LARRINAGA STEAMSHIP COMPANY LIMITED. LIVERPOOL.

(Source: Acknowledgement: Roger W Jordan. Salford Museum; US National Archives.)

Research: Terry Robins.

Distinguishing Features: Hull: Black with gold band. Boot Topping: Red. Ventilators: Black or white: Cowls: Black or red. Masts: Kingposts and derricks: White.

Larrinaga’s of Liverpool commenced its operation as ship owners in September of 1863 when its joint owners took delivery of the Belfast built barque, Olano, she weighed a mere 488 tons and had a length of 145ft with a beam of 27ft. The co-owners of the company were Captain Ramon de Larrinaga, a Spaniard born in the Basque region that had settled in Liverpool, Senor Jose Antonio de Olano, a ships chandler and Captain Longa, their company was initially formed as Olano, Larrinaga & Company and had offices at 4, Goree Piazzas, Liverpool, it also functioned as commission agents, merchants and ships chandlers. Captain Longa took command of their first vessel and remained as such before being replaced, by possibly Captain Larrinaga in 1865, Captain Larrinaga later went on to command other company ships finally becoming their fleet commander.

The company’s expansion commenced in 1864 when it purchased a second hand barque called Feliz from Nicholson & Company of Liverpool and completed as Romeo at Elias Cox of Bridport in 1859. Another purchase, this time new, followed two years later when they acquired the Doxford built Trinidad, her first Captain was to be another member of the Larrinaga family, Jose, who had recently joined the company. A third vessel was purchased in the sixties when Cosmoplita joined the fleet in 1869.

It was at this juncture that the company’s flag was rumoured to have been designed; perhaps something of a legend, the story goes, that as the Suez Canal neared completion Ramon de Larrinaga, favoured operations in the Far East utilising steamers. After much discussion with his other two partners, obviously not convinced, on the toss of a coin decided in favour, all three shook hands and the house flag was born. Consequently in 1870 Larrinaga’s placed an order for three steamers from the Sunderland yard of Oswald & Company varying in weight from 1,700 tons to 2,000 tons and all delivered the following year. Appropriately Buena Ventura being the first in the January, followed by Emiliano in July and finally Yrurac Bat in December. A point of historical interest is that the Canals designer and builder, Ferdinand de Lesseps piloted the Buena Ventura, it being the first Spanish owned steamer in her transit through the canal, Captain Ramon de Larrinaga was in command. During this decade Larrinaga’s fleet grew apace with new steamers joining the fleet on a regular basis, Aurrera was completed in 1873 by the company’s favoured builder, Oswald & Company of Sunderland and two years later Gloria and Victoria both Doxford built were commissioned and before 1880 a further four ships had been completed including Reina Mercedes, Alava, and Churruca. The Churruca remained in service for an amazing sixty-two years for both Larrinaga and other owners before finally being scuttled in Hong Kong in December of 1941 as the Japanese invaders arrived.

AURRERA.

Two small coasters were built in 1880 at the Macmillan yard of Dumbarton for trading around the Philippine coast and were based at Manila, the first Jorge Juan only remained in the fleet for three years, the second Elcano launched in the March lasted rather longer, some fifteen years. Jorge Juan was sold on for further trading to Chinese owners, the China and Manila Steamship Company Limited and renamed Amatista, three more years on she was acquired by the Chinese Government and eventually was converted for use by the Department of Maritime Customs for use as an armed cutter, by this time her name had been changed to Pingching and she remained in service as such until 1937 when all trace of her disappeared, possibly being sunk or taken over by the Japanese during the Sino-Japanese war. In 1881 the service to the Philippines was transferred to the Spanish Royal Mail Lines with Olano, Larrinaga being retained as its agents in Britain. During the early eighties Larrinaga inaugurated its service to the Caribbean calling at Cuba and Puerto Rico it also purchased three second hand ships including the Manora from British India S.N. and made two new purchases from Doxford’s yard, Niceto and Saturnina, both entered service in 1884. The following year Olano, Larrinaga underwent reorganisation and changed its name to Larrinaga & Company, all the companies ships were still registered in Bilbao and flew the Spanish ensign, however due to an incident involving one of Larrinaga’s ships it was all about to change towards the end of the century.

After six years in the making the Manchester Ship Canal finally opened to ships on the 1st of January 1894 and was officially opened by Queen Victoria from the deck of the Royal Yacht ‘Enchantress’ at Mode Wheel Lock on the 21st of May in the same year, this was followed by a twenty one gun salute fired from the old Manchester Racecourse. Larrinaga commenced a service to Galveston from the docks of Manchester two years later and went on to operate a service to Houston calling at Liverpool en route.

THE OPENING OF THE CANAL BY QUEEN VICTORIA 21ST MAY, 1894.

Larrinaga unwittingly became involved in the Spanish-American War of 1898 the day after America had declared war on Spain in response to the Maine’s sinking. This, had occurred on the 15th February, the battleship USS Maine had exploded and sank in Havana harbour.

USS MAINE.

The explosion killed 266 of her crew. It had been sent there to menace Imperial Spain and its sinking helped to precipitate the Spanish-American War. The explosion—never satisfactorily explained— enter the conspiracy theory, brought the United States closer to war with Spain over the issue of Cuban independence. Finally after much diplomatic wrangling the Spanish-American War began on the 21st of April. The U.S. North Atlantic Fleet, under the command of Rear Admiral William T. Sampson, was ordered to begin the blockade of Cuba. The fleet with the armoured cruiser New York steamed out of Key West, Florida, at 06:30hrs the next morning. The fleet had hardly left port when it pursued and captured a Spanish merchant vessel, Buena Ventura, this was to prove to be the first hostile act of the war. Buena Ventura had completed her discharge at Pascagoula and her Captain had telegraphed the owners for sailing instructions, on receipt he sailed on the 15th of April but was intercepted by USS Nashville and escorted into Key West. The U.S prize court rejected her Captains assertions that the ship was in fact British owned, managed and registered, the ship was later handed over to the L. Luckenbach Transport & Wrecking Company for further trading on the East American coast before becoming a hulk in Chesapeake Bay.

