Records of London Overseas Freighters Limited

London & Overseas Freighters Ltd., was formed in London by two long-standing and British-based Greek shipping families, the Kulukundis and the Mavroleons on 8 April 1948. Originally the company operated nine second-hand dry cargo vessels. The prefix "London" was adopted in the names of "L.O.F." ships and the City's coat of arms was displayed on the bridge of each vessel. The early 1950s saw the acquisition of several new tankers, heralding the move towards the transportation of bulk liquids. By 1956, a new subsidiary company had been formed, called "London Overseas Tankers". The company experienced poor financial returns as a result of the global crisis of the early 1970s with most of the fleet being laid up in Greek waters. A similar "oil" recession followed during the early 1980s, but the company survived to increase its "tanker tonnage" during the 1990s and is now successfully trading from its Bermuda headquarters. For further details see the attached catalogue or contact The Archives Centre for a copy of the catalogue.