back to Sea Transportation or the Index

 

"Why do the wrong people travel, travel, travel,

When the right people stay back home?"

--

Noel Coward

 

The Admiral Line Adriatica British India Steam Navigation Company Compagnie Générale Transatlantique Compagnie des Messageries Maritimes Cunard White Star Line Dollar Steamship Line Khedivial Mail Line Lloyd Triestino Matson Navigation Company Nippon Yusen Kaisha Orient Steam Navigation Company Peninsular & Orient Steam Navigation Company Sovtorgflot Union-Castle Mail Steamship Company United States Lines

     Remember 1 knot (speed) = 1 nautical mile per hour = 1.15 regular-old-miles per hour

     I'd say any steam freighter with "Western" owners will make 10 to 14 knots; 11 or 12 knots are pretty typical. A pretty pathetic tramp steamer might be as slow as 8 knots top speed; some deep-ocean fishing boats will be that slow. Any slower, and sailing would be better!

     Any ship described as "passenger" will make at least 15 knots; 18 knots is pretty common.

     Note that all American-flagged vessels were prohibited from serving alcohol before 1934, although by 1933 there were "booze cruises" where "medicinal alcohol" could be served.

     A useful site with history and photos of many liners.

     Aside from the services listed below, the page on sea travel in and out of China lists some useful examples; and our page on the Indian Ocean provides some more information.

     Standard cargo rates from the west coast of the United States to the Orient; these are quoted per ton, or per 40 cubic feet, whichever gives the larger fare:

 

• personal effects:  $30
  

• valuable cargo:  $25

• general cargo:  $15

• general cargo, carried on deck at shipper's risk:  $10

 

The Admiral Line

 

     An American company serving ports on the west coast of the United States, and to Japan, China and the Philippines. It's a subsidiary of the Pacific Steamship Company; there's a confusing amount of mergers, name changes, route changes, etc. in the 1920s and 1930s involving these companies.

     The most notable route is between San Diego and Alaska, with stops at pretty much every coastal town or city. The vessels are the Emma Alexander, Ruth Alexander, Dorothy Alexander, Admiral Peoples, and Admiral Farragut .

     Another ship, the H.F. Alexander, connects New York City with Miami, Florida; it makes the trip in two days, and can carry 100 automobiles. De Luxe staterooms one-way cost $125 to $200; standard (but still first-class) stateroom cost $60 to $100 one-way.

     For service to the Orient, they have five 535' long passenger ships, the President McKinley, President Jefferson, President Grant, President Jackson, and President Madison.

 

Adriatica

 

     Societa per Azioni di Navigazione Adriatica. From April of 1932 onwards, several smaller Italian steamship companies were merged together into this government-controlled line. It's based in Venice; vessels are on the smaller side.

 

British India Steam Navigation Company

 

     With corporate connections to the P&O, this company has many smaller ships, connecting ports on the east coast of Africa, at Aden and in the Persian Gulf, all over India and Burma, to Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong and as far along the Asian coast as Japan. Based in Calcutta, some specialties of this company are the carriage of large numbers of 'native' unberthed passengers; the carriage of rice; and the transport of Australian horses.  After the opening of the Suez Canal, the company began carrying mails from London to Brisbane, via India. In 1922 BI had the largest commercial fleet in the world, with 158 ships totaling nearly a million gross tons. Basically, BI handles the smaller routes; P&O gets the faster, more prestigious routes.

     Some of their many routes include:

 

• London - Gibraltar - Naples - Port Said - Aden - Mombasa -  Dar-es-Salaam - Tanga

• London - Port Said - Red Sea ports - Madras - Calcutta and separately to Chittagong and Chalna, serving Colombo, Trincomalee and Visakhapatnam

• London - Marseilles - Genoa - Port Said - Red Sea ports - Karachi - Bombay,

• Two ships operate a route: Bombay - Seychelles - Dar-es-Salaam - Durban

• The ships are the SS Kenya and the SS Karanja, both built in 1930. 9890 register tons, 66 first class passengers, 180 second class passengers, 1981 deck passengers ("natives").

