Lloyd’s Register of
Shipping
& other British
Registers
(See below for Bureau Veritas and other foreign registers)
Lloyd’s
Register of Shipping should
not be confused with Lloyd’s (of London) the insurance market,
even although there were some direct links. Both organisations’ names now
reflect the famous coffee-house frequented by the variety of professionals
associated with the shipping industry. Edward Lloyd did not have any direct
input in the production of the registers of shipping, although it is not
unreasonable to speculate that the earliest lists of ships might have been
formulated at Lloyd’s Coffee-House.
The
Register of Shipping appeared in 1760 and
was, apparently, the first of its kind in the world. Formulated by
underwriters, the earliest versions (only surviving in part from 1764-65-66)
may have been hand-written, or as printed sheets. From 1775 onwards there is an
unbroken line of surviving copies though and they were then known as the Underwriters’ Register, or the ‘Green Book’.
Whatever its form, these were strictly for the use of the
subscribers and this policy was to be continued for a considerable time.
In
1769 the underwriters and brokers that compiled their register had moved their
operation to their own premises. Temporarily this was in Pope’s Head Alley
(known as ‘New Lloyd’s), but then went to the Royal Exchange.
For
this exercise it is not necessary to go through the many changes in format in
the register. However, some points need making. As already briefly mentioned,
the information contained within the registers (that came to be issued
annually) was tightly controlled. On the publication of each new register,
those in force had to be recalled and carefully accounted for. (The loss, theft
or destruction of copies brought significant penalties, as did showing these to
non-members.) Vessels were classified, by survey, although in certain respects
not too much should be
inferred by this, as the criteria was far from objective.
Although very much a London based organisation, even there much ill feeling was
felt by those that saw themselves adversely affected.
With
one particular change in the form of classifications, London shipowners were so unsatisfied that they began to publish their own register,
as of 1799. This was officially entitled The
New Register of Shipping. Although maintaining that it was produced by merchants,
shipowners and underwriters, it appears to only have really been represented by
shipowners (at least at the beginning). This resulted in their listing more
generally being known at the Shipowners’
Register,
or ‘Red Book’. Their premises initially were at 22, Change Alley, then 3 Saint
Michael’s Alley.
This
was hardly an answer to the not insignificant weaknesses. For a start
shipowners were not then required to pay for surveys and consequently, a great
many appeared in both of the rival publications. Another highly important
problem related to the classification process itself. Far from systematic, apart
from being heavily biased towards London-built vessels, age was the main
criteria. Saliently, neither organisation was on a sound financial footing.
Soon
after the second entity had appeared there had been an unsuccessful attempt to
bring both the registers together by the General Shipowners’ Society. Calls by
disaffected members (including merchants) of the shipowners’ group in 1823
began a real process of union though. Following negotiations, a Committee of
Inquiry was formed in 1824, with deliberations at Lloyd’s. The majority of this
committee was made up of London merchants, shipowners and underwriters; with
single member representation for some other ports.
Taking
a great deal of evidence from far and wide, including outside agencies such as
the surveyors of the Royal Navy, Royal Dockyards and the Honourable East India
Company, their report was completed in 1826. It called for a completely new and
comprehensive system of classification, based on an enlarged and better
surveying regime on properly laid down rules for construction and maintenance.
The committee were not particularly optimistic about raising the necessary
amounts of money to realise their proposals and suggested government aid in the
form of a small duty on tonnage, or alternatively on marine insurance premiums.
This process faltered.
By
the early 1830s both registers were in such a perilous financial state that it
looked as if both would go under by about 1834 or so. Through a ‘Special
Committee on the Affairs at Lloyd’s’ small sub-committees of the two registers
were brought together at the Merchant Seamen’ Office (an Admiralty precursor of
the office of the Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen) in August 1833.
From this a Joint Committee followed and basically the proposals of the 1824-26
committee were taken up, as of the end of the year.
