An Engine of Commerce?

1
An Engine of Commerce?

• Play with your fancies, and in them behold
• Upon the hempen tackle ship-boys climbing
• Hear the shrill whistle which doth order give
• To sounds confused behold the threaden sails,
• Borne with thinvisible and creeping wind,
• Draw the huge bottoms through the furrowed sea,
• Breasting the lofty surge.

2
Steam Technology and Global Maritime Trade,
1860-1910 Studies in Success and Failure
3
British Shipping Total Net Tonnage
Sail Steam

1835 2,750,000 - - -

1850 3,618,000 275,000
1870 4,876,000 1,819,000
1890 3,127,000 8,240,000
1910 1,205,000 17,264,000

1921 - - - 19,320,000
4
Steam Tonnage Entering/Clearing UK Ports
1860 20.1
1870 41.1
1880 63.4
1890 83.0
1900 91.7
5
Increases in Steam Pressure (lbs/sq inch)
1820 5
1850 25
1870 50
1880 100
1890 200
1900 250
6
The North Atlantic Passenger Trade
7
Blue Riband of the Atlantic Holders
Year Ship Owner Avg Speed Grt
1850 Europa Cunard 11.8 knots 1,800
1860 Persia Cunard 13.1 knots 3,300
1870 Scotia Cunard 14.5 knots 3,900
1880 Germanic White Star 15.4 knots 5,000
1890 City of Paris Inman 20.1 knots 10,700
1900 Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse N D Lloyd 22.3 knots 14,300
1910 Mauretania Cunard 26.1 knots 32,000
8
RMS Mauretania, 1907-1935

• Built 1907
• On launch largest moving man-made object
  (16,000 tons) yet built
• Service tonnage 31,500 gross tons
• Dimensions 790 ft long x 88 ft wide
• Engines 4 x direct drive steam turbines
• Daily coal consumption 1,320 tons
• Passengers 563 1st, 464 2nd, 1,138 3rd
• Crew 816
• Fastest crossing 4 days, 17 ½ hours (27.2
  knots)
• Total career 318 Atlantic voyages, 1.5 m
  nautical miles

9
Mauretania Lusitania

• 1st liners to exceed 700 ft in length
• 1st liners to exceed 30,000 gross tons
• 1st liners to cross Atlantic in less than 5 days
• 1st liners to cross Atlantic at more than 25 26
  knots
• Mauretania the last steam-driven liner to hold
  the Blue Riband 1907-1929

10
Allan Line Losses, 1957-1864
Date Ship Location Lives Lost

1/6/1857 Canadian (I) Quebec 0
21/11/1859 Indian Cape Race 27
19/2/1860 Hungarian Cape Sable 237
4/6/1861 Canadian (II) Belle Isle 34
5/11/1861 North Briton Mingan Island 0
27/4/1863 Anglo-Saxon Cape Race 238
14/6/1863 Norwegian St Pauls Island 0
22/2/1864 Bohemian Portland, Me 20
11
Staggering Along with the State Line
Incarnation Floated Target Capital Final Capital Dissolved
1st 1872 1m - 1872
2nd 1872 600k 400k 1876
3rd 1876 300k 150k 1891
12
The Antipodes A Tale of Gold Sheep
13
Failure Success in the Antipodes-UK Trade
1st steam Fate
The Failures
Australian Royal Mail Steam Nav Co 1852 Folded 1860
General Screw Steam Shipping Co 1853 Folded 1862
Australasian Pacific Mail Steam Packet Co 1854 Folded 1855
European Australian Royal Mail Co Ltd 1855 Folded 1858
The Survivors
Orient Steam Nav Co Ltd 1878 Extant 1914
New Zealand Shipping Co Ltd 1883 Extant 1914
Shaw, Savill Albion Co Ltd 1882 Extant 1914
Aberdeen Line (Geo Thompson Co) 1882 Extant 1914
14
Cutty Sark Freight Loaded, Sydney NSW for UK,
1885
Wool 4,454 bales
Cobalt Ore 2,342 packages
Nickel Ore 1,345 bags
Horns 29,772
Shank Bones 122 cwt
Hoofs 76 cwt
Sheep Skins 6 bales
Pith 1 cwt
15
Romance Ruin in the China Tea Trade
16
Glen Line, Ship Investment Return, 1873-1881
Glenfalloch Glenartney Glenearn
Completed 1873 1873 1873
Cost 49,900 55,136 55,324
Voyages 15 15 16
Total Earnings 57,134 71,575 69,467
Per Voyage 3,809 4,678 4,341
Credit Balance 7,234 16,379 14,137
Breakeven Voys 14 12 14
17
Freight Rates, Far East-UK (shillings/ton)
1874 1879
Shanghai
Tea 70-80 30
Waste Silk 75-80 40
Bristles 90 45
Hong Kong
Tea 80 60
Waste Silk 90 80
Japan
Tea 105 60
Waste Silk 108 ½ 50
General merchandise 108 ½ 62 ½
18
Tonights Quiz

• A 2,800 ton/compound-engined steamer arrives at
  the entrance to a British port with a cargo of
  cotton from Galveston some time between 1897 and
  1910

19
Can You Guess.

• 1. When she was built
• 1860s
• 1870s
• 1880s
• 1890s
• 2. Where she was owned/managed
• Bilbao/Liverpool
• Brisbane/London
• Boston/Leeds
• Buenos Aires/Llanelli

• 3. What she was called
• Nile
• Nagoya
• Nanking
• Niceto
• 4. Where she was arriving
• London
• Liverpool
• Manchester
• Glasgow

