58 51.3 w 53.401639 n 2.980917 w 53.401639 ; 2.980917 this article includes a list of references but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations . please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations . february 2008 learn how and when to remove this template message bibby line type private industry transportation founded 1807 headquarters liverpool united kingdom key people jebb kitchen md owner bibby line group ltd website bibby line homepage the danube was a steam and sailing ship built for bibby line in 1856 and sold to leyland line in 1873 bibby line is a uk company concerned with shipping and marine operations . its parent company bibby line group limited can be traced back to the shipbroking partnership of bibby & hall which was founded in 1801 . the company along with all the group companies such as bibby ship management is based in liverpool . 1 contents 1 history 2 ships 2.1 current fleet 2.2 former fleet 3 see also 4 references 5 external links history edit the cargo steamship derbyshire was built by harland and wolff in 1897 survived the first world war and was scrapped in 1931 the bibby line passenger ship oxfordshire built in 1912 serving as a hospital ship in the second world war the cruise ship fairstar which was built in 1957 as the bibby line troopship oxfordshire bibby sapphire is a diving support vessel built in 2005 the bibby line was founded in 1807 by the first john bibby 1775 1840 . it has operated in most areas of shipping throughout its 200 year history and claims to be the oldest independently owned deep sea shipping line in the world . along with other british ship owners it endured hard economic conditions in the 1970s and 1980s but survived through diversification into floating accommodation . the group diversified in the 1980s and 1990s and bibby financial services was formed in 1982 . today the financial services division has 46 offices in 15 countries . today the company employs about 3 500 people mainly in uk distribution and has financial services offices in usa australia poland france and canada . its traditional base shipping has undergone something of a renaissance and grew fourfold in the 2003 07 period on the back of the success of its floating accommodation business ship management activities and shrewd timing of disposal of ships . in 2002 sir derek bibby 2nd baronet and great great grandson of the founder and past chairman and president of the firm was aged 80 and terminally ill with leukemia . he committed suicide on 9 october 2002 by consuming aluminium phosphide a poison that caused his body to emit hours later dangerous fumes that forced the evacuation of the hospital where his body was being held . 1 ships edit the bibby line fleet currently comprises three vessels two bulk carriers and an oil tanker . 2 the newest vessel in the fleet is the cheshire . 3 current fleet edit picture name built commissioned tonnage port of registry type notes n a cheshire 4 2012 march 2012 56 598 dwt isle of man bulk carrier n a mumbai 4 2009 october 2011 4 568 gt singapore bunker ship n a shropshire 4 february 2009 5 july 2009 6 56 811 dwt valletta bulk carrier former fleet edit vessels that have previously operated for bibby line include brixham derbyshire harlington hertfordshire john bibby kiel kowloon bridge rmeil see also edit nautical portal bibby baronets bibby financial services references edit merchant navy career with bibby vessel . bibby line . bibby line sets sail for expansion with new ship order pdf . bibby line . retrieved 28 february 2012 . a b c vessels . bibby line . retrieved 20 august 2013 . shropshire christened as latest addition to the fleet nears delivery pdf . bibby line . retrieved 28 february 2012 . shropshire delivers pdf . bibby line . retrieved 28 february 2012 . external links edit bibby group official website bibby line official website unofficial history obituary of sir derek bibby retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title bibby line & oldid 722563893 categories companies based in liverpoolshipping companies of englandshipping companies of the united kingdomhidden categories coordinates not on wikidatause dmy dates from september 2011articles lacking in text citations from february 2008all articles lacking in text citations navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version languages deutsch edit links this page was last modified on 28 may 2016 at 23 49 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; 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