WASCO
 | |
| Public limited company | |
| Founded | 1898 |
| Headquarters | , |
Key people | Philip Little (CEO) |
| Services | Container shipping and logistics |
| Revenue | €2.42 billion (2022) |
| €529.76 million (2022) | |
Number of employees | 2,600 (2022) |
| Subsidiaries | Interport |
| Website | www.wasco.com |
The West Arucian Shipping Company PLC, also known by the acronym WASCO, is a shipping company providing freight transport services with container ships. Founded in 1898 from the merger of two shipping companies, WASCO remains the oldest and largest shipping company still in operation in Nuvania. It primarily provides freight transport services within the West Arucian Sea to major seaports as well as smaller coastal shipping services. It is also a majority stakeholder in Bonaventure Ferries, which provides ferry services between Nuvania and Satavia, and also provides cargo terminal operation services in ports around the West Arucian Sea through its subsidiary Interport.
As of 2022, WASCO has a fleet of 22 container ships and 12 general cargo ships as well as a nearly 2,600 employees.
History
WASCO has its origins in the form of the Dominion Line Company in 1856 which was founded to provide passenger and cargo services between Nuvania and the Estmerish colony of Imagua. The Dominion Line Company was established as the first state-owned shipping company in Nuvania and was owned entirely by the Nuvanian government. It expanded considerably during Nuvania’s time as a dominion and as a free state, becoming the largest shipping company in the country by the end of the 1880’s.
Following independence in 1886, the Estmerish Empire Line continued to provide long-distance travel to Nuvania from Estmere, but with Nuvania now independent, the Nuvanian government wanted to explore new services to new destinations and markets elsewhere. In January 1896, the Nuvanian Parliament passed the Shipping Act 1896, which established the Maritime Trade Board and granted the Nuvanian Ministry of Transport concessions to operate specific routes to and from Nuvania. Empire Line was initially granted concessions in 1897 but its Nuvanian based assets were subsequently nationalised and combined with the Dominion Line Company to create the West Arucian Shipping Company in June 1898.
WASCO was formed with the intent to concentrate on shipping within the West Arucian Sea region as well as longer distance passenger and cargo lines elsewhere. These included the numerous Gaullican colonies in the West Arucian Sea as well as the other independent states, as well as long distance routes to western Asteria Superior and Euclea. In addition to services to the ports of Bouley and Dunwich in Estmere, WASCO was to launch long distance passenger and cargo services to both Hennehouwe and Gaullica, as well as destinations in Eldmark and Rizealand. During the Great Collapse, WASCO was one of the few Nuvanian companies to not see a dip in profits, as its size and dominance in the Nuvanian shipping industry allowed it to maintain its profitability.
During the Great War, WASCO’s fleet was subsequently commandeered by the Volksfront regime to support Nuvania’s war effort, moving troops and supplies to island garrisons in the West Arucian Sea as well as engaging in coastal shipping when railways became too dangerous to be guarded safely. From a fleet of 81 ships in 1928, just 17 ships made it through the war unscathed, with 47 sunk from Allied attacks and another 17 damaged beyond repair or undergoing repairs. Among the ships lost included numerous cargo vessels and ocean liners. The remaining ships within WASCO’s fleet were taken over by the Allied Civil Government in 1935 and retained in service until returned to the Nuvanian government in 1937. All of WASCO’s remaining vessels were subsequently transferred or seized by victorious Allied countries between 1935 and 1937, while those that were undergoing repairs were scrapped.
Post-war, WASCO was reconstituted as a state-owned enterprise owned by the Ministry of Transport and recommenced operations with three Victory ships produced in Rizealand for the war effort. These ships, the Vanguard, Venture, and the Victory, were purchased with loans provided by Rizealand for restarting and rebuilding civilian maritime activities in Nuvania, and operated routes around and outside the West Arucian Sea. These operated alone between 1937 and 1944, when the first of the four Merchant-class general cargo ships entered service. The fleet was again expanded in the beginning of the 1950’s with three additional ships purchased and added to the fleet. WASCO’s biggest extension to date came from the addition of refrigerated cargo ships in the 1960’s, these being the Province-class, named after Nuvania’s provinces. These were capable of exporting perishable agricultural goods, allowing Nuvanian exports to reach markets in Euclea. The 1960’s also saw a further eight ships added to the fleet. By the end of the decade, a total of 21 ships were in active service, while the three Victory ships had been removed from service and were sent to Kintao for scrapping in the early 1970’s.
WASCO was the first shipping company in Asteria Inferior to introduce container ships, ordering four from various Gaullican shipbuilding yards in the early 1970’s with the ships being completed between 1977 and 1978, entering service the same year respectively. These ships would be used primarily on routes between Nuvania and Rizealand, with WASCO’s general cargo ships progressively phased out of service during the 1980’s and 1990’s. By 2000, all of the ships in WASCO’s service were container vessels.
In the 1980’s, the Keaton government privatised WASCO, turning it from a state owned company into a fully privatised corporation. It was floated on the Pietersburg Stock Exchange in 1987. In addition, the former harbour boards were also privatised throughout the 1980’s, forming Interport, which WASCO acquired in 1998.
Subsidiaries
Interport is the only subsidiary owned by WASCO which provides cargo handling services for cargo terminals at both sea ports and inland ports. Currently Interport provides services under contract to the major ports in Nuvania as well as both inland ports in Constantia and Vryburg.
Fleet
As of December 2022, the WASCO fleet consists of a total of 34 ships, split between 22 container vessels and 12 general cargo vessels.