UK’s Lloyd’s Register apologises for slavery links

AFP | London

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Centuries-old British maritime group Lloyd’s Register has apologised for its historical role in transatlantic slavery, after launching an investigation into its past.

LR was founded in 1760 as the world’s first classification society, responsible for inspecting and certifying ships.

Many of its early shipping records “include details of ships that transported kidnapped African people under horrific conditions,” the group said in a statement published on Monday.

“What is clear from this initial research is that ... until the UK’s Slavery Abolition Act in 1833, we played an important role supporting a maritime system that enabled the slave economy,” it added.

Some of its early committee members were also identified as traffickers and enslavers themselves, according to the research commissioned with the Wilberforce Institute at the University of Hull.