Maritime Service

The East India Company Maritime Services could be divided into three main categories:

• EIC Mercantile Marine. The Mercantile Marine was the principal merchant shipping service supporting the company's trade with India and the Far East. It was in operation from 1600 to 1834.
• Bombay Marine. The Bombay Marine was the fighting navy of the EIC. In the later nineteenth century and twentieth century it was renamed several times, ultimately becoming the Royal Indian Navy in 1935.
• Bengal Marine. The best known part was the Bengal Pilot Service which was responsible for guiding shipping along the Hooghly River between Calcutta and the Bay of Bengal. The river could only be navigated by day on account of the many dangerous banks and shoals. Bengal Marine also included War Steamers, also called Sea Steamers, which were ships fitted with guns, and river boats which were used to transport troops and other passengers, and cargo. In (at least) the 1840s-1850s the river boats were part of Inland Steam, or the Inland Steam Service and were described as Iron Steam Vessels appropriated to Inland Navigation, consisting of Steamers, Accomodation Boats and Cargo Boats. It seems likely that once private riverboat companies were established they took over the services of Inland Steam.

In 1877 the Bombay Marine and the Bengal Marine were combined to form HM Indian Marine, which became the Royal Indian Marine in 1892 and the Royal Indian Navy in 1935.

Old postcard showing shipping on the River Hooghly, Calcutta

FIBIS Resources

FIBIS Research Guide No. 2 An Introduction to British Ships in Indian Waters : Their Owners, Crew and Passengers by Richard Morgan with a Foreword by Lawrie Butler, 68 pages, published 2012, with Bibliography and Index

• Part I – the East India Company’s Maritime Service
• Part II – Country Ships
• Part III – A note on Interlopers
• Part IV – The Marine Service
• Part V – Independently owned commercial (steam) Ships
• Appendix 1: Summary of information on Free Mariners and Passengers in Directories
• Appendix 2: The Indian Marine Service in the IOR L/F/10 and other Series.

Available from the FIBIS Shop

For updates to the first edition, see British Ships in Indian Waters.

"HEIC Maritime Holdings at the National Maritime Museum", an article by Geraldine Charles, can be found in the FIBIS Journal.

• "Part 1" FIBIS Journal Number 4 (Autumn 2000)
• "Part 2" FIBIS Journal Number 6 (Autumn 2001)

"Gahan, Eaton & Co" by Nigel Penny FIBIS Journal Number 21 (Spring 2009) pages 11-19. A family history of sea Captains, Master Attendants and Merchants.

"Wrecked or Captured, the East India Company Ships that Failed to Arrive", a fascinating talk given by Andrea Cordani, writer and researcher on East India Company Ships, at FIBIS's Spring lecture meeting in May 2009, is available on FIBIS youtube channel. The presentation that accompanied this talk and a book list for further reading can be found in the FIBIS Social Network

An edited edition of this talk is available in FIBIS Journal, No 22 (Autumn 2009), page 15. This edition also contains an article "The Loss of an East Indiaman in 1807 : account by Samuel Rolleston" on page 23. For details of how to access these articles, see FIBIS Journals.

The FIBIS Database has

• a category Maritime including
  • Bombay Marine-Indian Army Provides details of Officers, Ships, etc. of the Bombay Marine (1613-1830). In 1830 it was re-named the Indian Navy. This was abolished in 1863 and re-placed by a non-combatant Bombay Marine
• a category Military records: Pensions and Funds including
  • India Navy Pension Fund & Family Details
• a category Miscellaneous including
  • Lists of Free Merchants, Seafaring Men and Other Inhabitants of Bombay and Surrounds 1720-1780. Some data is restricted to logged in FIBIS members.

Other related articles

• Sailor
• Ships and Sailing images
• 1864 Calcutta cyclone
• Trooping season

Records at the British Library

• IOR/L/MAR Marine Department Records.

There are three main series: L/MAR/A Ships' Journals 1605-1705; L/MAR/B Ships' Journals 1702-1856; L/MAR/C Marine Miscellaneous Records 1600-1879.

• The British Library IOR Maritime Service page, now archived.
  • Read about Ships' Journals IOR/L/MAR/A-B 1605-1856. The various ships are listed alphabetically, following the order in Catalogue of East India Company Ships' Journals and Logs 1600-1834 by Anthony J.Farrington (London, 1999).
    Browse the ships’ names (Discovery catalogue). Alternatively, use the ship's name in The British Library’s "Search our Catalogue Archives and Manuscripts".

Note, some of these Ships' Journals have been digitised, and the digital versions may be accessed from links from the British Library's Catalogue for Archives and Manuscripts.

