The Demise of the Sailing Ship

​

Inevitably the rise of steamers would adversely affected the number of sailing ships that would call at Aden. By ‘sailing ships’ one is excluding the local sailing craft such as dhows. From 161 sailing ships calling in the financial year 1857-58, it took only 13 years to reduce this total by more than half (to 78) and in another 13 years (1883-84) the sailing ship had virtually disappeared from Aden waters, with only six calling. 1891-92 was the first year when none called. The following year three sailing ships called but there followed three more blank years, when records finish.

​

By the 1870s the great majority of sailing ships were colliers. In 1878-79 some 11 of the sailing ships were troop transports, carrying troops from India to Abyssinia. Between 1870 and 1881 the average size of vessel was about 900 tons, with the troop transports being over 1,500 tons. In 1872-73 some 58 out of 71 ships were British. 

​

Over the years, perhaps somewhat surprisingly, American ships from the eastern seaboard of the States were present in reasonable numbers. For example of the 34 ships that called in the three years 1881-182 to 1883-1884, eight were American.

By 1880 most of the colliers were steamers. The cargoes carried by the 19 ships that called in 1880-81 were:  

Six rice, five cotton goods, only four coal, and one each carried timber (from Penang), general cargo, cargo unknown calling for a clean bill of health and one ‘returned empty from sea’, Aden presumably being her home port.