P&O was a British shipping and logistics company dating from the early 19th century. Formerly a public company, it was sold to DP World in March 2006 for £3.9 billion. DP World currently operate three P&O branded businesses, P&O Ferries, P&O Maritime and P&O Heritage. P&O Cruises was spun off from P&O in 2000, and is now owned and operated by Carnival Corporation & plc. The former shipping business, P&O Nedlloyd, was bought by and is now part of Maersk Line.
Between 1879 and 1916, a total of 42 ships made 87 voyages, carrying Indian indentured labourers to Fiji. Initially the ships brought labourers from Calcutta, but from 1903 all ships except two also brought labourers from Madras and Mumbai. A total of 60,965 passengers left India but only 60,553 arrived in Fiji. A total of 45,439 boarded ships in Calcutta and 15,114 in Madras. Sailing ships took, on average, seventy-three days for the trip while steamers took 30 days. The shipping companies associated with the labour trade were Nourse Line and British-India Steam Navigation Company.
Ganges was the first of three Nourse Line ships named for the Ganges river in northern India.
The Nourse Line was a shipping company formed by Captain James Nourse in 1861. After taking delivery of his first ship, the Ganges, in 1861, Nourse went on to build up one of the last great fleets of sailing ships.
Allanshaw was a 1,589 ton, iron sailing ship with a length of 80.1 metres (263 ft), beam of 12.3 metres (40 ft) and draught of 7.0 metres (23.0 ft). She was built by William Simons & Company of Renfrew for the J.G. Potter & Company of Liverpool and launched on 29 August 1874. She was bought by the Nourse Line on 26 November 1880. She was a fast ship, making the run from London to Sydney in 65 days. On 2 October 1882 she arrived in Australia with new immigrants.
Danube, a 1,459-ton sailing ship named after the second longest river in Europe, was built in 1890 for the Nourse Line.
The Jumna, named after a tributary of the Ganges in northern India, was a 1,048 ton iron sailing ship built for the Nourse Line, by William Pile of Sunderland in 1867. She was 208.6 feet (63.6 m) long, 34.1 feet (10.4 m) wide and 20.1 feet (6.1 m) deep. The ship was used in the transport of Indian indentured labourers to the colonies, which was a speciality of the Nourse Line.
The Ems was a 1,829 ton, iron sailing ship with a length of 270.7 feet (82.5 m), breadth of 39 feet (12 m) and depth of 22.5 feet (6.9 m).
Clyde was built by Russell & Company, Port Glasgow, Scotland, for the Nourse Line, and named after the River Clyde flowing through Glasgow, and launched on 25 July 1894. The Clyde was the last sailing ship built for the Nourse Line. She was primarily used for the transportation of Indian indentured labourers to the colonies. Details of some of these voyages are as follows:
The Arno, was a 1,825 ton, iron sailing ship with a length of 270.7 feet (82.5 m), breadth of 39 feet (12 m) and depth of 22.5 feet (6.9 m). She was built by Charles Connell & Company, Glasgow, Scotland, for the Nourse Line, named after the Arno River in central Italy, which flows past Florence and Pisa to the Mediterranean Sea, and launched on 19 January 1893. She was primarily used for the transportation of Indian indentured labourers to the colonies. Details of some of these voyages are as follows:
The Mersey was a 1,829 ton iron-hulled sailing ship with a length of 270.7 feet (82.5 m), beam of 39 feet (12 m) and depth of 22.5 feet (6.9 m). She was built by Charles Connell and Company of Glasgow, named after the River Mersey in north-western England and launched on 18 May 1894 for the Nourse Line. Nourse Line used her primarily to transport of Indian indentured labourers to the British colonies. Details of some of these voyages are as follows:
Ganges was the second Nourse Line ship to be named Ganges. The first Ganges was built in 1861 and wrecked in 1881. Ganges was a 1529-ton iron barque, built by Osbourne, Graham & Company of Sunderland and launched on 25 March 1882. She was 241 feet (73 m) long, 37.2 feet (11.3 m) wide and 22.5 feet (6.9 m) deep.
SS Mutlah was a 3,393-ton steamship built for the Nourse Line in about 1906 by Charles Connell & Company Limited, Glasgow, Scotland. She had triple expansion, 425-nhp (317-Kw) steam engines driving a single screw.
SS Sutlej was a 3,549 ton steamship built for the Nourse Line in about 1907 by Charles Connell & Company Limited, Glasgow. She had single screw, triple expansion, 425 horsepower (317 kW) engines.
SS Indus was a 3,393-ton steamship launched on 28 April 1904. Delivered to the Nourse Line in May 1904, she was the shipping company's first steamship. She was built by Charles Connell & Company Limited, Glasgow and had single screw, triple expansion, 425 nhp engines.
SS Chenab was a 3,930 GRT steamship built for the Nourse Line in 1911 by Cammell Laird and Company Limited of Birkenhead in England.
A number of steamships have been named Indus, including:-
SS Burgondier was a 5,297 ton cargo steamship built to a First World War standard design by Caird & Company at Greenock on the Firth of Clyde. She changed owners and names several times, becoming the Azul, David Dawson, Penteli and finally Brockley Hill. She was sunk by enemy action in 1941.
