The Tramp Steamer
Written and Illustrated by Ian Marshall
Sea History, issue 129

For a period of roughly eighty years, starting in about 1870, the tramp steamer was far and away the most common type of ship in ocean-going trade. The tramp steamer was a modest-sized cargo vessel, steel built, with a single screw powered by vertical triple-expansion steam engines supplied from coal-fired boilers. The most common layout was the three-island 

SS Traveller
Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe (1922)

type, which had high freeboard at fo'c'sle, central island, and poop, with intervening well-decks fore and aft, each penetrated by two hatches allowing access to the cargo holds. A central funnel was accompanied by a cluster of goosenecked ventilators, which provided fresh air to the boiler- and engine-rooms below. A navigating bridge straddled the fore part of the central island, and the superstructure was occupied by officers' quarters and sometimes a few passenger cabins, together with the ship's lifeboats. The crews' quarters were usually in the fo'c'sle and sometimes in the poop. Most tramps had two masts, stepped centrally in the two well-decks, rigged with cargo-handling derricks. Many ships also carried smaller, independent kingpost derricks mounted near the sides of the ship, fore and aft. Some had a fifth hatch between bridge and funnel allowing access to a central hold, which had its own derricks. A straight vertical stem, slab sides, and a graceful counter stern were hallmarks of its hull-form. Tramps had a nearly flat bottom so as to have minimum draft, and the holds were as nearly as possible rectangular, for maximum cargo capacity.

Duncan Dock, Cape Town (1951)

Early steamships had followed the pattern of sailing vessels in having a weather deck, which was also the main structural deck, running from stem to stern. Only small deckhouses were located above this level. In time they were succeeded by ships with raised deck areas at bow, amidships, and stern, which afforded better seaworthiness, protected the anchor gear, elevated engine-room skylights and ventilators further from invading seas, and also gave some protection to the steering gear.

The layout of cargo space was much influenced by language in legislation for the levy of taxes (also dock dues and canal tolls), based on statutory methods of measurement of ships and their cargo, and by the need to ensure safety at sea. As a result, there was a progression towards ships with a more extended upper deck amidships, and later most were built with an upper deck running the full length of the hull. This was to accommodate low-density cargo in an area that was subject to lower assessment than the holds; this deck generally contained interruptions to provide access to hatches in the main structural deck below, and it was most often termed the "shelter deck" or "superstructure deck." The space below the shelter deck was sometimes referred to as "'tween decks," and in some ships it was employed to accommodate low-fare passengers, or "deck passengers."

Tramps carried few passengers, however; cargo had first priority and the time spent in port was likely to be prolonged, which could be annoying to those in a hurry. Another factor limiting numbers was the requirement that a ship with more than twelve passengers carry a doctor. Nonetheless, berths were cheap and passage by tramp steamer was a grand way to see the world.

Ships such as SS Traveller were to be seen in ports all over the world, even the most insignificant ones. The first definition of the word "tramp" in the dictionary is "the act of stamping; a heavy and forceful tread," but a common usage was for a "person on the tramp; one who travels from place to place on foot in search of employment, as a vagrant." Tramp steamers plied wherever there was cargo for shipment: they were not committed to follow scheduled routes. During the 1870s, shipping agents were linked by the new worldwide telegraph and submarine cable system, and shipowners would direct captains to respond to the pattern of supply and demand. A tramp steamer crisscrossed the oceans following opportunities for trade, rather than shuttling regularly to-and-fro, as did liners. In 1914 there were 9,000 ships in the British registry, 43% of the world's merchantmen, and the greater number of these were tramps. They underpinned the prosperity derived from a prolonged period of steady expansion in worldwide trade.

The river Clyde at Glasgow was the birthplace of the tramp. The type evolved in late nineteenth-century Britain; the shipbuilders of Clydeside, Tyne, Wear, Tees, and Mersey built the great majority of the ships, and Glasgow shipowners were the leading operators. Rudyard Kipling gives us this succinct characterization: "every inch of a cargo boat must be built for cheapness, great hold-capacity, and a certain steady speed." A shipowner would also be looking for longevity and seaworthiness. Such considerations led to conservative design practice, and for many years the type persisted with very little change in appearance.

Shipowners in a large number of countries, but most especially in northern Europe, decided to enter the tramping trade. Norwegian firms became particularly prominent. Many Scandinavian shipping lines adopted grey for their hull color, and after World War I they led the switch from steam to diesel propulsion.

The quintessential tramp owner was the Clan Line-Cayzer, Irvine & Co.- based in Glasgow, (black funnel with two red stripes), but there were a great many British firms in the business. One of the best known was Messrs. T. & J. Harrison of Liverpool, (black funnel with a broad white stripe divided by red, popularly known as "two of fat and one of lean"). The SS Traveller of this line is representative of the type. She was built in 1922 and measured 4,000 tons (gross registered tonnage). She can be seen in the accompanying painting (pages 30-31), lying off the waterfront of the tiny port of Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe, one of the two French islands in the Lesser Antilles.