• Madras - Nagapattinam - Penang - Port Swettenham - Singapore

• Calcutta - Burma - Bangkok - Malaysia - Singapore - Australia

 

     At most, waiting for a BI ship to England from India is a 2 week delay. Red Sea ports include Aqaba, Yembo, Jeddah, Port Sudan, Massawa, Aden and Djibouti. 

 

Compagnie Générale Transatlantique

 

     Usually known as the French Line on any English language document. They operate several famous trans-Atlantic passenger liners, along with vessels connecting France with Panama, Peru and Chile; and also to North Africa and the Middle East. They also have a fleet of freighters. 

     "Cabin service" ships sail from France to New York taking about 7 days at sea; "express service" ships take only 5 days. In this period, the SS Rochambeau makes a short stop in Vigo, Spain, instead of at Plymouth, England.

     All of their stewards, waiters, etc. speak fluent English (among other languages); most of the sailors are Breton.

     As of 1933, their trans-Atlantic passenger liners are:

 

• Champlain : a very new vessel, with diesel engines, the largest and fasted "cabin class" ocean liner.

• De Grasse : launched 1924; used in the company's "cabin class" service.
  

• Île de France :  in the latest modern styles, including a lot of Art Deco decor; every first class cabin has a unique decorating style -- no two the same. Very popular with the young, stylish, rich and famous. If you want to cross the North Atlantic in style in 1933, this is the ship to take. Not the fastest, though, but still "express service".  Her most expensive first-class cabin costs £514 ($1800) for a trans-Atlantic voyage. 
  

• Lafayette : a new vessel, with diesel engines. In "cabin class" trans-Atlantic service.
  

• Normandie : launched in 1932, but she won't enter service until May of 1935. The largest, fastest passenger vessel in the world, with an interior of Art Deco and Streamline Moderne design. 
  

• Paris : in the 1920s she was the largest passenger liner flying the French flag. Provides "express service".

• Rochambeau : the oldest vessel in CGT service, in fact will be scrapped in 1934.

   

summer 1933 cabin service schedule for French Line
vessel	eastbound				westbound
	New York	Vigo	Plymouth	Havre	Havre	Plymouth	Vigo	New York
Champlain	June 3	--	June 10	June 10	May 24	May 24	--	May 31
Lafayette	June 8	--	June 16	June 16	May 27	May 27	--	June 4
De Grasse	June 20	--	June 28	June 28	June 9	June 9	--	June 17
Rochambeau	June 22	June 30	--	July 2	June 3	--	June 5	June 13
Champlain	June 24	--	July 1	July 1	June 14	June 14	--	June 21
Lafayette	July 1	--	July 9	July 9	June 21	June 21	--	June 29
De Grasse	July 12	--	July 20	July 20	July 1	July 1	--	July 9
Champlain	July 15	--	July 22	July 22	July 5	July 5	--	July 12
Rochambeau	July 25	Aug. 2	--	Aug. 4	July 8	--	July 10	July 18
Lafayette	July 26	--	Aug. 3	Aug. 3	July 15	July 15	--	July 23
Champlain	Aug. 5	--	Aug. 12	Aug. 12	July 26	July 26	--	Aug. 2
Champlain	Aug. 26	--	Sept. 2	Sept. 2	Aug. 16	Aug. 16	--	Aug. 23
Rochambeau	Aug. 29	Sept. 6	--	Sept. 8	Aug. 12	--	Aug. 14	Aug. 22
De Grasse	Aug. 30	--	Sept. 7	Sept. 7	Aug. 19	Aug. 19	--	Aug. 27
Lafayette	Sept. 13	--	Sept. 21	Sept. 21	Aug. 30	Aug. 30	--	Sept. 7
Champlain	Sept. 20	--	Sept. 27	Sept. 27	Sept. 6	Sept. 6	--	Sept. 13

New York departures are always at noon, from Pier 57 on the North River (foot of W. 15th Street).

