Charente Limited

The Charente Steam Ship Co Ltd (ship managers: Thos & Jas Harrison) was established in 1871 and for much of the 20th Century was one of the United Kingdom's foremost shipowners. Its Harrison Line general cargo and cargo passenger liners were to be found in most parts of the world but particularly in the Caribbean, US Gulf and South and East Africa. Its funnel colours, black with a red band between two white bands that gave the company its nickname 'one of fat and two of lean', were a common sight around the UK but especially in the ports of Liverpool and London. Despite massive casualties in the two world wars, the fleet still stood at around 43 vessels at the end of the 1950s.

In the 1970s, containerisation came to the Harrison Line trades and initially the company embraced the challenge by becoming a leading light in the Carol consortium that pioneered containerisation in the Caribbean and in forming Ellerman Harrison Container Line with another privately-owned UK shipping company. However, as the stakes becoming increasingly high, Charente bowed out of mainstream container shipping. For a while it operated a few bulk carriers but these were eventually sold too.

Today, as Charente Ltd, the company still has a toe-hold in shipowning with a 25% interest in an LPG carrier but it is in the areas of the supply of marine equipment and services that it sees the future. Within the Group are to be found today:

DPM (UK) was acquired in 1985 and today is one of the world's leading suppliers of charts and nautical publications.

DPM (Singapore) is a joint venture company which was established in 1990 and is now a major supplier of charts and nautical publications in the Far East.

John Lilley and Gillie is a long established nautical chart supplier and navigational equipment manufacturer and became part of the Charente Group in 1999.

PC Maritime, a Plymouth-based marine software company, became part of the group when a 50% stake was acquired through Lilley & Gillie thus giving Charente access to electronic navigation technology.

Walkers Marine Instruments (incorporating Chernikeef), was acquired in 2002 and incorporated into Lilley and Gillie.

In October 2005, Charente appointed Harry Gilbert to the position of Chief Executive. Formerly Chief Executive of the Wallem Group in Hong Kong and prior to that, with Denholm Ship Management in the UK, Mr Gilbert has a vast amount of experience in the maritime industries, especially with regard to ship operations and management.

For more information about Charente, contact davidcheslin@dunelmpr.co.uk