In 1854 a joint service to the Levant, Constantinople and Beirut
was started in association with James Moss for which the Levant
Screw Steam Shipping Company was formed. Bibby's Albanian and
Corinthian ,with their then yellow funnels, were deployed alongside
the steamships of James Moss on the route.
On the
political front, in March of that year Napoleon decided with
Great Britain that Turkey should be offered some protection
against Russian expansion across the Danube which led to an
allied expeditionary force being moved to Varna. Despite intervention
by Austria who persuaded Russia not to move war was declared
in order to destroy the Russian naval base at Sevastopol. Shortly
afterwards all of Bibby's steamers and some of their sailing
ships were requisitioned for service during the Crimean War
which was to continue until 1856 when the Treaty of Paris was
signed. Initially the ships operated between Liverpool and Varna
but when, in September, Russian Crimea was invaded troops and
stores were transferred to Russia. Thereafter, the ships operated
between Liverpool and the Eupatoria beach head.
During 1854 the company's last
sailing ship, the Pizarro, was completed and in the following
year Joseph M. Bibby died leaving John Bibby (II) as the sole
surviving member of the family in the shipping side of the business.
Late in 1857 the trade and goodwill
of the Levant Screw Steam Shipping Company was acquired and,
at the same time, the steamer Crimean joined the fleet. The
Levant funnel colour was pink with a black top and from that
time on it was adopted across the entire fleet to become Bibby's
familiar livery. In May 1857 cargo trade with India was curtailed
as a result of the Indian Mutiny which was caused by Hindu opposition
to British attempts to impose social reforms. The revolt quickly
spread through central India and was repressed with great severity
and bloodshed. As a consequence the Government of India Act
of 1858 was passed which transferred the government of India
from the East India Company to the British Crown.
In 1858 the railway between Alexandria and Suez was completed
which meant that it was no longer necessary to undertake the
tedious camel and Freshwater Canal treck across Egypt to join
a ship bound for India and the Far East. As a result trade flourished
for P&O and they resorted to chartering ships from Bibby's
for the UK to Alexandria portion of the journey. However, as
far as Bibby's were concerned, sail was still important and
controlling shares in the company's last sailing ship, the Melbourne,
were purchased.
Back in Liverpool the Liverpool Steamship Owners Association
was founded with James Jenkinson Bibby as its first Chairman.
At that time the company houseflag was plain red which came
about from the practice of signalling the arrival of a steamer
off Anglesey by means of a semaphore signal to Bidston Hill
on the Wirral. A red flag was hoisted by the owner in Liverpool
which could be seen by telescope and was later adopted for ease
of identification and flown by all their ships.
Also in 1858 Edward J Harland
acquired the Belfast Queens Island shipyard from Robert Hickson
with finance secured by G. C. Schwabe who was a junior partner
in Bibby's. As a consequence of this deal in the following year
Bibby's placed an order with the yard for three ships, the Venetian,
the Sicilian and the Syrian. The three ships were given the
Harland yard numbers one, two and three, and so began the list
of illustrious vessels produced by Harland & Wolff during
subsequent years. The three vessels were also the forerunners
of the yard's noted 'long ship' whereby the width of the vessel
was not increased proportionately to the length. This practice
provided more cargo space without the need for a corresponding
increase in engine size as the power required to push the water
aside was more dependent on the width rather than the length
of the ship. Initially, local reaction to the new concept was
mixed and there was a feeling that safety was being sacrificed
for profit, but, in reality, this was not the case. Liverpool
shipowners soon became convinced and started to insert new hull
sections into existing ships so as to convert them into 'long
ships'. Some pushed the concept to the limits and finished up
with ships that were extremely tender at sea. However, the vessels
designed for Bibby's did not suffer from these tendencies.
Around the same time Frederick
Richard Leyland, a dynamic man who would dominate the Liverpool
scene for many years, was appointed as a junior director of
Bibby's. Leyland was the sort of person who took the trouble
to learn the languages of the people with whom he traded and
became a noted linguist. His closest friend was the American
painter James Whistler, at least until the time that they had
a blazing row over the fee for a painting commission.
In 1861 the nephew of G. C. Schwabe, Gustav Wolff, joined Edward
Harland to form Harland & Wolff. Because of the excellence
of the ships built and the Board connections, Bibby's gave the
new firm considerable support and of the first twenty one ships
built by Harland & Wolff eighteen were for the Bibby fleet.
The owners were clearly well pleased with their ships. The management
of Harland & Wolff began to look at ship design and made
the suggestion that the, hitherto, traditional steamer barque
or even ship rig was replaced with a simpler topsail schooner
rig which would reduce the deck crewing level. Bibby's ships
soon reflected the change.
On 8th February 1861 the seven Southern states in North America
seceded from the Union and set themselves up as the Confederate
States under Jefferson Davis. This led to the outbreak of the
American Civil War and with it the cessation of the cotton trade.
This led Bibby's to increase their sailings to Egypt in order
to keep the Lancashire cotton mills supplied with raw materials.
The boom which followed gave rise to the signing of the 'Mediterranean
Agreement' whereby six Liverpool shipowners agreed not to undercut
each other for a period of five years.
The company suffered its first
steamship loss in 1863 when the Catalonian was wrecked, and
in the same year straight stems were introduced when the Persian
joined the fleet. In 1864 John Bibby purchased the ironmongery
side of his late father's business and left the shipping side
to his brothers while he concentrated on metals at St. Helens.
Consequently, the only Bibby family member in shipping was James
Jenkinson Bibby with Frederick Leyland as his sole partner.
In February 1865 the old 'wooden
wall' warship Indefatigable arrived in the Mersey to serve as
a training ship for orphans and destitute boys seeking a career
at sea. James Bibby had the vessel fitted out in the following
July at his own expense.
International shipping changed
dramatically in 1859 when, on 17th November, the Suez Canal
was opened by the Khedive of Egypt and the Empress Eugenie of
France. No longer did ships voyaging to the Far East and Australia
have to go via the Cape of Good Hope, saving some 5000 miles.
P&O vessels were able to make a direct sailings through
the canal eliminating the requirement to offload passengers
and cargo at Alexandria and tranship them overland to Port Tewfik
at the Suez end of the canal. Consequently, the trade that Bibby's
had maintained for P&O to Alexandria gradually ceased.
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