 

     Transatlantic fares on these ships varies slightly by the ship taken, but in the off-season one-way cabin (first class) fare is £45 8s  ($159), tourist fare is £31 10s ($110.50), and third class is £22 ($77). Servants traveling with first class passengers are charged £36 11s ($128). Fares include all meals and vin du table, and unlimited baggage (though motor cars will have to be paid for as freight).

     Some of their ships offer 'cruises" (in the modern sense of the term) between September and March; these change from year to year, but typically will either visit the West Indies (minimum £62 or $217.50), or around the Mediterranean (minimum £104 or $365).

     The "express service" schedule for 1933, between Le Havre/Plymouth and New York City:

 

1933 express service schedule for French Line
vessel	eastbound	westbound
Paris	Jan. 20	Jan. 11
Paris	Feb. 10	Feb. 1
Paris	Mar. 4	Feb. 22
Paris	March 24	March 15
Île de France	April 8	March 29
Paris	April 15	April 5
Île de France	April 29	April 19
Paris	May 19	May 10
Île de France	May 27	May 17
Paris	June 10	May 31
Île de France	June 17	June 7
Paris	July 1	June 23
Île de France	July 7	June 28
Paris	July 21	July 12
Île de France	July 28	June 19
Paris	Aug. 12	Aug. 2
Île de France	Aug. 19	Aug. 9
Paris	Sept. 1*	Aug. 23
Île de France	Sept. 5	Aug. 29
Paris	Sept. 9	--
Île de France	Sept. 23	Sept. 13
Paris	Sept. 29	Sept. 20
Île de France	Oct. 14	Oct. 4
Paris	Oct. 21	Oct. 11
Île de France	Nov. 4	Oct. 25
Paris	Nov. 18	Nov. 8
Île de France	Nov. 25	Oct. 15
Paris	Dec. 14	Dec. 2

Sailing dates only -- the journey normally takes 5 days.

Eight hours after departure from Havre, or eight hours before arrival at Havre,

these ships take on or put off passengers and mail at Plymouth, England.

I suspect they don't want to make the transfer at night, so the French Line ships

probably arrive/depart in the mornings and before sunset.

*this is a cruise to Bermuda and back, returning to New York City on September 5.

 

     We haven't gotten fare information for the "express service" ships, but a first-class cabin is going to cost at least £85 ($300), up to £514 ($1800) for the fanciest suite.

     Note that French Line ships (and a lot of other trans-Atlantic liners) enter Cawsand Bay at the south end of Plymouth Sound, but don't enter the harbor itself (past the breakwater) except in stormy weather -- there are two tender ships which transfer passengers and freight quickly between the shore and the liners. The time between tenders tying up alongside the wharf, to the departure of trains for London, is usually 30 minutes -- including customs. The rail trip from Plymouth to Paddingston Station, in London, is about 4 hours.

 

Compagnie des Messageries Maritimes

 

     'MM' is a notable French steamship line, operating through the Mediterranean to the Levant, and through Suez to Mauritius, Australia and the Far East. Besides minor routes in the Levant, around Madagascar, along the coast of Indochina, around New Caledonia, etc. the long-distance routes are:

 

• Marseilles - Constantinople - Trebizond

• Marseilles - Beirut

• Marseilles - Algiers/Oran - Tunis

• Marseilles - via Suez Canal - Ceylon - Indochina

• Marseilles - Port Said - via Suez Canal - Mahe (Seychelles) - Reunion - Mauritius - Adelaide - Melbourne - Sydney - Noumea (New Caledonia)

 