Like many minor ports-of-call, Pointeà- Pitre had no deepwater berths: seagoing vessels had to moor well offshore, discharging cargo into lighters, which carried it to a jetty for offloading, and the same cumbersome process of trans-shipment had to be undertaken in reverse for loading goods for export. One can appreciate the importance of the ships' own derricks.

Other shipping in this view includes wooden schooners used in interisland fruit and vegetable trade. The weatherworn timber of Hotel des Antilles, on the left, fronts onto the Place de la Victoire and is dignified by the bronze figure of a local hero. Towards sundown, in the period of blessed relief from monotonous, steamy heat, citizens have turned out to stroll along the waterfront and to enjoy being seen taking
a turn in their horse-drawn barouches. Wooden jetties running out from the shore provide landing places for lighters, fishing boats, and other small craft.

The Traveller lies off in deeper water, with a swarm of attendant lighters alongside. Her imported cargo would consist largely of manufactured goods, building materials, machinery, and paraffin in cans. Exports might include sugar, cotton, palm oil, hardwood and other non-perishable agricultural produce. The ship's canvas awnings rigged over the bridge, foredeck, and poop provide refuge from the dazzling, blistering sun, and serve to reduce the expanse of searing-hot steel on deck. A brow has been rigged amidships for those going ashore by boat. Like all Harrison Line ships, her boot-topping was painted pink.

The largest and most long-lived shipping line of the era was the British India Line, or B.I. (black funnel with two broad white stripes, very close together); its port of origin was Calcutta, not in Britain. Few of its ships ever made their way back to the home country. B.I. started with operations around the coasts of India and Ceylon, later extending to Burma, the East Indies, Australia, the Persian Gulf, East Africa, and Mauritius. In due course the company extended its network to Indo-China, China, Japan, and New Zealand, as well as up the main rivers of Southern Asia. The company's operations prospered through the creation of a resourceful system of shipping agencies.

The story is told of B.I. agents in remote parts of India during the nineteenth century, who, on finding an opportunity for shipping a cargo, would take their umbrella and make for the nearest sandy beach. B.I. captains would be on the lookout for a raised umbrella, head towards shore, and run the ship aground at dead low water. Frenzied work would have the ship loaded before high tide, whereupon engines were ordered full astern to pull her off the beach. Good reason for building ships with flat bottoms!

The term "tramp" was a description of the role, rather than of the design of a ship: the same vessel might be put to different uses during the course of its working life.

A digression is necessary to explain usage of the word liner. Ships operating regular, scheduled services on specified routes (lines) were called liners. Arising from this, we have the terms shipping lines, and in modern times, airlines. It required steam power to keep to a timetable, but early steamships were extravagant in coal

SS Egypt, coaling, Karachi

consumption and costly to run, consequently they were limited to carrying passengers, mail, and other such valuable cargoes as bullion. In later years, even grand transAtlantic passenger liners made space to carry some important cargo. (There was really no point, after all, in going to Europe for a motor tour if you could not take the Pierce-Arrow.)

When steam power became more economical, cargo steamers entered the shipping trade. Some of them were placed in service on regular routes; such vessels attracted passenger traffic, and the cargo liner became a familiar type. Tramp steamers, which followed no predetermined routine, eventually gave way to ships that operated on familiar routes but did not adhere to a timetable. It was common to see newspaper advertisements advising that a particular ship would be sailing on an anticipated date, seeking cargo for shipment to various ports. The term "liner" was confined to large, fast ships primarily devoted to passengers, sailing between designated ports, and they sailed on time.

 
SS City of Norwich

Tramps were devoted to general cargo. Bulk carriers tended to be purpose-built to suit particular trades, such as ore-carriers on the Great Lakes, oil tankers, or bulk grain carriers, all of which followed routes on which they could find a steady demand. Specialized ships were built to convey natural asphalt from Trinidad in heated tanks, and refrigerated ships to carry Caribbean bananas or New Zealand butter and lamb to markets on the other side of the world. Ships of this kind maintained a regular service over the same route from year to year.

 
SS Persus, Calcutta (1910)

 The Blue Funnel Line (Alfred Holt & Co. of Liverpool) pioneered the introduction of iron-built steamships with compound engines in commercial service. The company gained a reputation for building high-quality cargo ships, giving them an edge over their competitors. They had oversized hatches and heavy-lift derricks, which enabled them to ship unusually large or heavy items, such as bridge components, steam boilers and locomotives. Blue Funnel ships were smart but staid in appearance, with a very large bolt-upright funnel, traditional sweeping counter stern, and a graceful sheerline. They were named for heroes in classical Greek mythology. The story goes that Mr. Holt's first ship was very much used and shabby. Cans of blue paint were found in the hold, and these were used to spruce-up her appearance, ultimately leading to the popular name of the company.

