FOREIGN SHIPPING CALLING AT ADEN
In the year 1858-59 only 35 foreign ships called at Aden, including sailing ships. Of the 35 some 10 were French and 11 American, the latter almost certainly all sailing ships. Table 1 below is the first of three ‘snapshots’ and covers the period 1878-85, and is for steamers only.
Table 1 April 1879 – March 1885
Now on only 10 years for the next ‘snapshot’, covering the period 1895-1903. Note the expansion of the German mercantile marine from just one or two ships calling (several times each) in 1878-79 to 25 or more individual ships calling in 1902-03. Most if not all the Austrian ships would have sailed from Trieste. The higher figures for 1901-02 were almost certainly due in part to the Boxer rebellion in China. Not shown are the figures for 1919-20 and by then Austria was now a land-locked country.
Having had her merchant fleet divided amongst the victors it is perhaps not surprising that not one German ship called in 1919-20. Only 22 French ships called that year and 81 Italian. The great majority of foreign ships, 146, were Japanese. Looking at Table 3 one can see that this figure was not sustained in future years.
Table 2 - April 1896 - March 1903
In looking at the next Table note that there is some duplication in the figures as totals include those for the financial year 1936-37 as well as for the calendar year 1937.
In 1938 French ships averaged more than 5,000 tons and Japanese more than 6,000 tons. Average tonnage for all ships that year was 4,159 tons but this would have included local steamers, most of which were British. Discounting these, the average for all ships would also have been approaching 5,000 tons.
Note how after the closing of the coaling station at Perim in 1936, the Dutch steamers returned to using Aden. Quite possibly many of the Danish ships had been coaling at Perim as well. Shipping using Aden increased by about 20% on the closure of Perim. Looking at the figures for 1934-35, the year of the visit of the King of Italy, one can appreciate why he was given ‘red carpet’ treatment, in spite of problems in Abyssinia. But a significant proportion of the Italian total would have been local steamers plying between Aden and ports in Eritrea and Italian Somaliland.
Looking at the figures for Germany, although the outbreak of WW2 was still eight months away at the end of 1938, the war clouds were already gathering. The Germans knew that any of their ships in Empire ports on the outbreak of war would be seized, as they had been in 1914.
As well as the passenger and cargo liners sailing under European flags, some of the merchant ships would have been on regular runs to the Far East or Australasia, doing three to five round trips a year. For those that called at Aden on the way out and on the way back it would mean about six visits to Aden each year.
Table 3 April 1933 – December 1938