     MM ships in service in 1934:  Amboise, Amiral Pierre, Anadyr, Andre Lebon, Angers,  Aramis, Astrolabe, Athos, Azay-le-Rideau, Bagdad, Bernadin de Saint-Pierre, Boussole, Bucephale, Cephee, Champollion, Chantilly, Chenonceaux, Chief Mecanicien Mailhol, Claude Chappe, Commandant Dorise, Commandante Mages, Commissaire Pierre Lecoq, Commissaire Ramel, Compiegne, D'Artagnan, Doctor Pierre Benoit, Dumont d'Urville, Eridan, Esperance, Explorateur Grandidier, Felix Roussel, Fontainbleu, General Metzinger, Jean Laborde, Kouang Si, Lamartine, Leconte de Lisle, Lieutenant de la Tour, Lieutenant Saint-Loubert-Bie, Marechal Gallieni, Marechal Joffre, Mariette Pacha, Min, Patria, Pierre Loti, Porthos, Providence, Recherche, Sphinx, Theophile Gautier, Ville d'Amiens, Ville de Strasbourg, Ville de Verdun, Yalou, Yang Tse. Bold names are built after 1919, underlined names are at least 10,000 tons. 

 

Cunard White Star Line

 

      This company includes the Anchor Line (five ships, Scotland and Ireland to the U.S.) and the Donaldson Atlantic Line (two ships, Britain to Canada); in April of 1934 it merged with the White Star Line. Under the Cunard flag are five large, fast trans-Atlantic liners:  Majestic (ex-Bismarck), Berengaria (ex-Imperator), Aquitania, Olympic (sister ship to the Titanic), and Mauretania; and twenty smaller vessels (Georgic, Homeric, Britannic, Franconia, Carinthia, Laconia, Samaria, Albertic, Laurentic, Scythia, Adriatic, Lancastria, Ascania, Doric, Alaunia, Aurania, Calgaric, Ausonia, Antonia, and Andania). Some of their ships, including the Mauretania, make cruises between April and September; cruising can include voyages to the Mediterranean, the Bahamas, Florida, and the Caribbean. A big, new liner has been under construction since 1930, to be launched (after many delays) in 1936; it will compete with the fast German and French super-liners. The last voyages of the Olympic and Mauretania will be in September of 1934; they'll be laid up in Southampton, and scrapped in the summer of 1935. Also, the Majestic will be sold in 1936 after the new ship enters service..

     The 'normal' trans-Atlantic route is from Southampton, to Cherbourg or Le Havre, and on to New York. When stopping at Cherbourg or Le Havre, the ships do not approach the docks, but instead are served by large tenders (the famous Nomadic is one). For most purposes, presume a Cunard ship departs from New York or Southampton every day; on every other day, more or less, the ship is one of the large, fast vessels.

     A first-class outside cabin for a one-way voyage between Southampton and New York would cost $295 with private bathroom; or $400 for a suite with a bedroom, living room, and private bathroom. First-class passengers can carry unlimited amounts of baggage (though there's probably some limit on freight-like items). Third-class cabins from the UK to New York:  $93 per person.

 

Dollar Steamship Line

 

     The largest American steamship company in the Pacific, Dollar Lines is kept in business through the Depression by a combination of financial chicanery and government mail subsidies. The owners of the line are also friends with many Chinese Nationalists. Wars and unrest in China, and the maritime strikes on the West Coast in 1934 and 1936 eventually drive the company out of business; the U.S. government takes over the company in 1938. American Mail Lines and Pacific Mail Steamship Company are older fleets purchased by Dollar in the Twenties, but still somewhat under their own flags and markings. Even after the end of Prohibition, liquor is never sold or served on Dollar Line ships (which can't have helped passenger business).

      Some of their routes include:

 

• Seattle - Victoria - Yokohama - Kobe - Shanghai - Hong Kong - Manila - Seattle
  

• San Francisco - Los Angeles - Honolulu - Yokohama - Kobe - Shanghai - Hong Kong - Manila - San Francisco. Ships depart every week on this route.
  