Also see Ships' Journals.

• A description of Marine Miscellaneous Records IOR/L/MAR/C 1600-1879.(Discovery) "The collection is in process of re-arrangement and listing in separate series L/MAR/1-9 according to type and provenance". Included in these records are "personnel records of the Company's maritime service (at all levels of employment, but including particularly the appointment and services of commanders and mates of East Indiamen), the Bombay Marine, the Indian Navy, and the Bengal Pilot Service" but no further details are given.

Note however, by using the British Library Search Archives and Manuscripts the British Library website has what appears to be later information, with details of records up to IOR/L/MAR/C/915 including

• IOR/L/MAR/C/883 Courts martial on officers of the Indian Navy ‎ (1835-1840)
• IOR/L/MAR/C/887 List of Passengers, Mails and Packets to and from India 1838-1845
• IOR/L/MAR/C/905 Index of engineers with details about allotment of pay ‎ (1860-1873)

British Library records on findmypast

The India Office Records on the pay site findmypast are

• IOR/L/MAR/C/688 Lists of appointments to Bombay Marine and Pilot Service, 1822-1832.
• IOR/L/MAR/C/710-714 Volunteers (cadets) for the Indian Navy, 1838-1859
• IOR/L/MAR/C/785-788 Poplar pensioners, with particulars, 1809-1821
• IOR/L/MAR/C/789-840 Poplar: petitions with certificates and other documents attached for pensions, compensations etc, 1809-1838

British Library records on FamilySearch (LDS) microfilms

For digitised microfilms available in the LDS (Mormon) library catalogue, see IOR Marine records on LDS films or search the FamilySearch Library Catalogue using keywords India Office Marine Department. (See FamilySearch Centres for viewing information.)

Note: Microfilm ordering services has ceased however all microfilms have been digitised and most/all? are currently available for viewing on a FamilySearch computer at a FamilySearch Centre, and most of the records originating from the British Library also appear to be viewable at FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries. Locate these records through the FamilySearch catalogue.

Books

See also, Ships and sailing reading list.

A biographical index of East India Company Maritime Service officers, 1600-1834, by Anthony Farrington London: British Library, 1999
A companion volume to the "Catalogue", see above, the biographical index provides summaries of the sea careers of some 12,000 individuals who made the voyage to Asia as commanders, mates, surgeons, or pursers in the service of the EIC. The information has been compiled from the surviving ships' journals, logs, paying-off books and associated sources in the Company's archives at the British Library. Available at the British Library UIN: BLL01007402159, on "Open Access".

Malim Sahib's Hindustani

A Malim Sahib was a ship’s officer. There was a specialised nautical, bazaar baht or bat, vocabulary spoken by Indian crews. A dictionary was published in 1920, The Malim Sahib's Hindustani , which became a required text book for all Cadets, Officers, Radio Officers and Engineers, on joining the British India Steam Navigation Company. The language was a mixture of Hindustani-Gujarati-Marathi-Konkani (Ratnagiri), a little Urdu..... a pot pourri of words, but simple and effective. The vocabulary was considered similar to a dialect, in that a European who had learnt this vocabulary was said to speak Malim Sahib's (Sahibs) Hindustani. Available online to search, but not view Google Books 1958 reprint edition.

The officers' titles were: Captain - Captain sahib; C/O - Burra malim sahib; 2/O - Majla Malim sahib; 3/O - Sajla Malim sahib; 4/O - or other Junior - Chota malim sahib.

Refer below for references to earlier use and publications.

External links

• East India Company Ships developed by Andrea Cordani, but she is no longer updating the website, which now has a new URL. Includes Ship roles - what do they mean? A glossary of Ship roles defining terms such as 'Regular Ship' , 'Extra Ship' and 'Country Ship.' The previous site is now archived.
• East-India Company ship routes 1798-1834 by Philip Brohan. Video. Vimeo.com. Retrieved 16 October 2014.The dates of the voyages are shown in the bottom left hand corner of the video screen, and may at times be obscured by the toolbar. Move the computer's mouse from the toolbar to below the video screen to reveal. The video indicates the seasonal variations in the ships' voyages.
• National Maritime Museum, Greenwich.
  • National Maritime Museum Research Guides
  • Maritime Memorials in respect of ships’ crews’ deaths. Search for entries for India, Burma, Burmah and Myanmar, Ceylon and Sri Lanka, and other countries such as China, Singapore etc. (Entries for Karachi were classified as India). Some entries are listed below., or search by name. An associated National Maritime Museum website.

