For the Shipping Federation of British Columbia, see British Columbia Maritime Employers' Association

British Columbia Maritime Employers' Association

The British Columbia Maritime Employers Association is an association representing the interests of member companies in industrial relations on Vancouver's and other British Columbian seaports....

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The Shipping Federation was an association of employers in the shipping industry. It was formed in 1890 in response to the London Dock Strike of 1889 and the successes of the National Union of Seamen

National Union of Seamen

The National Union of Seamen was the principal trade union of merchant seafarers in the United Kingdom from the late 1880s to 1990. In 1990, the union amalgamated with the National Union of Railwaymen to form the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers .- The National Amalgamated...

 and various dockers' unions. The main function of the Federation was to co-ordinate the actions of shipowners so as to counter trade unionism and strike action. Its membership was largely made up of firms operating trampships and small vessels. Most ocean liner firms remained outside the Federation until the 1920s, whilst those in Liverpool did not link up with the Federation until it combined with their own local Employers' Association in 1967. In 1975 the Shipping Federation combined with the Chamber of Shipping to form the General Council of British Shipping, but reverted to the name Chamber of Shipping in 1991.