The General Screw Steam Shipping Company was a British company established in 1848 by James Laming, who had for about 30 years owned sailing ships travelling between England and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

History

In late 1849 the company began a service from

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

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Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

and

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

, using its new iron screw steamer the 500 ton ''Bosphorus''. The similarly sized ships ''Hellespont'' and ''Propontis'' joined the ''Bosphorus'' on the service as soon as they were completed. In 1850 the company secured the contract to carry the monthly mail between

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

and

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

for £30,000 a year. The ''Bosphorus'' initiated the service in December 1850 and reached Cape Town after a 40-day voyage, 5 days more than the period specified in the contract. Following this, orders were placed with C.J. Mare and Company at

Leamouth Leamouth is a locality in the Blackwall area of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The area takes its name from the former ''Leamouth Wharf'' and lies on the west side of the confluence of the Bow Creek stretch of the Lea, at its confluence ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

(builders of the earlier vessels) for the new ships ''Queen of the South'', ''Lady Jocelyn'', ''Indiana'', ''Calcutta'', ''Mauritius'' and ''Hydaspes'' In May 1852 an additional mail contract was secured, for the company to provide a monthly service between England and

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

and

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

, via

Cape St. Vincent Cape St. Vincent ( pt, Cabo de São Vicente, ) is a headland in the municipality of Vila do Bispo, in the Algarve, southern Portugal. It is the southwesternmost point of Portugal and of mainland Europe. History Cape St. Vincent was already sacr ...

Ascension Island Ascension Island is an isolated volcanic island, 7°56′ south of the Equator in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is about from the coast of Africa and from the coast of South America. It is governed as part of the British Overseas Territory o ...

St. Helena Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constitu ...

, Mauritius and

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. The company also initiated a mail service between Cape Town and

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

, which had previously been either overland service which generally took about 3 weeks or carried by sailing ships. This service was undertaken by the ''Sir Robert Peel''.

Australian service

The Australian Royal Mail Steam Navigation Company began a mail service between England and Australia in June 1852 which proved so unreliable that their contract was withdrawn in April 1853, whereupon the General Screw Company (which had already despatched two steamships to Australia earlier in the year) stepped in with a regular service. An article in the ''

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper i ...

'' in February 1853 describes the somewhat "unpropitious" circumstances which marked the journey from

Port Jackson Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea (p ...

of the third of the Australian Royal Mail Steam Navigation Company's steamships, the ''Melbourne''. The journey, which took about 4 months overall, but with running time of only 65 days, and the specifications of this ship are described in some detail. The General Screw Steam Shipping Company's new steamer, the 1800-ton ''Argo'', sailed from

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

on 8 May 1853 and reached Melbourne in 64 days, with one stop en route at Cape St. Vincent. She returned via

Cape Horn Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramírez ...

and received considerable acclaim as the first steamer to circumnavigate the globe. The company's Indian service had been a failure due to various causes, including mechanical problems causing steamers to break down, unexpected high costs and coal consumption, and disappointing passenger and cargo results. Therefore, the service was withdrawn, the last sailing taking place on 15 March 1854. Despite securing a short-term mail contract, the Australian service was withdrawn as well, the ''Argo'' sailing from Southampton on 4 October 1854 on the last voyage. The company chartered its new and now superfluous ships ''Golden Fleece'', ''Jason'' and ''The Prince'' to the government to carry troops to the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

American service

In March 1854 the ''Indiana'' inaugurated a new service for the company, from

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very cl ...

and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

under the management of Croskey and Company, agents for the American-owned Ocean Navigation Company which was then operating a monthly service between New York, Southampton and Le Havre. It was intended that ''Indiana'' and ''Mauritius'' should sail monthly between Le Havre, Southampton and New York, alternating with the American steamers to provide a combined weekly service from Southampton. In July 1854 the company accepted a proposal by the government of Mauritius to operate a monthly service between Mauritius and Ceylon for £10,000 a year.

Crimean War

All the company's ships were chartered as troop transports during the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

from 1854 - 1855; three were lost to various causes. ''The Prince'' was destroyed during a

hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

in November 1854, the ''Mauritius'' was badly damaged due to fire while in

drydock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...

at Southampton in February 1855, and the ''Croesus'' was destroyed by fire in April of the same year. Following the end of the war, the company sold its entire fleet to the European and American Steam Shipping Company in 1857.

Notes

References

* * * {{Authority control Companies established in 1848 1857 disestablishments in England Defunct shipping companies of the United Kingdom Companies formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange Transport companies disestablished in 1857 1848 establishments in England British companies established in 1848 British companies disestablished in 1857 Transport companies established in 1848