China Navigation Co. Ltd, London
China Navigation Co. Ltd - John Swire & Sons, London operated from 1873 as China Navigation Co. A detailed fleet list by Howard of all the CNCo ships was published in Dick & Kentwell, Far Eastern Fleets (Nautical Association of Australia, 1973) and comprehensive updated material appears on this site.
The listing in the first PDF contains details and illustrations of the coastal and ocean steamers of this company from 1873 until 1941.
Second is Yangtse River and Ningpo steamers, with a comprehensive pictorial coverage. Shown below is an early Inglis-built Lower River steamer, the SHANGHAI of 1873 (John Swire & Sons coll.).
The third PDF tells of the post-war ‘F’-class cargo ship quintette and the Indonesia trade 1946-64.
The fourth PDF comprehensively covers the four ships of the post-World War II 'S'-class (built 1946-47).
The fifth PDF covers the careers of the post-world War II passenger ships CHANGSHA and TAIYUAN of 1949.
The sixth PDF covers the larger passenger ships CHUNGKING (1950) and CHANGCHOW (1951). Shown below is the impressive CHANGCHOW on trials (Wikiswire).
The seventh PDF presents the passenger ships ANKING (1950) and ANSHUN (1951).
The eighth PDF comprehensively deals with CNCo's Taikoo-built 'C'- and 'K'-class cargoliners of 1955-62.
The ninth PDF covers vessels operating in the Pearl River, including the ships of the affiliated Hong Kong, Canton & Macao Steamboat Co. (HCMSC).
The tenth examines the career of CNCo's HUNAN of 1966 including subsequently under the Portuguese flag as NACALA.
All ten documents deal with the full careers of the ships, including under later owners, and contain many photographs.
For the other CNCo ships we recommend the updated comprehensive listing at the Wikiswire site affiliated with the Swire organisation and the Historical Photographs of China site at the University of Bristol which houses the very large photograph collection of G. Warren Swire.
Shown below are a typical coaster, the HUNAN of 1895 (Warren Swire Coll., University of Bristol) shown cargo loading just before sailing from Hankow, the fast Shanghai-Tientsin steamer FENGTIEN of 1905 running trials (James Adamson coll., University of Glasgow), and KIATING, a specialised upper Yangtse River steamer of 1925, capable of sailing upstream from Chungking, nearly 1500 kilometers inland from Shanghai (Wikiswire).