• San Francisco - Los Angeles - Honolulu - Manila - Singapore - Manila - Honolulu - San Francisco
  

• the famous "round the world" route:  New York - Boston - Havana - Cristobal - Balboa - Los Angeles - San Francisco - Honolulu - Kobe - Shanghai - Hong Kong - Manila -  Singapore - Penang, Malaysia - Colombo, Ceylon - Suez - Port Said - Alexandria - Naples - Genoa - Marseilles - New York                                                           

 

     San Francisco to Honolulu takes five days; Honolulu to Yokohama takes nine days. Here's a sample of a month's trans-Pacific sailings from October of 1929.

     The Dollar Line ships in service as of 1934 include:   President Johnson, President Cleveland, President Wilson, President Polk, President Monroe, President Lincoln, President Hayes, President Madison, President Van Buren, President Taft, President Garfield, President Pierce, President Adams, and President Harrison. The President Hoover and the President Coolidge are big, brand-new trans-Pacific liners, and can make 21 knots; almost all of the other ships in the line are cargo-liners built in the early Twenties, are at least 10,000 tons and will make 17 knots.    

     The exception is the President Johnson. She is a quadruple-expansion twin-screw cargo-liner, built in 1903, 616 ft long, 65 ft beam, currently 16,111 gross register tons (after refits), top speed 15 knots. Accommodations 350 in first class, 68 in second class, 1300 in steerage; about 1500 Marines can be carried if the ship is only slightly modified for trooping. She is the oldest ship in the Dollar fleet, by far, and is used on the round-the-world route. 

     American Mail Lines ships include the President McKinley, President Grant, President Jefferson, and President Jackson. They are all similar to the 17 knot, mid-Twenties ships of the Dollar Line.

 

Khedivial Mail Line

 

     The "Khedivial Mail Line" serves four Mediterranean routes (plus others through and beyond the Suez Canal):

 

• TSS Khedive Ismail (12000 grt) sails on the route Alexandria - Piraeus (Greece) - Valetta (Malta) - Marseilles (France)

• TSS Mohamed Ali El Kebir sails on the route Alexandria - Port Said (Egypt) - Famagusta (Cyprus)

• TSS Zaafaran sails on the route Alexandria - Port Said (Egypt) - Jaffa (Palestine) - Haifa (Palestine) - Beirut (French Mandate) - Tripoli (French Mandate) - Alexandretta (French Mandate, special province)

• TSS Zamalek sails on the route Alexandria - Izmir (Turkey) - Istanbul (Turkey); this journey, of 862 nautical miles, takes about 54 hours (60 hours if the ship stops at Izmir, which is listed in the schedule as "optional"); first class fare is 10 to 15 pounds per bed, second class fare is 4 pounds per bed. Children under 12 are half-fare.

 

     The KML was British-owned until 1930, when it was purchased by the Egyptian entrepreneur Pasha Ahmed Abboud.

 

Note: the KML routes are approximately correct; the ship names are known,

but the plans, capacities, photos, etc. are taken from similar ships of the period and location.

 

Lloyd Triestino

 

    An Italian line; in full,  Società Anonima di Navigazione Lloyd Triestino. In the mid-1930s this company, like all other Italian shipping companies, was involved in some complicated nationalization schemes. Route information can be found here; vessels in service between 1932 and 1936:

 