  Update noted 2023/01. This database now appears only to be available to researchers onsite at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, see the page Searching for lives lost at sea rmg.co.uk

  However, noted 2023/01/24 the website "Maritime Memorials" seems to be freely available again.

  Also see Historical books online, below, for some deaths in the Middle East, including maritime related deaths.

  • Crew Lists of the British Merchant Navy-1915 National Maritime Museum. The crews originated from all over the world and on some vessels the British nationals were in a minority.
• CLIP - the Crew List Index Project. A not-for-profit volunteer project, with databases of British seafarers and ships records, set up to assist research into the records of British merchant seafarers of the late 19th and early 20th century.
• See the Fibiwiki page Ireland for Irish Crew Lists 1863-1921. Crews could originate from all over the world.
• See the Fibiwiki page Hong Kong for the free Searchable database for Hong Kong Cemetery which indicates there were sailors buried there.
• "The History of British Marine Engineers Licensing" by Manfred Grignard. Koninklijk Gallois Genootschap/Royal Belgian Institute of Marine Engineers Magazine, 2006 No 5 (September?].
• British Maritime History - Realistic genealogical guides to surviving records and more, Len Barnett’s site, has sections on:

• EIC- A realistic guide to what is available to those looking into the careers of seagoing servants (1600-1834)
• Bombay Marine
• Bengal Marine

• East India Company Mariners including information on the Society of East India Commanders and a list of Commanders from 1828 from Mariners - Researching the mariners and ships of the merchant marine and the world's navies. This website also contains the Index of Ships' Official Numbers below 99,999, Official Numbers: Ships over 300 g.t. built 1876 – 1949
• There was a previous Rootsweb Mariners List. Search the RootsWeb Mailing Lists Archive
• Merchant Vessels in the Service of the East India Company, 1601-1832 on the Mariners website. Lists ship details.
• Maritime Resources 'Articles of Agreement' by Chris Woods dated 30 August 2013
• To Stand Against the Company: A Study of the British Honourable East India Company and Piracy in the Indian Ocean World, circa 1680-1760 by John Daniel Ridge 2017. A Thesis for a Master’s Degree in History, Murray State University Murray, Kentucky USA. Direct pdf.
• "Journey to India of Randolph Marriott, East India Company Servant" 8 November 2018. British Library Untold lives blog. He had been appointed a writer in Bengal, and left England 22 January 1753 on the ship Portfield, arriving on 25 July 1753.
• "The loss of the East Indiaman ‘Ganges’" [in 1807] 15 June 2017. British Library untold lives blog.
• A Journal of a voyage to the Cape of Good Hope and Bombay in the Ship Sesostris by James Smith, 1829-1831
• Captain Arthur David Linklater Master Mariner (known as Dum) - Duncan Linklater's excellent site contains information on shipping and navigation in the early twentieth century, including details of Linklater's employment by the British India Steam Navigation Company, the Royal Naval Reserve and the Calcutta Port Commission. It is located in a section of the Quivis site. With scans and transcripts of original documents and many pages containing facts useful to those with an ancestor in sailing and shipping, exploring the site is recommended (note also the biographical section contents page).

Also includes Dictionary of Sea Terms 1841/51 Adapted from The Seaman's Friend... by R. H. Dana 1st ed. 1841, 6th edition 1851.

• Chapter 24: "Working Along Mighty Rivers of the East" from his autobiography Lest I Forget by Khwaja Sayeed Shahabuddin (born 1923). Mentions the "India General Navigation Company Limited (an English company) and River Steamers Navigation Company Limited (a Scottish company). Originally competitors, they later merged to become known as the Joint Steamer Companies and together played a vital role in the development of inland water transport in Bengal and Assam.” The author joined I.G.N. Company, the British Inland Water Transport Company, in 1947. Chapter 26: "Working with the Joint Steamer Companies"
• The British and Commonwealth Register The Companies, the Ships & The People. The category "Group Register" lists the companies covered.
• A Short History of British India Steam Navigation 1856-1956 from B I Ship. Contains details of the establishment of The Calcutta & Burmah Steam Navigation Co Ltd which became the British India Steam Navigation Co.

British India Steam Navigation Company from the Ships’ List.

A History of the British India Steam Navigation Company Limited, rakaia.co.uk, now archived. Includes a list of ships, with details.

‘Chota Sahib’ by Captain John de Barr. The Coast Men of British India’s fleet. In BI the Coast referred to the Coast of India. merchantnavyofficers.com, now archived.

