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Forme autorisée du nom
forme(s) parallèle(s) du nom
Forme(s) du nom normalisée(s) selon d'autres conventions
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Historique
The company was founded in 1862 as New Rivers Company by Captain J H Williamson, a tea merchant, to transport passengers and goods on the River Ganges, expanding shortly afterwards into Assam, where the tea industry was in need of improved communications. The name changed to River Steamer Company when Williamson left in 1865.
In 1872 the management of the Company was assumed by MacNeill and Company, and in 1873 it was incorporated in London as Rivers Steam Navigation Company Limited. The MacNeill and MacKinnon families were prominent shareholders in the new company.
From the 1870s onwards, the company faced much competition from India General Steam Navigation Company (which became, in 1899, India General Navigation and Railway Company Limited, whose records are also held as part of the Inchcape Group archives, see CLC/B/123-33). As a result, various working agreements between the two companies were reached in the 1880s. As a result of one such agreement, made in 1889, the two companies came generally to be known as the Joint steamer companies, operating many joint services but maintaining separate management.
During both world wars, vessels of the Joint steamer companies were impressed for military use in India, and also in Iraq during the First World War.
After the Second World War the partition of India caused difficulties in the transport of commodities from Assam to Calcutta for export, as they had to pass through Pakistan as well as India. As a result, the fleets of the Joint companies were divided and separate repair workshops set up to service the Pakistan fleet (in addition to those set up by RSN in Garden Reach, Calcutta).
In 1959 Pakistan River Steamers Limited. was formed to manage the Pakistani fleets of the Joint companies, as the government of Pakistan would only Company-operate with a company incorporated in Pakistan. The company was not effective, however, until 1961, when the Pakistani fleets of the Joint companies were actually transferred to it.
While Pakistan River Steamers was being set up, the financial position of the Joint companies in India was deteriorating, despite a substantial loan from the Indian government. In 1962 a prolonged strike by crews in Pakistan nearly caused the collapse of India General, but R.S.N. bought out its Indian assets and liabilities, I.G. retaining its Pakistani interests.
Pakistan River Steamers, however, had in the meantime established itself fairly stably, and it therefore seemed desirable to hive off RSN's Pakistani interests. Rivers Steam Navigation Company (Holdings) Limited was formed for this purpose in 1962.
By 1965, the position in India had become so much worse that the whole of the Indian assets of the company were sold to the Indian government for 1. The business of Pakistan River Steamers was also deteriorating by this time, partly because of the Indo-Pakistan war of 1965, and in 1966 PRS curtailed its passenger services. Some difficulties could have been overcome with government help, but political considerations prevented this.
In 1972 Pakistan River Steamers (by this time renamed Bangladesh River Steamers Limited) was nationalised by the government of Bangladesh
Rivers Steam Navigation's Indian and Pakistani business was managed by MacNeill and Barry Limited, whose records are also held as part of the Inchcape Group archives (see CLC/B/123-42). London business was managed by Duncan MacNeill and Company Limited (CLC/B/123-23), and many of their records relating strictly to the management of R.S.N. have been catalogued as part of RSN's records. The records listed as R.S.N.'s also include much material of or relating to the Joint steamer companies.
RSN had offices successively in Lothbury, Old Broad Street, Leadenhall Street and Mincing Lane.