The oldest line in the business was Thos. & Jonathan Brocklebank of Liverpool, founded in 1770 (black funnels with blue and white stripe and a broad white stripe around the hull). It traded largely to India and the Orient but also had a transAtlantic connection.

Ships of the Hamburg-Amerika, Norddeutscher Lloyd and Bibby lines (pink funnels) were distinguishable by their retention of four masts, long after other owners had switched to no more than two. Some shipping companies favored "goal post" masts, stepped two abreast and braced together at the top, which afforded mountings for derricks much closer to the ships' sides. On some ships, derrick posts doubled as ventilators for the holds.

American firms such as Lykes Lines, Farrell Lines, and American Export Lines became prominent towards the midtwentieth century; they made wide use of standardized types of freighter, which had been built in great numbers in the US during World War II, particularly the Liberty Ship and its derivatives. The SS Winifred, launched at Bath Iron Works in 1901, was said to be the first tramp steamer built in the United States. Antonio Jacobsen made a painting of her in the following year.

 SS Tisza, Venice (1912)

The genesis of the tramp steamer lay in the invention of the compound steam engine, followed by a spike, caused by opening of the Suez Canal, in the surging growth of worldwide maritime trade.

The adoption of riveted steel construction in shipbuilding was accompanied by improvements in metallurgy, which permitted higher working pressures in steam boilers. This led to the development of compound engines, which used the same steam twice, and more than twice, in successively larger-and lowerpressure- cylinders. The introduction of compound engines by Clyde shipbuilders, starting in 1856, resulted in dramatic economies of operation. With tripleexpansion engines, coal consumption was in many cases halved, and this made steam competitive with sail. Hitherto, use of steam power had been confined to mail and passenger services, where a premium would be paid for speed and consistency. For the first time, it became possible for shipowners to operate cargo services using steamers.

 
 SS Exemplar in the Hooghly, Calcutta (1910)

The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 halved the length of the sea route from London to Bombay. When the Canal was opened to traffic, it caused a great realignment of maritime trade. The sea route to India via the Cape of Good Hope, pioneered by the Portuguese in the fifteenth century, took many months under sail. Furthermore, ships sailing around Africa had to go far out of their direct route to take advantage of the prevailing winds along the way.

The overland route across Egypt only became available once steamships came on the scene. The Red Sea is so restricted in width and subject to contrary winds, that regular passage under sail was impracticable. However, in 1837 a steam ship service was started between Bombay and Suez, where passengers and mail could disembark and travel by mule-drawn wagons across the desert to Cairo. From there they went by river steamer down the Nile, followed by barge to Alexandria, where they could board a steam packet, which traversed the Mediterranean. This route was not possible for freight.

Suddenly, once the canal was open, there was no longer need for trans-shipment. Alfred Holt anticipated the changed reality earlier than most, and he had a fleet of cargo steamers ready to take immediate advantage of the opportunity. Ships under power, moreover, could at all times follow the most direct track between ports. Journey times between Europe and the Orient were reduced from three or four months to as many weeks. Quite rapidly, steam displaced sail in ocean trade, and the great towering square-riggers were squeezed into diminishing niches of the market.

During this era, merchant shipping was targeted in two world wars, and in each war roughly a third of the world's oceangoing merchantmen were sunk. Numbers were made good by wartime construction, mostly of standardized types. In the latter part of World War II the great majority of these replacements were built in the US, particularly the Liberty Ships and their variations. In the postwar period, merchant fleets of all nations were filled with such ships. They incorporated novel construction methods, including prefabrication and extensive use of welding, and in the immediate postwar years there were losses in heavy seas, some due to inexperienced operators and some to structural defects.

By the 1950s general cargo steamers were still prevalent in ports around the world, but thereafter the type steadily declined in favor of today's larger and more specialized types of carrier. Egypt's blocking of the Suez Canal between 1967 and 1975, which was provoked by war with Israel, had the effect of hastening the adoption of supertankers and permanently changing the pattern of world trade routes.

Maritime trade on ocean routes today is carried largely in specialized ships: bulk carriers of oil, grain, ore and liquefied natural gas; container ships; and vehicle transporters. General cargo vessels are now to be found almost entirely in coastwise and localized operations. Some modern freighters are equipped with a towering array of lifting gear, which rivals that available in even the most important ports, but a great many ships never need to come alongside at all: they load and discharge their cargo by means of giant hoses while the vessel is moored to dolphins planted in deep water. The Port of New Orleans, one of the largest in the country, has few deepwater berths to be seen.

Itinerant cargo steamers, eminently sensible and functional, rather crankylooking but once so universal, are now scarcely to be seen at sea, and the tramp steamer, as Kipling knew it, has become extinct.

SS Umgeni in drydock, Cape Town (1951)