• P&O Heritage includes History of Shipping Companies such British India Steam Navigation Company (‘History’ tab); Research Guides and Ship Images and Fact Sheets ( ‘Archive’ tab)
• Asiatic Steam Navigation Company from the Ships’ List.
• The occupation of Master Attendant, equivalent to Harbour Master. Initially it appears these men were part of EIC Marine, and later the Royal Indian Marine
• History of Development of Maritime Regulations/Acts and Changing body of Controlling Authorities Mercantile Marine Department, Mumbai, archived page.
• "Troopships and Trooping" Transcript of an article from Shipping Wonders of the World, part 39, published 3 November 1936. Includes troopships to India.

Troopships and Trooping by R G Robertson movcon.org.uk, now archived, archive.is. Includes mention of troopships to India. Archive.org link.

The trooping season between India and the United Kingdom lasted for about seven months each year. The gap, April-October/November in India was the same each year – to avoid the worst of the heat in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

• Lascars Maritime History Archive.
• "A Laskari Lexicon – 1" May 17, 2013; "A Laskari Lexicon – 2" May 21, 2013 amitavghosh.com.
• "Of Fanás and Forecastles: The Indian Ocean and Some Lost Languages of the Age of Sail" A series pf eleven articles December 10-31, 2012 Pt.1, Pt.2, Pt.3, Pt.4, Pt.5, Pt.6,Pt.7, Pt.8, Pt. 9, Pt.10, Pt.11 amitavghosh.com.
• The Oriental Compass, Volumes 1 and 2 by Lawrence B. Bangerter c 2007?. Transcriptions. “Lists name of vessel, place of embarkation, place of debarkation, date and Family History Library passenger list film number”. Shipping is India-USA and China-USA. Volume 2 is mostly China-USA. FamilySearch website. You need to be registered and sign in first, see Family Search.
• Convoy Web: The Website for Merchant Ships during WW2. Includes Search: Port Arrivals/ Departures including Indian ports.

Maps

• 1923 Map: The World - Sailing Ship Routes Great Britain. Hydrographic Office. London : HMSO, 1923. maps.nls.uk

Historical books online

• Monumental Inscriptions of Europeans in cemeteries in the Middle East and Africa Archive.org includes some Maritime deaths, including deaths in Iran (Persian Gulf) for Indian Navy etc
• Lloyd's List, a newspaper of shipping intelligence published in London, is available on the pay websites Findmypast and British Newspaper Archive. The planned date range is 1801-1914, currently (2021/10/31) missing some years. See Newspapers and journals online - Lloyd's List for more details, including some online books for the period 1741-1826.
• Lloyd's Register of Shipping broken range 1764-1960. Archive.org
• The History of Piracy by Philip Gosse 1934, first published 1932. HathiTrust Digital Library. Contains "Book IV: The Pirates of the East". 2007 reprint edition Archive.org Books to Borrow/Lending Library. An earlier book was The Pirates' Who's Who Giving Particulars Of The Lives and Deaths Of The Pirates And Buccaneers by Philip Gosse, first published 1924 Gutenberg.org, or 1968 reprint edition Archive.org Books to Borrow/Lending Library.

Pirates of the Eastern Seas (1618-1723). A Lurid Page of History by Charles Grey 1933 Archive.org.

Grey was also the author of The Merchant Venturers of London : A record of Far Eastern Trade and Piracy during the 17th Century by Charles Grey 1932. Available at the British Library UIN: BLL01001510311 and, searchable, but not viewable on HathiTrust Digital Library.

• A Register of Ships, Employed in the Service of the Hon. the United East India Company, from the Union of the Two Companies, in 1707, to the Year 1760: Specifying the Number of Voyages, Tonnage, Commanders, and Stations. To which is Added, from the Latter Period to the Present Time, the Managing Owners, Principal Officers, Surgeons, and Pursers; with the Dates of Their Sailing and Arrival: Also, an Appendix, Containing Many Particulars, Interesting to Those Concerned in the East India Commerce Printed for Charles Hardy London 1800. Google Books. Also available on Ancestry (pay website) in the database "UK, Registers of Employees of the East India Company and the India Office, 1746-1939".

A Register of Ships, Employed in the Service of the Honorable the United East India Company 1760-1810 by Charles Hardy and Horatio Charles Hardy 1811 Google Books. Also available on Ancestry.