Funding was to be raised, not only through payment by members for copies of the
register (encouraging a wider membership), but also by shipowners for
classification and surveys - according to a properly constituted scale. The new
organisation was fortunate in that it also received extra contributions. Apart
from £700 donated by individual underwriters, Lloyd’s of London agreed to making a gift of £1,000 to the new society (the latter paid
back not that long after). As well as this the four largest marine insurance
companies; the Alliance Marine Assurance Company; London Assurance Corporation;
Indemnity Mutual Marine Assurance Company; and the Royal Exchange Assurance
Corporation, each agreed to funding of one hundred
guineas per annum. So, the replacement register, known as the Lloyd’s Register of British and Foreign Shipping, first
appeared in October 1834.
In
relation to the classification of vessels, as of 1837 a sub-committee (of the
General Committee) was first appointed (initially only for wooden-hulled
sailing craft). Meeting weekly, until 1999, these were overwhelmingly headed by
the General Committee’s Deputy Chairman.
In
the early days they had no premises of their own, meeting in the boardroom of
the General Shipowners’ Society, at 72 Cornhill. It was to be decades before
the register became a fixture in Leadenhall Street.
This
may have been a good solution to the problems in London, but it did
comparatively little for the merchants, shipowners and underwriters in the rest
of the United Kingdom. Although the new constitution was framed to be more
inclusive, the influence of the ‘outports’ on the
register’s committees remained slight. After unsatisfactory negotiations, in
the year of 1835 a list named the Liverpool
Register of Shipping
appeared: the work of this city’s dissident shipping community.
Meanwhile
in London, once again through talks conducted by the General Shipowners’
Society, a mechanism of voting more representatives onto Lloyd’s Register Permanent Committee was adopted through
time. The east coast ports seem to have benefited from this early, while
Liverpool remained out in the cold. Consequently, in 1838 once again a Liverpool Register of Shipping was published. Rather
than a pure list, this closely followed the format and classification system of
the London based Lloyd’s Register. Part of the Liverpool
fraternity’s concerns related to their shipowners buying British North American
(Canadian) hulls. Built of softwood, they were cheaper than comparable British
vessels but generally considered in London to be of inferior construction.
Anyway, this ‘rebellion’ sparked protracted further negotiations and in 1845
the Liverpool and London organisations ‘amalgamated’ (although in reality, the
regional entity was subsumed).
There
was one more Liverpool based independent register. Again unhappy with the rules
emanating from London, in 1862 the Underwriters’
Registry for Iron Vessels was set up. After various changes in L.R.S.’
rules for iron-hulled vessels, protracted negotiations were held with the
larger agency. In 1885 this Liverpool publication entered the London fold.
With
time, consolidation (through incorporation in 1871) and much expansion Lloyd’s Register became not only a truly representative
body for all the various sides of
the shipping industry (not just the insurance element) within the United
Kingdom, it also built up operations throughout the world. With
the massive changes in technology since the beginning of the 19th century,
after long-term lobbying shipbuilders and marine engineers were allowed a
limited entry (through a sub committee) to the levers
of power. It was not until 1911 that these important groups were allowed
membership of the agency’s General Committee.
In
relation to this changing technology, although initially hesitant to classify
iron-hulled vessels, in time rules were produced. The step from iron to steel
was less of a challenge, since by this time there was a considerable reservoir
of experience (with further research carried out). With shipbuilding becoming
far more technically minded, Lloyd’s operatives became highly involved in the testing of equipment (such as
marine engines and chain), as well as the materials themselves. As of 1877 a
separate Lloyd’s Register of Yachts was produced. Post
First World War there was a move into the classification of aircraft.
Lloyd’s
Register
also gave good service to H.M. Government as and when called on. The Marine
Department of the Board of Trade having absolutely no technical knowledge
whatsoever, it was this commercial entity that formulated the load-line
regulations necessitated by the ‘Plimsoll Agitation’ (as the Board of Trade
detractors dubbed this lobbying). During the First World War, even before the
standard ship programme of the last phase, L.R.S. had been involved in
much war work. And, it was the same in the Second World War.
It
should also be noted that another independent classification agency appeared in
Britain, in 1890. This was the British
Corporation.
Glasgow based, it covered steel-hulled vessels. Interestingly, this survived
until 1949, when it too disappeared into L.R.S.
So
much for the potted history, the following deals with the use of the actual
registers themselves.
