Ships and shipping

Find technical information, pictures, logs and histories of passenger and cargo ships.

Australian registers

The Register of Australian and New Zealand Shipping, compiled and published by the Merchant Shipping and Underwriters' Association Limited, Melbourne, for the years 1874-1946. It covers mainly coastal and commercial shipping. Details of each ship include construction and rig, tonnage, dimensions, port and date of registry, owners, where and when built.

Australian shipowners and their fleets by Ronald Parsons consists of 24 volumes, each dedicated to a particular port or region. The years covered varies with each volume, but generally ranges from 1830 to 1875. Includes riverboats.

International registers

Lloyd's Registers

Ships are listed alphabetically by name. Information provided includes former names, rigging, construction material, registered tonnage, registered dimensions and engine details. It also states when, where and by whom the ship was built, its current owners, port of registry and flag.

Online

Books Boxes and Boats
Links to copies on Google Books
1768-1899 (incomplete)
PLIMSOLL Ship Data
You can search key data fields including ship name, year of build, weight and any former names of the vessel concerned.
1930-1945
   

Microfiche

Lloyd's Register on microfiche 1776-1880 in the Family History and Newspapers Room

In print

For Lloyd's registers 1776-1880, microfiche should be used in preference to printed copies, which are fragile.

Print copies dated before 2003 are held offsite. Phone 03 8664 7002 to arrange delivery from the Offsite Store.

2003-2014 are held in onsite storage and can be ordered through the Library catalogue by registered users.

There are slight variations in title. See catalogue records below for access details, then click the location tab to check which years are held:

Register of Ships 1764-1833 (incomplete)
Lloyd's Register of British and Foreign Shipping 1834-1913
Lloyd's Register of Shipping 1914-1974
Register of Ships

1975-2010

Register of Ships (IHS Fairplay) 2011-current

Bureau Veritas' Répertoire Général

General list of merchant shipping of all nations published from 1870 to 1939. Lists of all vessels Bureau Veritas could locate throughout the world. Although less detailed, early editions gave far wider coverage than Lloyd`s Register of Ships.

Visual identification