• "Return to an order of the Honourable House of Commons, dated 26 June 1833 for: Lists of all pensions granted by the Company to Commanders, Officers, Seamen, Widows and Orphans, of the East India Company’s Commercial Marine Service. since the year 1793 to the present time; specifying the grounds upon which such pension was granted, the amount of each, and the source whence the pensions are derived". House of Commons Accounts and Papers: Session 29 January-29 August 1833 Volume XXVI Google Books
• Barlow's Journal of his life at sea in King's ships, East & West Indiamen & other Merchantmen from 1659-1703: Volume 1: 1659-1677 by Edward Barlow. Transcribed by Basil Lubbock 1934. Barlow's first East India voyage was in the ship 'Experiment' 1670-1. Archive.org Books to Borrow/Lending Library. Also available Vol. 1 Google Books, and Vol. 2 Snippet Google Books which is searchable, but not viewable.

Images from original manuscript with many drawings. Royal Museums Greenwich.

• A voyage to and from the island of Borneo, in the East Indies : with a description of the said island … Also a description of the islands of Canary, Cape Verd, Java, Madura; of the streights of Bally, the Cape of Good Hope, the Hottentots, the island of St. Helena, Ascension etc by Captain Daniel Beeckman 1718. The first chapter states he was in the service of the East India Company. He sailed from England October 1713. South East Asia Visions Cornell University Library. Note, may be very slow to open.
• Journal or Narrative of the Boscawen's Voyage to Bombay 1749, by a young gentleman Google Books
• A Journal of the Proceedings of the Doddington East-Indiaman, till she was unfortunately wrecked on the East Coast of Africa [in 1755]. page 235 A journal from Calcutta in Bengal, by sea, to Busserah by Bartholomew Plaisted 1758 Google Books. Archive.org version includes a Map. Transcribed edition umdl.umich.edu
• The India officer's and trader's pocket-guide. In purchasing the drugs and spices of Asia and the East-Indies: With practical directions for the choice of diamonds, and an accurate account of the Chinese touch-needles [by W. Lewis] ... To which are prefixed, a complete account of the officers privilege ... and the duties of, and drawbacks on, East India goods. Compiled from Authority by H D S. 2nd edition 1789 Archive.org. Includes information relating to Ships' crews, East India [Company] Service.
• ‪Journal of a Voyage Performed in the Lion Extra Indiaman, from Madras to Columbo and Da Lagoa Bay, on the eastern coast of Africa ... in the Year 1798‬ by William White, Captain, 73rd Highland Regiment of Foot. 1800. Archive.org
• A Master Mariner. Being the Life and Adventures of Captain Robert William Eastwick edited by Herbert Compton. 1891 Archive.org. Captain Eastwick was born 1772. He arrived in Bombay in June 1792 and shortly afterwards joined a ship engaged in the 'country trade', and later owned his own ships. He last sailed c 1825 and wrote his autobiography c 1836.
  • HEIC practices c 1791, page 41
  • "Chapter II", page 59 The author joined in 1792 the Honorable East India Company, and shortly after "the country service in a merchant ship".
• Journal of a Voyage in 1811 and 1812 to Madras and China returning by the Cape of Good Hope and St. Helena; In the H. C. S. the Hope, Capt. James Pendergrass by James Wathen 1814. With Coloured Prints from drawings by the author. Archive.org
• A voyage to India : containing reflections on a voyage to Madras and Bengal, in 1821, in the ship Lonach : instructions for the preservation of health in Indian climates and hints to surgeons and owners of private trading-ships by James Wallach, Surgeon of the Lonach. 1824 Archive.org.
• "Extracts from the Journals of Thomas Addison of the East India Company’s Service 1801-1829" page 333 The Naval Miscellany, Volume I. Publications of the Navy Records Society, Volume XX 1902 Archive.org.
• Narrative of a Late Steam Voyage from England to India via the Mediteranean. (Part II. Account of a Late Palankeen Trip from Bombay to Mhow and Lahore) by Captain T Seymour Burt 1840. British Library Digital Collection. The voyage took place from October 1837, via Suez. The author changed ships a number of times.
• The Nautical Magazine and Naval Chronicle. A Journal of Papers on Subjects Connected with Maritime Affairs. Google Books. Some editions have Contents pages at the front of the book, and some have an Index at the back. There may be other digital editions available if the text is unclear. Contain articles relevant to India, and the seas around India.

Vol.1 1832, Vol.2 1833, Vol.3 1834, Vol.4 1835, Vol.5 1836, Vol.6 1837, Vol.7 1838, Vol.8 1839, Vol.9 1840

Vol.10 1841, Vol.11 1842, Vol.12 1843, Vol.14 1845, Vol.16 1847, Vol.17 1848, Vol.18 1849, Vol.19 1850

Vol.20 1851, Vol.21 1852, Vol.22 1853, Vol.23 1854, Vol.24 1855, Vol.25 1856, Vol.26 1857, Vol.27 1858, Vol.28 1859, Vol.29 1860

Vol.30 1861, Vol.31 1862, Vol.32 1863, Vol.33 1864, Vol.34 1865, Vol.35 1866, Vol.36 1867, Vol.37 1868, Vol.38 1869, Vol.39 1870

Vol.40 1871, Vol.41 1872, Vol.42 1873, Vol.43 1874, Vol.44 1875, Vol.45 1876, Vol.50 1881 Archive.org

HathiTrust Digital Library editions, including editions only accessible in some regions such as North America.