Unsurprisingly,
being rare and essentially irreplaceable, only facsimile copies of the various
early registers from 1764 to 1833 are available (to my knowledge at least) in
maritime archives.
From
1834 onwards, originals are available at a limited number of locations, in the U.K.
and elsewhere. It should be noted that they run from July to June the following
year. Those in the modern information centre at Lloyd’s Register (in Leadenhall Street, in the City of London) tend to contain
the useful ‘pasted’ and ‘pen and inks corrections’ often missing from others.
Through
time more and more information was recorded in the registers.
Nevertheless, it is important to stress their limitations. Especially in the
early and mid 19th century, it is often possible to find literally
dozens of vessels of the same ‘common’ names within Lloyd’s (of London)
records, but which cannot be reconciled in these classification agencies’
registers. There are perfectly logical explanations
for this. Until 1874-75 only vessels that had been surveyed by the registers
were included (with a brief exception in 1834). In spite of claims to the
contrary, it is apparent that a great many small wooden
sailing vessels were never seen in the pages of any of the registers! Even
when found though, saliently, until 1834 at the earliest (and even then only
for wooden sailing vessels), classification
cannot be legitimately regarded as a truthful expression of the state of
vessels.
Again contrary to claims made in some publications, earlier vessels with iron
and steel hulls are also often missing due to reservations over classification
and this must be considered, particularly when tracing steamships.
(Alternatively, some were surveyed and shown in L.R.S., but until their
rules were formulated without any classification.) Anyway, from 1874-75 British vessels grossing 100 tons or over (not surveyed
by this organisation’s surveyors) were also added to L.R.S. Begun in 1886 as the Universal Register, this L.R.S.
title
had the aim of showing ‘all sea-going vessel in
the world above 100 tons’. From 1890 the foreign-registered vessels were
incorporated within the normal register(s).
Please
note that caution should be exercised in relation to a few types of entries in
these registers. In the earlier decades
it was often the case that masters’ names and the ‘intended’ voyages were
either out of date, or incorrect (sometimes
hopelessly). Also, not only did the classification rules periodically change,
so too did the ways of recording them. Also, some entries in First and Second
World War registers are very difficult to locate, especially ‘standard’ ships
(of both wars) produced rapidly and soon after destroyed by enemy action. Great
care should be exhibited in dealing with these and one should if at all
possible, view copies that have been conscientiously updated by ‘pen and ink’
and/or ‘pasted’ corrections.
In
spite of security precautions taken, there were also ersatz wartime editions
produced in Germany during the two World Wars. While I have seen their usage in
propaganda films, with U-boat commanders striking out tonnage apparently just
sunk, I have never actually seen one of these. I would be interested in
learning if any of these still exist and where.
For
those that are technically minded, Lloyd’s Register has loaned their survey
records to the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich. These are not records
that are normally of much use to genealogists, unless of course, one’s forebear
was a surveyor, shipbuilder and/or shipowner. Even the ‘simpler’ surveys of
sailing ships are full of terms such as ‘foothook
heads’, ‘scarphs of the kelsons’,
as well as ‘wales and black strakes’!
Also,
I have made some enquiries into holdings of the various registers produced in
Liverpool and Glasgow. Up to now I have had no success, but I will update this
as and when I locate these.
Bureau Veritas
This
is something of a French equivalent to Lloyd’s Register of Shipping. Begun in
1828, the first Registre
Veritas available is from 1829 and it should be noted
that their volumes run from January to December. Predominately dealing with
European vessels, it is also worth searching these for those in American flag.
The early volumes can be especially useful, as the technical information
recorded is far greater than that of L.R.S.
Unfortunately,
far fewer U.K. archives hold this register. The fullest collection I know of is
at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich.
Other Foreign Registers
The
sea not being a purely British preserve (contrary to some British
commentators), other non-British classification agencies have been developed.
There are now a great many throughout the world, reflecting the present
situation in world shipping.
Occasionally
I have attempted to track down copies of these registers in London. Generally,
I have had little success in this. Nevertheless, this is not an impossible
proposition.
Go to Crew Lists and Agreements