Ian Collard: 22 books

The Blue Star Line was founded by brothers William and Edmund Vestey in 1911 to ship meat in refrigerated vessels from Australia, New Zealand and South America to the UK. Expanding into passenger services as well as refrigerated and general cargo, the line launched services to South America via Portugal...

Before the development of canals, railways or metalled roads, the quickest and most effective means of transporting goods from one point to another in Britain was by the use of coastal shipping, shallow-draught boats travelling between the ports of the British Isles. With the development and improvement...

In 2010, the world's oldest steamship line celebrated its 180th anniversary. For 183 years, the Isle of Man Steam Packet Co. has been the lifeline to the island, providing passenger and freight services for the island. Almost into the twentieth century, the ships were primarily paddle steamers but...

The Port of Liverpool handles more container trade with the United States than any other port in the UK and now also serves more than 100 other non-EU destinations, from China to Africa and the Middle East, and from Australia to South America. Liverpool has been an important port since the seventeenth...

Although Liverpool has existed as a port since the thirteenth century, it wasn't until the seventeenth century that it truly began to grow on the profits of trade with America, importing sugar from the West Indies and Virginia tobacco and exporting textiles from Lancashire. In the eighteenth century...

The Pier Head and landing stages have been places where the people of Liverpool have been able to view, participate in and enjoy many of the major maritime celebrations and events of the last hundred years. It is the city's equivalent to the Sydney Opera House, Fisherman's Wharf at San Francisco,...

The County Borough of Wallasey, on the Wirral Penninsula, is famous as a seaside town. From the mid-nineteenth century, James Atherton's 'New Brighton' became a popular leisure resort, with visitors arriving on every ferry. It was adorned by magnificent structures such as the tower and ballroom, pier...

Founded in 1838 in Liverpool, the Pacific Steam Navigation Company was the first to operate steamships in the Pacific and primarily traded from the UK to the Pacific coasts of South America. Its most famous ships included the Reina del Pacifico and the Reina del Mar. With a line of notable firsts...