• Volume I, Part II The Bengal and Agra Annual Guide and Gazetteer for 1842 Google Books
  • "Vessels attached to the Bengal Presidency", page 21. Includes Steam Vessels, and Iron Steam Vessels appropriated to Inland Navigation, the latter consisting of Steamers, Accomodation Boats and Cargo Boats.
  • "Inland Steam Traveller’s Guide" page 26
• "On the Advantages of Extending Inland Steam Navigation in India" page 381 The Civil Engineer and Architect's Journal 1843. Mentions steam boats "belonging to the Bengal Government"
• "Appendix in respect of War Steamers, also called Sea Steamers, belonging to the Presidency of Bengal, for a ten year period from 1841" page 390 First Report from the Select Committee on Indian Territories May 1853 Google Books. Same page 390, Hathi Trust where the pages may be rotated.
• The Golden Dagon, or, Up and Down the Irrawaddi: being Passages of Adventure in the Burman Empire by John Williamson Palmer 1856 Google Books. The author was an American doctor, appointed, in Hong Kong, surgeon on the EIC war steamer Phlegethon (Bengal Marine) which took part in the 2nd Burma War, 1852-1853
• Narrative of the burning of the "Sarah Sands" screw steam ship by an old 54th officer. [Frederick Schlotel] 1869. Google Books. 1870 edition Google Books. Full title and some text appear to differ. A vessel charted by the East India Company, for the conveyance of troops to Calcutta on the news of the Indian Mutiny reaching England, which sailed from Portsmouth on 15 August 1857.
• There is a brief mention of the river boats sent from India to China in the war of 1860 on page 55 The British Arms in North China and Japan: Peking 1860; Kagosima 1862 
by D.F. Rennie MD, Senior Medical Officer of the Force in the North of China 1864 Google Books
• "Marine Report" page 92 Annual Report on Administration of the Bengal Presidency, 1860-61 Google Books
• Commerce by river in the Punjab (1861-62 to 1871-72) or a Survey of the Marine Department of the Government of the Punjab by Faqir Chand Arrora 1930. GIPE Pune
• On the preservation of the health of seamen, especially of those frequenting Calcutta and the other Indian ports by Norman Chevers MD, Surgeon, Bengal Army 1864 Google Books
• The Good Old Days of Shipping by W H Coates Lieut. R N R 1900 Archive.org

The Old 'Country Trade' of the East Indies by William Herbert Coates, Comm. R N R (retired) 1911 Archive.org

• The Clipper Ship Era; an epitome of famous American and British clipper ships, their owners, builders, commanders, and crews, 1843-1869 by Arthur Hamilton Clark 1911 Archive.org. Important for the China trade.
• The China Clippers by Basil Lubbock 2nd edition 1914, first published also 1914. Archive.org

The Opium Clippers by Basil Lubbock, first published 1933 Archive.org

Coolie Ships and Oil Sailers by Basil Lubbock 1935 Archive.org Books to Borrow/Lending Library

Fiction- Sea stories. Deep Sea Warriors by Basil Lubbock 1910 Archive.org. The story of the crew on a voyage from Calcutta to Cape Town.

