The Fleets
The Greenock S.S. Co. was formed in 1879 to operate services to the Persian Gulf, extended to Australia as required and in 1883 a route to the Gulf of Mexico was inaugurated. In 1891 services to South America replaced the Persian Gulf route. There were now two main services - Gulf of Mexico and Australia via South America or direct via Suez. In 1899 the Gulf Line was formed and in 1903 Christopher Furness acquired a controlling interest in the company. Gulf Line sold its interests in the South America trade to F. W. Ritson's Branch Line in 1906 and after the Great War, the fleet declined and went into liquidation in 1929.
Many thanks to Ted Finch for his assistance in collecting this data. The following list was extracted from various sources. This is not an all inclusive list but should only be used as a guide.
Ships
| Name | Built | Additional Information | GRT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appenine | see Furness Line. | ||
| Ariano | 1918 | ex- War Python, 1919 purchased from the Shipping Controller, London renamed Ariano, 1929 sold to Chargeurs Reunis, Paris renamed Fort Archambault. | 5,155 |
| Arranmore | see Santeramo (2) | ||
| Boldwell | 1901 | 1914 purchased from Franco-Ottoman Shipping Co., London, 1915 sold to Letricheux & David, Swansea. | 3,118 |
| Castellano | 1918 | ex- War Spaniel, 1919 purchased from the Shipping Controller, London renamed Castellano, 1922 sold to Japan renamed Hokkoh Maru. | 5,227 |
| Caterino | 1909 | 1921 sold to N. P. Roussos, Piraeus renamed Maria N. Roussos. | 3,729 |
| Comino | 1918 | ex- Ardgorm, 1919 purchased from Lang & Fulton, Glasgow renamed Comino, 1929 sold to Deutsche Tankreederi, Hamburg renamed Doris, resold to Hamburg America Line renamed Eifel. | 4,618 |
| Como | 1902 | 1902 chartered to R. Sloman, Hamburg, 1904 returned to owners, 1909 sold to Holland America Line renamed Gorredijk. | 6,466 |
| Crossby | 1907 | 1910 purchased from Harowing & Co., Whitby, 1916 sold to Sale & Co., London, 1919 renamed Baycross. | 3,893 |
| Edenmore | see Salerno. | ||
| Feliciana | see Furness Line. | ||
| Florentino | 1900 | ex- Gunwell, 1914 purchased from Franco-Ottoman Shipping Co., London renamed Florentino, 1915 sold to P. A. Vickery, Liverpool. | 3,411 |
| Gulf of Aden | 1887 | 1890 sank on voyage Liverpool - Valparaiso. | 2,470 |
| Gulf of Akaba | 1883 | 1891 sold to C. P. Jensen, Copenhagen renamed Vulcan. | 2,041 |
| Gulf of Ancud | 1890 | 1902 transferred to Furness, Withy & Co., 1911 sold to Embiricos, London renamed Vostizza. | 2,716 |
| Gulf of Bothnia | 1891 | 1902 transferred to Furness, Withy & Co., 1903 sold to Hamburg America Line renamed Schwarzburg. | 3,452 |
| Gulf of Carpentaria (1) | 1881 | 1885 lost. | 2,454 |
| Gulf of Carpentaria (2) | 1904 | 1905 sold to British India S.N. Co. renamed Carpentaria. | 5,677 |
| Gulf of Corcovado | 1888 | 1900 sold to P. Viale, Genoa renamed Paolo V. | 2,468 |
| Gulf of Finland | 1880 | 1882 wrecked. | 2,323 |
| Gulf of Florida | 1891 | 1900 sold to M & A Dell'Orso, Spezia renamed Italia. | 2,865 |
| Gulf of Genoa | 1891 | 1902 transferred to Furness, Withy & Co., 1903 sold to Hamburg America Line renamed Altenburg. | 3,448 |
| Gulf of Guinea | 1888 | 1899 sold to Alfred Holt, Liverpool (Blue Funnel Line) renamed Memnon. | 2,438 |
| Gulf of Lions | 1890 | 1899 sold to Red Cross Line, Liverpool renamed Maranhense. | 2,662 |
| Gulf of Martaban | 1889 | 1902 transferred to Furness, Withy & Co., sold to de Freitas, Hamburg renamed Lusitania. | 2,793 |
| Gulf of Mexico | 1883 | 1898 sold to Austro-American SS Co, Trieste renamed Vienna. | 3,172 |
| Gulf of Panama | 1880 | 1882 wrecked on Texel Island, Holland. | 1,592 |
| Gulf of Papua | 1883 | 1896 sold to Zerssen & Co., Tonning renamed Ida. | 2,042 |
| Gulf of Siam | 1892 | 1902 transferred to Furness, Withy & Co., 1903 sold to Hamburg America Line renamed Schaumburg. | 3,433 |
| Gulf of St. Vincent | 1881 | 1890 wrecked. | 2,450 |
| Gulf of Suez | 1880 | 1897 sold to Westcott & Laurence Ltd. (to Ellerman & Papayanni Line in 1901) | 1,535 |
| Gulf of Taranto | 1892 | 1902 transferred to Furness, Withy & Co., 1903 sold to Hamburg America Line renamed Mecklenburg. | 3,448 |
| Gulf of Trinidad | 1887 | 1900 sold to Admiral SS Co. (J. Gardiner & Co.) | 2,362 |
| Gulf of Venice | 1883 | 1902 transferred to Furness, Withy & Co., 1913 sold to Vincenzo Sabia, Naples renamed Anna. | 2,923 |
| Lugano | 1917 | 1917 mined and sunk off Ireland. | 3,810 |
| Messina | see Furness Line. | ||
| Modesta | 1917 | 1922 sold to A/S Iverans Rederi, Oslo. | 3,832 |
| Oristano | 1911 | 1922 sold to Japan renamed Ryokai Maru. | 4,253 |
| Ortona | see Furness Line. | ||
| Rapallo (1) | 1902 | 1902 chartered to R. Sloman, Hamburg, 1904 returned to owners, 1906 chartered to Hamburg America Line, 1908 returned to owners, 1909 sold to Holland America Line renamed Maartensdijk. | 6,483 |
| Rapallo (2) | 1917 | 1918 torpedoed and sunk. | 3,811 |
| Rossano | 1909 | 1912 transferred from Furness, Withy & Co., 1921 sold to N. P. Roussos, Piraeus renamed Possidon. | 3,744 |
| Salerno | 1909 | ex- Edenmore, 1915 transferred from Barnesmore SS Co. Liverpool, 1919 renamed Salerno, 1921 sold to Petsalis & Dounai, Spezia renamed Evelpis. | 3,667 |
| Santeramo (1) | 1914 | 1914 sold to Reardon Smith & Co., Cardiff renamed Jersey City. | 4,670 |
| Santeramo (2) | 1904 | ex- Arranmore, 1915 transferred from Oakmore SS Co., Liverpool, 1919 renamed Santeramo, 1921 sold to C. N. Vassilakis, Chios renamed Anna Vassilakis. | 3,045 |
| Sicily | 1880 | ex- Rhenania, 1903 purchased from Hamburg America Line renamed Sicily, 1904 chartered to R. Sloman, Hamburg, 1905 sold to Fratelli Degregori, Palermo renamed Lourdes. | 1,845 |
| Turino | see Westhoe Hall. | ||
| Tuscany | 1908 | 1913 sold to Cia de Nav. Olazzari, Bilbao renamed Oquendo. | 3,000 |
| Westhoe Hall | 1914 | 1915 purchased from E. Nicholl & Co., Cardiff renamed Turino, 1917 torpedoed and sunk. | 4,241 |