Pacific Steam Navigation Company (PSNCo)
 
Header Page
 
 
This is the header page to a series devoted to postcards and photographs of the ocean passenger services of Pacific Steam Navigation Company (PSNCo). Their many coastal vessels on South American Pacific Coast services are not covered. Alphabetical and chronological lists of ships on the various pages are shown are shown below. The Table beneath gives links to complete history pages on selected individual ships.
 
The Pacific Steam Navigation Company (PSNCo) was formed by an American, William Wheelwright, to operate steamship services along the Pacific coast of South America. Having failed to raise money in the USA, he succeeded in London and was granted a Royal Charter of Incorporation in 1839. Services started in 1840 with two wooden paddlesteamers, Chile and Peru. The company built up a large fleet of coastal steamers, and 1867 it was decided to introduce a through service from Liverpool via the Straits of Magellan. Five screw steamers were ordered to operate this service. Rather than wait for delivery of these, PSNCo inaugurated the new venture in 1868, using their paddler Pacific, built for coastal services in 1865. The ships ordered in 1867 began arriving in 1869, operating between Liverpool and Valparaiso. In 1870, the PSNCo decided to extend services to Callao, and a further four steamers were ordered. In 1872, a mail subsidy of £10000 per annum was granted and the PSNCo began operating a weekly service from Liverpool. The calls at this time included Bordeaux (later Pauillac), Lisbon, Sao Vincente (Cape Verde Islands), Rio de Janeiro, Montevideo and Punta Arenas.
 
The PSNCo was the largest steamship company in the world in 1873, but their success was short-lived. Due to a combination of circumstances, including political unrest, and competition from other shipping lines (White Star amongst them), PSNCo found themselves in financial difficulties and many ships were laid, service speeds were reduced, and departures became fortnightly again. Two ships were sold to Royal Mail Lines, and four others were chartered (and later sold) to the Orient Line for a new steamship service from London to Australia via the Suez Canal. Conditions in the PSNCo original trade area continued to deteriorate, and Chile went to war with Peru and Bolivia in 1879. The Orient Line venture had been so successful, that sailings were increased from monthly to fortnightly, and the extra ships required again came from the PSNCo, which then entered into a joint venture with Orient Line, marketed as Orient-Pacific Line. The best PSNCo vessels were now all deployed on the Australian route. The Or- prefix was introduced for the Australian ships, in line with Orient practice, though it was subsequently used on ships for the South American routes too.
 
In 1904, the South Atlantic route was Liverpool, La Pallice (La Rochelle), Corunna, Vigo, Lisbon, Recife, Salvador, Rio de Janeiro, Montevideo, Buenos Aires, Port Stanley (Falklands), Punta Arenas, Coronel, Talcahuano and Valparaiso. By 1906, brighter prospects in their original trading area allowed PSNCo to sell their Australian interests to Royal Mail Lines, along with the four PSNCo vessels used, and the Australian service became known as Orient-Royal Mail Line. The new partners did not get along, and Royal Mail Lines pulled out of the partnership with Orient Line in 1909. By 1910 it was apparent that traffic patterns to South America were changing with the opening of new railways, and construction of the Panama Canal (opened 1915). Collaboration was necessary with PSNCo's main competitor, Royal Mail, and the larger company acquired PSNCo in 1910 buff funnels replacing the previous black. The swapping of ships between the two fleets became frequent. New laws in Chile forced the end of the coastal service in the 1920s.
 
The collapse and break-up of the Royal Mail Lines empire in 1932 briefly restored the PSNCo independence, since Royal Mail reacquired the shares in 1938. In 1931, PSNCo had received the superb motorship Reina Del Pacifico, which reduced the round trip time to Valparaiso by 18 days to 60. By the depression of the 1930s, five round trips by Reina Del Pacifico, and a combined seven by Orbita and Orduña (1), were sufficient to carry all passengers. After World War 2, the steamers were dropped without replacement. In 1956, Reina Del Pacifico was joined by the new steamer Reina Del Mar, although they only ran concurrently for 2 years. In 1964, Reina Del Mar was converted to a cruise ship under Union-Castle management, and the era of Pacific Steam passenger services came to an end.
 
 
PSNCo Pages:-
PSNCo - Header Page
PSNCo - Page 1 - Pre-1900
PSNCo - Page 2 - 1900-1913
PSNCo - Page 3 - 1914-1939
PSNCo - Page 4 - 1939-1964
 
Ships on the PSNCo Pages in Alphabetical Order:-
Andes (1913)
Ebro (1920-1935)
Essequibo (1920-1935)
Oravia (1897-1912)
Orbita (1920-1935)
Orca (1918-1927)
Orcana (1922-1924)
Orcoma (1908-1933)
Orduña (1) (1914-1941)
Oriana (1906-1926)
Orissa (1895-1918)
Orita (1903-1931)
Orizaba (1886-1905)
Oronsa (1906-18)
Oropesa (1) (1895-1914)
Oropesa (2) (1920-1941)
Orotava (1890-1919)
Oroya (2) (1887-1906)
Oroya (3) (1923-1939)
Ortega (1906-1927)
Ortona (1899-1906)
Oruba (1) (1889-1915)
Oruba (2) (1921-1924)
Reina Del Pacifico (1931-1958)
Reina Del Mar (1956-1964)
 
Ships on the PSNCo Pages in Chronological Order:-
Oravia (1897-1912)
Orissa (1895-1918)
Orizaba (1886-1905)
Oropesa (1) (1895-1914)
Orotava (1890-1919)
Oroya (2) (1887-1906)
Ortona (1899-1906)
Oruba (1) (1889-1915)
Andes (1913)
Orcoma (1908-1933)
Oriana (1906-1926)
Orita (1903-1931)
Oronsa (1906-18)
Ortega (1906-1927)
Ebro (1920-1935)
Essequibo (1920-1935)
Orbita (1920-1935)
Orca (1918-1927)
Orcana (1922-1924)
Orduña (1) (1914-1941)
Oropesa (2) (1920-1941)
Oroya (3) (1923-1939)
Oruba (2) (1921-1924)
Reina Del Pacifico (1931-1958)
Reina Del Mar (1956-1964)
 
Associated Pages:-
Orient Line
Royal Mail Lines
Ferry Postcards
Cruise Ship Postcards
Ocean Liner Postcards
Simplon Postcards Home Page
 
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Table of Ship Histories

Name

Other names

 Built
 Reina Del Mar  

 1956
 
 
 
 
 
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