• The Old East Indiamen by E. Keble Chatterton, 1914 Archive.org
• East Indiamen: The East India Company’s Maritime Service by Sir Evan Cotton. Edited by Sir Charles Fawcett. 1949. Archive.org.
• Trade In The Eastern Seas 1793-1813 by C. Northcote Parkinson 1937 Archive.org, Public Library of India Collection.
• The Blackwall Frigates by Basil Lubbock 1922 Archive.org. The Blackwall frigates formed a link betrween the the East Indiaman of the Honourable East India Company and the P&O and Orient liners
• Reminiscences of a Blackwall Midshipman by W I Downie 1912 Archive.org. Page 100 commences a section on India and Indian waters. The author was born c 1848 , so was probably writing of the 1860s
• Chapter III: "History and Reasons for Decline of Gangetic Navigation" page 27 Inland Navigation On The Gangetic Rivers by J Johnston, ICS 1947 Archive.org
• Indian Shipping: A History of the Sea-Borne Trade and Maritime Activities of the Indians from the Earliest Times by Radhakumud Mookerji 1912 Archive.org
• Indian Shipping : a Historical Survey by Baldeo Sahai 1996. Archive.org. A Government of India publication.
• Investment in Empire; British railway and steam shipping enterprise in India, 1825-1849 by Daniel Thorner 1950. Archive.org Lending Library.
• The Bombay Dockyard and the Wadia Master Builders by Ruttonjee Ardeshir Wadia 1955 Archive.org
• The Old Merchant Marine: A Chronicle of American Ships and Sailors by Ralph D Paine 1920 Archive.org. Contains some references to India.
• Merchant Adventurers, 1914-1918 by F. A. Hook 1920 Archive.org. A "compilation of the war records of the P. and O., British India and associated lines." Note the file is lacking the illustrations which should be in the book. British Library digital file, with illustrations.
• Lauterbach of the China Sea : the Escapes and Adventures of a Seagoing Falstaff by Lowell Thomas, 1930 Archive.org. Julius Lauterbach Wikipedia Google Translate English] [1877-1937], Original German version. From c 1900 to the start of WW1, Lauterbach sailed the China Sea, becoming Captain, with the initial chapters covering this period.
• Valiant voyaging : a short history of the British India Steam Navigation Company in the Second World War, 1939-1945 by Hilary St. George Saunders 1948. Archive.org Books to Borrow/Lending Library. Includes a Roll of Honour of Officers and Men who lost their lives at sea due to enemy action.
• Mercantile Navy List . See Royal Navy - Mercantile (Merchant) Navy List
• Directories etc
  • Sailing Directions for the Oriental Or East-India Pilot 1778 Google Books
  • The British mariner's directory and guide to the trade and navigation of the Indian and China seas. Containing instructions for navigating from Europe to India and China, and from port to port in those regions, and parts adjacent: With an account of the trade, mercantile habits, manners, and customs of the natives by H M Elmore, late Commander of the Varuna Extra East Indiaman 1802 Archive.org.
  • A New Nautical Directory for the East-India and China Navigation 7th edition 1804 Google Books
  • The Oriental Navigator, Or, Directions for Sailing To, From, and Upon the Coasts Of, the East-Indies, China, Australia, Etc. by Jean-Baptiste-Nicolas-Denis d' Après de Mannevillette 3rd edition revised by John Purdy 1816. Google Books British Library Digital version.
  • The India Directory: or, Directions for Sailing to and from the East Indies, China, Australia, and the Interjacent Ports of Africa and South America by James Horsburgh Sixth Edition 1852 Google Books Volume 1, Volume 2
  • ‪ Navigation of the Indian Ocean, China and Australian Seas: With an Account of the Winds, Weather, and Currents Found Therein Throughout the Year : According to the Most Approved Authorities, Including Extensive Extracts from the Nautical Magazine‬ by A B Becher, Captain R N, of the Hydrographis Office, Admiralty. 3rd edition 1864 Google Books
  • Practical sailing directions and coasting guide from the Sand Heads to Rangoon, Maulmain, Akyab, and vice versa. To which is added, Directions for the entire Bay of Bengal and Straits of Malacca by N Heckford Sixth Edition, Enlarged and Improved 1871 Google Books
  • A Handbook of Directions to the Ports in the Presidency of Madras and Ceylon by T. E. Marshall, First Assistant Master Attendant, Madras. 1874. British Library Digital Collection.
  • A Handbook to the Ports on the Coast of India between Calcutta and Bombay, including the Island of Ceylon by Herbert Samuel Brown, Lieutenant, R.N.R., Port and Customs Officer, Mangalore. 1897. British Library Digital Collection.
  • The China Sea Directory by the Hydrographic Office, Admiralty, London. Includes Volume I. Containing directions for the approaches to the China Sea and to Singapore, by the straits of Sunda, Banka, Gaspar, Carimata, Rhio, Varella, Durian, and Singapore and Volume II. Containing directions for the navigation of the China Sea, between Singapore and Hong Kong. Also Volumes III and IV.

China Sea Directory at Archive.org. Also Volume 2, 1868 British Library Digital Collection, not currently available until c 2025.