Lloyd Triestino ships in the mid-1930s
name	launched	type	tons
Abbazia	1912	cargo	3,819
Adria	1914	cargo	3,809
Alberto Treves	1917	cargo	5,155
Amazzonia	1916	cargo	7,077
Aquileja	1914	passenger	9,322
Arabia	1926	passenger	7,025
Asia	1904	passenger	5,325
Ausonia	1928	passenger	12,995
Brenta	1920	cargo	5,400
Bulgaria	1908	cargo	3,850
Caffaro	1924	cargo	6,476
Campidoglio	1909	cargo	3,905
Carignano	1918	cargo	5,272
Carnaro	1913	cargo	3,526
Celio	1908	cargo	3,870
Conte Rosso	1922	passenger	17,048
Conte Verde	1923	passenger	18,765
Cracovia	1920	passenger	8,052
Dalmatia L	1903	cargo	3,104
Diana	1923	cargo	3,420
Fusijama	1929	passenger	6,244
Gablonz	1912	cargo	8,448
Galilea	1918	passenger	8,040
Gastein	1910	cargo	3,817
Gerusalemme	1920	passenger	8,052
Gradisca	1913	passenger	13,868
Helouan	1912	cargo	7,367
Himalaya	1929	cargo	6,240
India	1926	cargo	6,367
Isonzo	1921	passenger	5,441
Italia	1905	cargo	5,018
Lombardia (16 kt)	1920	passenger	20,206
Merano	1909	cargo	3,849
Moncalieri	1918	cargo	5,267
Quirinale	1907	cargo	3,891
Praga	1908	cargo	3,905
Savoia	1920s?	passenger
Sumatra	1927	passenger	6,126
Tirrenia	1922	passenger	3,540
Toscana (12.5 kt)	1923	passenger	9,429
Vesta	1923	cargo	3,467
Victoria	1931	passenger	13,098
Vienna	1911	cargo	7,367

 

Matson Navigation Company

 

     Founded in 1882, this company serves Pacific Ocean ports from the United States, especially to the Hawaiian Islands. In 1932 the company bought the famous Moana Hotel in Honolulu.

     Matson ships include the Malolo, built in 1927 and the fastest passenger ship in the Pacific (capable of 22 knots), and three liners built in the early Thirties -- Mariposa and Monterey visit South Pacific ports, while  Lurline visits Hawaii.

     Freighters include the Manulani and the Manukai -- largest freighters in the Pacific -- which can make the run from Seattle to Honolulu in 7 days 14 hours.

 

Nippon Yusen Kaisha

 

     NYK (the name translates to "Japan Mail Steamship Company") is the largest Japanese shipping company, with routes to other Asian ports, Australia, Europe, and North and South America. Some of the routes are:

 

• Hong Kong - Kobe - Yokohama - Honolulu - Portland - San Francisco - Los Angeles - Manzanillo, Mexico - Balboa - Paita, Peru - Callao, Peru - Pisco, Peru - Arica, Chile - Iquique, Peru and reverse (once every month in each direction on this route)

• Yokohama - Shanghai - Hong Kong - Singapore - Penang, Malaysia - Colombo, Ceylon - Suez - Port Said - Naples - Marseilles - London and reverse. Departures every 2 weeks on this route.

• Yokohama - Seattle

• Nagasaki - Shanghai

• Hong Kong - Shanghai - Yokohama - San Francisco
  

• Yokohama - Nagasaki - Hong Kong - Melbourne

 

Orient Steam Navigation Company

 

     An old British shipping company; since 1919 it's been 51% owned by P&O. All of their ships have names starting with the letter "O".  They operate routes from Britain to the west coast of South America, and (mostly) Australia.

     More information needed.

 

Peninsular & Orient Steam Navigation Company

 

     P&O is the biggest British company in the general Australia-and-Asia market; they've got ships going from Australia to Singapore, Singapore to China, Singapore to India and back to Britain, etc.. Their newer passenger liners  (post-Great War) will make 18 to 21 knots.

     While I doubt Our Heroes will ever use them, P&O also still operates in this period "colonist" ships that travel from Britain to Australia (London-Malta-Colombo-Melbourne-Sydney) at about 15 knots -- all third class and steerage passengers on those.

     Traveling from Sydney, stopping at Perth overnight, and then on to Singapore:  it's 4005 nautical miles, and takes 10 days at 18 knots (including the overnight in Perth). From Singapore to Shanghai, via Hong Kong (another 1 day stop) is 2264 nautical miles, and takes 7 days in an 18 knot ship. You can do the math for a slower ship; the overnight stay is about 12-18 hours each time.

