The List is a newspaper covering shipping movements, casualties and news items, which dates from 1734. It was not indexed until 1838, though indexes have since been created for some early issues.
The main series of indexes, covering ship movements and casualties 1838 to October 1927, are on microfilm at the National Maritime Museum, the Guildhall Library, Merseyside Maritime Museum and the National Library of Scotland.
Using the Indexes to Lloyd's List
The shipping movements and casualties section of Lloyd's List is indexed from 1838. The main series of indexes runs from 1838 to October 1927, and originally took the form of huge manuscript ledgers which were not for publication. Lloyd’s later microfilmed these ledgers and discarded the originals, with the exception of four sample volumes, which are now in the Guildhall Library.
Each index covers one year, and is arranged alphabetically by the names of the vessels, with similar names (such as Marie or Maria) grouped together. Steamers are distinguished by the abbreviation Str., later shortened to /s/, and are usually listed after sailing vessels of the same name.
The name of the ship’s master, if known, is given in smaller letters following the ship’s name. Where there are several vessels of the same name, the name is usually listed only once, and the following entries are arranged roughly in alphabetical order by the names of the masters, with sailing vessels first, followed by steamers.
If the ship’s name is a common one, there may be a few entries at the end for vessels which have not been clearly identified, either because the name of the master was not given in the report, or because the vessel is of a type not ordinarily included in the List, eg. a coaster or fishing vessel. In the later indexes other pieces of information are added to distinguish between different ships bearing the same name, such as the vessel’s net registered tonnage, port of registry, nationality, type or owners.
Because of the manuscript format, the clerks sometimes ran out of space to add information. If they could not fit additional entries into the line above or below the original line assigned to a particular ship, information was sometimes made on an extra folio at the end of the section for that letter of the alphabet.
Before 1908, the index entries refer to issues of Lloyd’s List, and do not give the actual date of the movements or of casualty reports. The earliest entries (1838 to mid-1839) give only the date of the issue. The amount of information included was gradually extended, as the following examples illustrate:
Example 1: June 2 3 |
Example 2: June 2 Liv 3 |
Example 3: June 2/3 Liv 1/6 |
Example 1 indicates an entry in Lloyd's List for 2 June, column 3, between 1839 and 1847. |
Example 2 indicates an event (an arrival, sailing or casualty) occurring at Liverpool, reported in Lloyd's List on 2 June, column 3, between 1848 and 1907. |
Example 3 indicates an event at Liverpool which occurred on 1 June and was reported in Lloyd’s List on 2 June, column 3, between 1908 and 1927. |
Several devices were used to distinguish the different types of event: sailing, arrival, speaking, casualty. Between 1839 and 1848, these were put into separate columns. After 1848, a system of colour coding was adopted, initially using black for arrivals and red for the other categories, with a d added over the entries for casualties. Later, the casualty entries were written in blue. These colours are unfortunately lost on microfilm, although the entries in red and blue are usually paler than those in black.
The port abbreviation (see below) is sometimes enclosed in brackets. This usually only happens in the case of casualty reports, and indicates that the report was dated from that port, the ship being elsewhere.
In the indexes for 1914–1916, references prefixed by c.c. refer to a series of confidential circulars which have not survived.
Entries in the indexes for 1926–1927, where the column number is replaced by a letter, refer not to Lloyd’s List but to the unpublished Supplementary Mail Advices, which are in the Guildhall Library as part of the Lloyd's Marine Collection.
Recording voyages
Voyage Record Cards, 1927–1975
In the Voyage Record Card system, which replaced the Annual Index in 1927, each ship has one or more cards on which its movements, casualties and other incidents are reported. Until 1946, cards were completed by hand. After 1946, they were cut from Lloyd's Voyage Record (see below), pasted onto the card and further amendments were made by hand. The cards can be consulted at the Guildhall Library if requested in advance.
Lloyd's Voyage Record, 1946 to date
Published weekly, it reprints the movements of ocean-going ships (in alphabetical order) from Lloyd’s List, showing all movements on the voyage. From September 1975, it has also shown extra details of tonnage and owner manager. The Record is held on microfiche (mostly available at the Guildhall Library).
Commonly used abbreviations
Examples of abbreviated place names are given in this guide to common Lloyd's List abbreviations.
Next steps
Other guides in the series that may be useful for using Lloyd's documents as a research tool are:
Research guide H1: Lloyd's: Lloyd's List: Brief history
Research guide H3: Lloyd's: Lloyd’s Captains' Registers
Research guide H5: Registers held at the National Maritime Museum
Research guide H6: Lloyd's Register survey reports
For general research help, see:
Research guide A2: Principal records for maritime research at the National Maritime Museum
Research guide A3: Tracing family history from maritime records
Although care has been taken in preparing the information contained in this document, anyone using it shall be deemed to indemnify the National Maritime Museum from any and all injury or damage arising from such use.