20
Coal Out Grain Home
21
T Dunlop Sons Ship Acquisition Costs
Vessel Built Grt/Nrt Cost Cost/Nrt 64th Share
Clan Buchanan 1887 2,140/2,072 18,057 8.71 282.14
Queen Margaret 1890 2,678/1,732 35,421 20.45 553.45
Clan Galbraith 1894 2,149/1,983 16,876 8.51 263.69
Queen Mary 1897 3,564/2,262 33,110 14.64 517.34
22
T Dunlop Sons Profitability, Sail vs Steam
Clan Galbraith Queen Olga
Bt 1894, 1,983 Nrt Bt 1894, 2,146 Nrt
Cost 16,876 31,248
64th Share 263.13.9 488.5.1
8 Voyages 10 years 5 years
Earnings/64th 197.10.0 385.7.2
ROC per annum 7.5 29.5
23
Cardiff Fixture List, 15 June 1904
Destination Ship Grt Built Owner
Hong Kong Algoma 2,933 1885 Eeles Ruston, Cardiff
Santos Melbridge 2,868 1891 J Temperley Co, London
Buenos Aires Llanthony Abbey 2,425 1890 Pyman, Watson Co, Newport
Constantinople Trevethoe 2,097 1895 E Hain Son, St lves
Tricomalee Brighton 3,463 1898 R Chapman Son, Newcastle
Diego Suarez Candleshoe 3,799 1899 Bennetts Co, Grimsby
Sierra Leone Cairngowan 1,181 1883 Cairns, Noble Co, Newcastle
Rio de Janiero Glengoil 2,963 1882 Lindsay, Gracie Co, Leith
Aden Baron Innerdale 3,344 1896 H Hogarth Sons, Ardrossan
24
SS Iona Chief Engineers Log, 1889-90 (1)
Start End Days Av Speed Distance
Tees Bombay 34.79 7.55 6,610
Bombay Karachi 2.29 517
Karachi Bristol 34.52 9.17 5,964
Bristol Cardiff 0.14 18
Coal/day 9.75 tons Ballast 4.25
Cardiff Colombo 33.33 8.07 6,448
Colombo Cuddalore 2.45 648
Cuddalore Marseilles 29.77 9.42 5,721
Marseilles Carthagena 2.08 377
Carthagena Tees 9.20 1,845
Coal/day 9.71 tons Ballast 7.30
25
SS Iona Chief Engineers Log, 1889-90 (2)
Start End Days Av Speed Distance
Tees Tyne 0.16 16
Tyne Savona 11.75 8.72 2,365
Savona Serpho 3.89 860
Serpho Rotterdam 13.58 10.27 2,940
Rotterdam Cardiff 2.31 692
Coal/day 10.21 tons Ballast 29.0
Cardiff Livorno 10.06 7.61 1,890
Livorno Ibrail 7.22 1,458
Ibrail Rotterdam 20.47 9.04 3,689
Rotterdam Cardiff 2.68 692
Coal/day 9.33 tons Ballast 38.5
26
UK Grain Imports (million tons)
Origin 1860 1870 1880 1890 1900
Baltic 0.51 0.93 0.89 0.12 0.81
W Europe 0.77 0.40 0.35 0.18 0.75
Black Sea 0.54 1.07 0.45 1.48 0.46
Meditern 0.02 0.08 0.06 0.12 0.07
N America 0.60 0.95 3.80 2.37 5.00
Aus/India 0.39 0.61 0.20
S America 0.03 0.08 0.15 0.94
Pacific 0.35 0.60 0.53
Total 2.44/2.81 3,40/3.71 6.37/6.71 5.63/7.78 8.26/9.48
27
Tramp Steamers Size Carrying Capacity
Name Built Nrt Grt Ratio Dwt Ratio
Neto 1882 1,073 1,696 1.58 2,280 2.12
Samara 1889 1,053 1,623 1.54 2,585 2.45
Persis 1890 1,203 1,850 1.54 3,004 2.50
Turret 1892 1,265 1,970 1.56 3,200 2.53
Chelston 1904 2,389 3,687 1.54 6,480 2.74
28
Bulk Freight Rates (shillings/ton)
Trade Route Year Min Max
Coal S Wales/Genoa 1900 8/- 12/3
1905 5/- 8/-
1910 5/1 8/3
Coal S Wales/P Said 1900 10/- 14/3
1905 4/8 8/1
1910 4/9 8/3
Grain USA/UK 1900 15/6 24/-
1905 8/6 12/1
1910 7/9 13/6
Grain River Plate/UK 1900 17/- 29/6
1905 11/1 20/-
1910 6/9 14/9
29
Freight Rates Building Costs
Peak Trough Average Spread
Freight, 1883-1913
Homeward 125 58 91.5 77
Outward 119 50 84.5 69
Cost, 1898-1913
7,500 dwt 60k 36k 46k 24k
30
Tonights Quiz Answers

• 1. (C) Built 1884
• 2. (A) Owned in Bilbao/Managed in Liverpool
• 3. (D) Named Niceto
• 4. (C) Entering the Manchester Ship Canal

31
Closing Thoughts
32
Romantic but Wrong Repulsive but Right

• As oer the moon, fast fly the amber veils,
• For one dear hour lets fling the knots behind,
• And hear again, thro cordage and thro sails,
• The vigour of the voices of the wind.
• Theyre gone, the Clyde-built darlings, like a
  dream,
• Regrets are vain, and sighs shall not avail,
• Yet, mid the clatter and the rush of steam,
• How strangely memory veers again to sail!