China Sea Pilot at Archive.org

• • A Directory for the Navigation of the Indian Archipelago, China, and Japan, from the straits of Malacca and Sunda, and the passages east of Java. To Canton, Shanghai, the Yellow Sea, and Japan, with descriptions of the winds, monsoons, and currents, and general instructions for the various channels, harbours, etc by Alexander George Findlay 2nd edition 1878 Archive.org.
  • Hand-book of Cyclonic Storms in the Bay of Bengal. For the use of sailors. Volume 1 - Text, Volume 2 - Plates by John Eliot 2nd Edition 1900 Archive.org
  • Malacca Strait Pilot comprising Malacca Strait and Its Northern Approaches, Singapore Strait, and the West Coast of Sumatra. 3rd edition 1946. Also Supplement No.1 1949 and Supplement No.4 1954 [Great Britain Admiralty Archive.org.
• Seamen's Manuals, Seamanship, Signals etc
  • Signals and instructions, 1776-1794 with Addenda to Volume XXIX edited by Julian S Corbett. Publications of the Navy Records Society, Volume XXXV, 1908. Archive.org
  • The Seaman's Manual : containing a treatise on practical seamanship, a dictionary of sea terms, customs and usages of the merchant service, laws relating to the practical duties of master and mariners by R H Dana 1841 Archive.org
  • Alphabetical code of signals for the use of Government pilot, surveying, light, buoy and other vessels, telegraph stations, etc by C W Warden 2nd edition 1868. Printed at Calcutta. Archive.org
  • A Manual of Elementary Seamanship by Commander D Wilson-Baker RNR 1896 edition, 5th edition revised, 1910. Archive.org
  • Reed's Seamanship. Compiled for candidates preparing to pass the Marine Board examinations for certificates of competency as mates and masters. With ... diagrams Revised and enlarged by C M Swainston 22nd edition 1918. Published Sunderland [North-East England]. Archive.org.
  • Standard Seamanship for the Merchant Service by Felix Riesenberg 1922, published in New York. Archive.org. With illustrations. For ease of reading the text online, select the one page option. Digitised microfilm.
  • Flags National and Mercantile…and House Flags and Funnels compiled by James Griffin 2nd edition, greatly enlarged 1891. issuu.com, from the collection of the Australian National Maritime Museum. For a different book reader (same digital file), Vaughan Evans Digital Library Australian National Maritime Museum and select Books. Also available Archive.org mirror version 1891. (1883 Archive.org version- Note many flags are shown in black and white, not colour.)
  • 1919. Signal Letters of British Ships (formerly the British Code List) for the use of ships at sea, and for signal stations Prepared by Charles H Jones, Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen. Published for the Committee of Lloyd’s. Memorial University of Newfoundland Digital Archives Initiative (DAI). Direct link for pdf download. Page xx is titled "Ships belonging to the War Department..."
• The British Mariner's Vocabulary; or Universal Dictionary of Technical Terms and Sea Phrases Used in the Construction, Equipment, Management and Military Operations of a Ship by J J Moore 1801 Google Books

2nd edition 1805 with title The Midshipman's or British Mariner's Vocabulary: Being a Universal Dictionary of Technical Terms and Sea Phrases … Archive.org

• An English and Hindoostanee Naval Dictionary of Technical Terms and Sea Phrases by Lieutenant Thomas Roebuck of the Madras Establishment 1813 Archive.org, Asiatic Society of Mumbai (granth) Collection.

An English and Hindostanee Naval Dictionary of technical terms and sea phrases ... by the late Captain Thomas Roebuck, 4th Edition, revised and corrected by William Carmichael Smyth 1848 Google Books. Previously published in 1841 as part of another book "English and Hindostanee Naval Dictionary of Technical Terms, and Sea Phrases", page 125 The Hindoostanee Interpreter: Containing the Rudiments of Grammar; an Extensive Vocabularly; and a Useful Collection of Dialogues. To which is Added a Naval Dictionary of Technical Terms, and Sea Phrases by William Carmichael-Smyth 1841 Google Books

A Laskari dictionary, or, Anglo-Indian vocabulary of nautical terms and phrases in English and Hindustani, chiefly in the corrupt jargon in use among the Laskars or Indian sailors A re-edited and revised edition by George Small, Missionary of the previous works by Roebuck and Smyth. 1882 Archive.org

• "From Keel to Truck". A Marine Dictionary in English, French and German, amply illustrated by explanatory diagrams of the most important details for the use of Ship-Owners... by H Paasch 1885. Archive.org Public Library of India Collection.
• Nautical terms & phrases : speak the language of the sea [USA] Marine Corps publication 1938 Archive.org
• Handbook of information for the Colonies and India issued by the British India and Queensland Agency Co Ltd , Brisbane 1899-1900. Includes information about the British India Steam Navigation Company, Ld from page 118, digital pages 170-171, including routes and fares. issuu.com, from the collection of the Australian National Maritime Museum. For a different book reader (same digital file), Vaughan Evans Digital Library Australian National Maritime Museum and select Books.