USS NASHVILLE.

By this year Larrinaga’s fleet had grown to nine vessels and since 1863 had owned or managed thirty-two ships. At the outbreak of the First World War the company stood at sixteen wholly owned ships and all but one, Telesfora, suffixed with Larrinaga that had commenced with the naming of Ramon de Larrinaga in 1889. Of the sixteen ships the company were to lose four by enemy action and one to foundering, Niceto de Larrinaga was sunk by the cruiser Karlsruhe on the 6th of October, 1916, Jose de Larrinaga her sister was sunk by U-Boat on the 28th of April 1917 when off Fastnet, Pilar de Larrinaga, Galveston bound torpedoed by a U-Boat on the 4th of May and the final loss, yet again to a submarine, Richard de Larrinaga on the 8th of October. The company’s foundering, Miguel de Larrinaga occurred when 400 miles off Cape Race when on a voyage from New York to London on the 5th of February 1918. Total personnel losses were three Captains and sixty six other ranks.

Up until 1914 Larrinaga had built an unbroken run of thirteen ships at the same yard, Russell’s, due to severe competition from other shipping company’s other yards had to be utilized and between 1914 through to 1930 a further thirteen ships joined the fleet including one each from Japan and Canada and three from Schichau GmbH of Danzig.

TELESFLORA DE LARRINAGA.

©War Museum of Australia.

Built: 1920 by Duncan, Port Glasgow.
Tonnage: 5,780 grt.

In October of 1931 the company underwent another reorganisation and to that end liquidated itself voluntarily, amalgamated with the Miguel de Larrinaga Co., Ltd and re-emerged as the Larrinaga Steamship Co. Ltd. Minor alterations to its ships colours also took place with a gold band added to the hull and masts and derricks changed from light brown to white. By 1939 the fleet comprised twelve ships and at the cessation of hostilities Larrinaga’s ships had been reduced by seventy five per cent, an incredible loss ratio for a moderately sized company, it also recorded the loss of another three Captains, 224 officers and crew and twenty-one gunners. Amongst those lost were the Domingo de Larrinaga in 1940 to the German raider Pinguin, Minnie de Larrinaga, 1941, burnt out during an air raid in London, Ena de Larrinaga torpedoed in 1941, Richard de Larrinaga after breaking her back when under tow after surviving a bombing raid off the east coast, three others were all sunk in 1941 by U-Boats, Rupert de Larrinaga, Niceto de Larrinaga and Sylvia de Larrinaga. Also in 1941 the Ramon de Larrinaga became a total constructive loss, later becoming Empire Mersey and Jose de Larrinaga was reported missing, fate unknown in the North Atlantic in 1940. In 1941, after its James Street office in Liverpool was totally destroyed during a bombing raid the company moved to 11, Rumford Street. Between 1939 to 1948 the company managed for the Ministry of War Transport nineteen wartime built ships including Empires, Oceans and Forts of which nine were lost to enemy action. At wars end all the remaining ships were sold on for further service with only three going to British concerns the remainder going to Greek, French, American and Canadian interests.

EMPIRE TRUMPET, WHICH LATER BECAME NATURALIST FOR T&J HARRISONS OF LIVERPOOL.

Between 1947 to 1950 the company acquired five ‘Liberty’ styled ships, one direct from the Ministry of War Transport and the remaining four being purchased from other British shipping company’s. William Pickersgill of Sunderland were to build the company’s first motor vessel in 1954, the Ramon de Larrinaga, Richard de Larrinaga joined her the following year from the same yard. In 1955 Larrinaga opened an office in London, which acted as agents for its main office in Liverpool now situated at the Corn Exchange Buildings in Brunswick Street. Further tonnage followed by the launching of the Niceto de Larrinaga in 1958 and her subsequent trials in March of 1959, Niceto underwent lengthening at Harland & Wolff in 1964 and her tonnage increased from 8,869 to 10,519 grt. The final three ships for the company were the Rupert de Larrinaga, Miguel de Larrinaga and the Ramon de Larrinaga the latter only lasting nine months from purchase to sale. That left just two ships and along with the business was purchased by the Valiant S.S. Co., Ltd of the Vergottis Group in 1974 thus bringing to an end a family concern that had prospered for a hundred and eleven years.

NICETO DE LARRINAGA AFTER CONVERSION..

MINNESTOTA.

It was a blustery spring Sunday, May 3, 1959, when the British-flag Ramon de Larrinaga steamed into the Port of Duluth-Superior, establishing a long-awaited deep water link between the Twin Ports and the Atlantic Ocean.

The de Larrinaga, en route to the Peavey Elevator in Duluth, was greeted by thousands of cheering citizens who ignored rain, wind and cold to recognize the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway.

Five minutes later came a more appropriately named ship, the Herald. Flying a Liberian flag, the Herald went to the Globe Elevator in Superior.

Both ships and both elevators are gone now, replaced by bigger vessels and modern grain loading facilities. The de Larrinaga's name endures, though, as an important part of local history, commemorated this year by a special coin produced by the Seaway Port Authority of Duluth.

Other ships and events of the past are being remembered throughout the Great Lakes this year on the Seaway's 40th anniversary.