The Beginnings Niccolò Mihanovich was born in the
Kingdom of Dalmatia,
Austrian Empire, in what is today
Croatia, in 1846. Self-educated, he arrived in
Buenos Aires in 1868 and formed a partnership with two of his countrymen: Gerónimo Zuanich and Octavio Cosulich. Operating five
steam ships by 1879, the group initiated scheduled transports from Buenos Aires to the then-remote outposts of
Bahía Blanca and
Carmen de Patagones. The new route's success led to the purchase of the 1,500-ton
Watergeus, which received a materials transport contract from the rapidly expanding
Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway, and to the 1887 establishment of the first
ferry service between Buenos Aires and
Colonia del Sacramento (
Uruguay). Already the majority stakeholder in
Nicolás Mihanovich y Compañía, he bought out his partners in 1888. Facing increasing competition in the late 1880s, the Mihanovich Company's strong financial base put it in a position of great advantage following the ruinous
Panic of 1890, which began in Argentina when the overissuance of local
bonds by the
Barings Bank led to their collapse in value. The first major steam ship operator to fold was
La Platense, whose assets of over 1.2 million gold pesos (a similar amount in US$) Mihanovich was able to purchase in 1894 for only 92,000. Mihanovich would operate not only Latin America's largest shipping company, but also the region's premier
shipyard, allowing the group to dispense with the
outsourcing of repairs. The company began to issue
stock and by 1907, the company's
market capitalization reached 7 million gold pesos (Mihanovich's brother, Miguel, sons (Pedro y Nicolás) and other relatives remained majority stakeholders). and an
abattoir, among others. The company, however, remained closest to the British Empire, and although the Mihanovich family owned a 70% share, the company was registered in London. Every new steamer was, moreover, purchased from
England's famed shipbuilders, including the 6,177-ton
freighter Centenario (one of the largest at that time in the world).
Twilight Competition from the railways helped prompt Mihanovich to sell a number of his surplus freighters to European governments (newly embroiled in
World War I). The perceived
conflict of interest in having Mihanovich, an Austro-Hungarian citizen and official, direct a British-controlled shipping company led to his retirement from the board of directors, in 1916. His elder son, Pedro, briefly succeeded him, though in 1918, Mihanovich sold his family's stake in the group to a consortium led by a British shipping magnate,
Owen Philipps, later
Lord Kylsant, and an Argentine investor,
Alberto Dodero. The ship NICOLAS MIHANOVICH was built in 1962. == Ships ==