greatest corporate champions to the free market wolves—even though other nations refuse to play by the same rules.

The continual loss of the companies that helped make Britain great is a sad reminder of Britain’s dramatic fall from superpower status. See how bad it is: “Selling Britain’s Corporate Crown Jewels.”