     Some P&O ships and routes of note:

 

FAR EAST SERVICE :   route is London (Tilbury Docks) to Southampton, Gibraltar, Marseille (UK bound only, meets the mail train), Naples, Port Said, Suez Canal, Aden, Bombay, Colombo, Penang, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Kobe and Yokohama. With six ships in service on this route, a P&O liner comes by every 6 days or so.

 

• Carthage, Corfu : 18 knots (about 28 days London-Shanghai)

• Ranpura, Rawalpindi, Ranchi and Rajputana : 307 first class, 288 second class. 17 knots

 

AUSTRALIAN SERVICE :  usual route is London (Tilbury Docks) to Gibraltar, Marseille (UK bound only, meets the mail train), Naples, Port Said, Suez Canal, Aden, Bombay, Colombo, Fremantle, Melbourne and Sydney. Again, a ship passes each port in each direction about every 6 or 7 days.

 

• Cathay, Chitral, Comorin : 16 knots

• Maloja, Mooltan :  London to Australia service via Singapore, 17 knots, 346 first class, 336 tourist class

• Mongolia : service from Britain to Australia and on to New Zealand, 16 knots, 231 first class, 180 second class

• Strathaird, Strathnavere :  21 knots, 498 first class, 670 tourist class

 

INDIAN SERVICE : route is  London (Tilbury Docks) to Gibraltar, Marseille (UK bound only, meets the mail train), Naples, Port Said, Suez Canal, Aden and Bombay. Combined with the ships on the Far East and Australian routes, you can usually catch a ship from London to Bombay every couple of days!

 

• Viceroy of India : 19 knots, 415 first class, 258 second class

• Kaisar-I-Hind :  18.5 knots

 

Sovtorgflot

 

     The "commercial" fleet of the Soviet Union (this page has a lot of deck plans).

     Until 1930, a lot of hajj traffic to Mecca was carried by Sovtorgflot ships, and Jewish emigrants to Palestine; but xenophobia, isolationism, political theory and purges put an end to the hajj program. Jewish emigrant voyages continued until at least 1935. The pilgrims and emigrants were not pleased by the grubby, slow, unpleasant conditions of the Soviet ships, in any case.

     The company inherited a bunch of creaky, old pre-Revolution vessels:  the larger ones are Astrakan, Erivan, Indigirka, Kamenetz-Podolsk, Kursk, Simferopol, Tobolsk, and Tver.

     The first commercial ships built after the Revolution were 33 timber-carrying freighters, beginning with the Comrade Stalin in 1927; they serve mostly in the Baltic and North Sea. 14 small freighters were built from 1928 to 1933, in the Ukraine, for use in the Black Sea and on the larger rivers flowing to that sea.

     Six passenger motor (i.e., diesel) vessels were built in the late 1920s for service in the Black Sea and Mediterranean:  Abkhaziya, Adzharia, Armenia, Gruzia, Krym, and Ukraina. They each can carry 518 passengers, serving mostly Odessa, Sebastopol, and Batumi, with some trips through the Bosphorus to Beirut and other Levantine ports.

     A quantity of commercial vessels were built in Soviet yards. Cargo/passenger vessels built at the Baltic Shipyard in Leningrad from 1927 to 1932 were the Sakhalin, Sever, Suchan, Sverdlovsk, Stalingrad, Saratov, Smolensk, Khabarovsk, Kazan, and Anadyr. The Severnaya yard in Leningrad built, from 1928 onwards, the diesel-poweed refrigerated cargo/passenger ships Janis Rudzutaks, Alexei Rykov, Felix Dzerzhinsky, Smolny, Siberia and Kooperatsiya. The Delfin and Chayka were cargo/passenger ships built in Sebastopol in 1931.

     Besides all the above-listed passenger-carrying vessels, scores of tankers, reefers and regular cargo ships were built before 1934. Before the Depression, the sale of timber, oil, sugar and wheat abroad was an important part of Soviet economic planning.

