James Nourse Limited

After serving as master in a number of ships in the East Indies and Australia trade, James Nourse (d.1897) had his own ship built in 1861. In 1865 he settled on shore to own and operate more ships. He built up a fleet of sailing vessels with which he specialized in carrying contract labour between India and Guiana, the West Indies, Natal and Fiji. This trade was carefully regulated by the British and colonial governments. The ships were well-found with a reputation for healthy voyages, and sailing ships were employed at a time when many other trades had turned to steam. Cargo was a secondary consideration, but iron rails and salt were carried from England to India, rice and gunny bags from Calcutta and rice from Rangoon, sugar from the West Indies and Cuba and general cargo from the United States to Europe. After Nourse's death, the fleet was operated by his executors until 1903 when a limited liability company was formed under the title of James Nourse Limited. The sailing ships were gradually disposed of and replaced by six steamships. In 1917 the shares of the Company were acquired by P&O. During the inter-war years the older ships were replaced by new larger steamers, but the carriage of Indian labour to the West Indies was not resumed despite the demand there in the early 1920s for extra labour. There were, however, return voyages for those people who wished to be repatriated to India. Cargo became more important and regular monthly sailings were maintained from Calcutta and Rangoon to the West Indies and Cuba via the Cape. The India-Caribbean trade was discontinued in 1959 and the company engaged in world-wide tramping. In 1964 the management merged with that of the Ham Steamship Co Ltd and traded as Hain-Nourse Ltd until the reorganization of the P&0 Group in 1971.