ABSTRACT
The figures in the following table were derived from taking random samples from back copies of Lloyd’s List, which gave the vessels’ arrival and departure dates.
The table suggests that all sailing vessels showed an improvement in turnaround time between 1878-1890. This improvement was sustained in the final period only for the largest vessels or those ports which still catered largely for sailing vessels. In ports catering for the new steam vessels the sailing ships were probably relegated to the older areas and given lower priority as regards cargo handling. This probably also indicates that the larger sailing vessels were in more secure trade routes, i.e. they could still find cargoes. The smaller vessels were less capable of finding ports with ready cargoes-hence their longer time in port.
