The following four British shipping companies are considered to be the major operators of cadet training ships during the period from the end of the Second World War up to the 1970s. (A cadet training ship, in this context, being one in which apprentices replaced the normal deck crew and were the subject of a formal training regime as dictated by company policy):


Alfred Holt and Company (Blue Funnel Line)


British India Steam Navigation Company


Elder Dempster


New Zealand Shipping Company/Federal Steam Navigation Company

Since the launch of this web site, in 2002, several other British shipping companies have been put forward for consideration as operators of cadet training ships, as defined above, and these companies are now the subject of research under the heading of:

Other Shipping Companies