     Route and fare information is hard to come by; they serve in the Baltic, through the North Sea to European ports, along the North Cape, in the Black Sea and Mediterranean, along the Pacific coast, and between the Black Sea and the Pacific coast. In any case, Sovtorgflot is notable for the conditions aboard, sailing dates, sailing times, routes taken, restrictions, visa requirements, etc. differing wildly (and rarely for the better) from their advertisements, tickets, or even statements by the crew aboard. Their fares are probably low, however -- the cheapest third-class fare from Odessa to Jaffa or Haifa, in Palestine, was 110 rubles ($55, or £15 14s) in 1930.

 

Union-Castle Mail Steamship Company

 

     The Union-Castle is best known for its African routes.

 

• Southampton - Madeira - Cape Town - Port Elizabeth - Durban - Port Elizabeth - Cape Town - St.Helena (occasional) - Ascension (occasional) - Las Palmas (occasional) - Southampton

• New York - South Africa and return
  

• London - Walvis Bay - Cape Town - Port Elizabeth - East London - Durban - Mauritius and return
  

• the 'Round Africa' service:  London - Southampton - Gibraltar - Tangier (occasional) - Palma de Majorca (occasional) - Marseilles - Genoa/Naples - Tunis (occasional) - Suez - Port Sudan (occasional) - Aden - Mombasa - Zanzibar - Dar-es-Salaam - Beira - Lourenco Marques - Durban - East London - Port Elizabeth - Cape Town - Southampton. (and reverse)

• Southampton - Cape Town - Port Elizabeth - East London - Durban - Delagoa Bay - Lourenco Marques (occasional) - Mombasa and return
  

 

     Union-Castle ships in service as of 1934:  Armadale Castle, Arundel Castle, Athlone Castle, Balmoral Castle, Carnarvon Castle, Dromore Castle, Dunbar Castle, Dundrum Castle, Dunluce Castle, Durham Castle, Edinburgh Castle, Garth Castle, Gloucester Castle, Grantully Castle, Kenilworth Castle, Llandaff Castle, Llandovery Castle, Llangibby Castle, Llanstephan Castle, Sandgate Castle, Sandown Castle, Warwick Castle, Winchester Castle, Windsor Castle. Bold names are built after 1919, underlined names are at least 18,000 tons.  

 

United States Lines

 

      By the late Thirties, this company operates four fast trans-Atlantic liners:  the Manhattan, Washington, and the slightly less prestigious President Roosevelt, and President Harding. Every Wednesday at noon, one of the above US Lines ship departs New York City bound for Europe -- they stop at Cobb, Ireland; Plymouth, England; Le Havre, France; and Hamburg, Germany. The company head office is at 45 Broadway, New York City.

     Five slower vessels -- the Hog Island class passenger-and-cargo vessels American Merchant, American Farmer, American Banker, American Shipper, and American Trader -- make direct voyages from New York (Chelsea Piers, at the foot of 18th Street) to London (at the Royal Albert Docks), departing Manhattan on Fridays at 4 p.m.. They each can carry 90 passengers, though a typical voyage will only see them half-full. These five ships are in service as part of American Merchant Lines (there's a corporate and management relation between US Lines and American Merchant Lines).

     Note that the third-class accommodations on these vessels would be considered very nice by 21st Century standards. Third-class staterooms come in two-, four-and six-berth versions. None of the third-class staterooms have private baths or water closets (though the four- and six-berth staterooms have a sink).

     Fares on the Manhattan and Washington are $95 for third class (a cabin with four beds); $127 for tourist (second) class ($137 with two beds and a private bath); and $190 or more for first class on "B" deck (with two twin beds); the top-of-the-line "A" deck suites, with a foyer, tiled bathroom with tub, and two beds, cost $227.

     The President Harding and President Roosevelt charge $91 for third class, $105 for tourist (second) class, and $141 for first class. During the "tourist season" (May 23 to September 25) fares are 10% higher.

     The Leviathan, a former German vessel, was operated on an erratic schedule up until the end of the 1934 season.