1
The economic view of the voyages of the sailing ship
“Ag. Panteleimon” – 1873-1877
During the 20 years that followed the establishment of the Greek state, the
growth of Greek shipping was more than impressing. It has been established
that one of the main forces of Greek-owned shipping during the greatest part
of the 19th century, was the sailing ships which sailed between the
Mediterranean and North Europe, carrying mostly bulk cargoes. Especially,
during the 1870s, which was the peak period, Greek ships were sailing along
with British, Norwegian, Dutch, French and Italian ships. And not only did they
claim an important part of the international trade, but in the Mediterranean and
Black Sea trade they consisted the largest fleet of bulk carriers.
The period up to 1875 was a period of continuous rise for Greek sailing
ships. However, the years from 1875 until 1885 were characterized by a crisis
in shipping, based mostly on the fact that the freights significantly dropped.
Part of this crisis was due to the intensive appearance of steamships in
international shipping.
According to Gelina Harlaftis and Nicos Vlassopoulos research, Greekowned ships originated from approximately 40 different ports and islands in
the Ionian and Aegean seas. The largest portion of the income from the
activities of shipping industry derived from international shipping. The main
sea routes they followed were between Eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea
ports and Western Europe. They carried grain from the Black Sea ports and
general cargo from Western Europe. During a year a sailing ship concluded 2
voyages, where voyage is the trip from the loading to the discharging port.
The expense book of the ship “Ag. Panteleimon” covers a period of 4
years. More specifically, it covers the period from December 1873 up to
August 1877. As mentioned earlier, the period covers the last years of growth
for sailing ships and the first of the upcoming crisis. The aim of this article is to
analyze the expenses a ship had to pay in various ports and the revenues it
earned from these voyages. We will also examine the economic overview of
these voyages.
2
The expense book was divided in sections covering income, fund transfers
and various expense categories. The currency used for the calculations was
francs, although in the description section the captain sometimes gave details
on the transaction currency. The fund transfers included all the money the
captain sent back home to Galaxidi during the voyages. The income section
included the calculations for the voyages, occasionally giving details about the
cargo it carried and the relative freight. The part about the expenses all
different kinds of fees and commissions they had to pay in order to conclude
the voyage.
The expenses were divided in five categories:
a) Various rights: This category included all the port related expenses. It
covered the fees a ship had to pay to pilots, in order to enter the port, and the
fees related to various rights in ports. These rights were related to fees, for
the usage of bays and carriages or other equipment for loading and
unloading. Also, it included fees related to sanitary services, doctors and
quarantine, wherever applied. Finally, it covered insurance and brokerage
costs and various payments to the relative consul offices.
b) Food provisions. It covered all items bought for crew consumption,
such as fruit, vegetables, meat etc.
c) Payrolls. It referred to the wages paid to the crew members, including
the captain. The payments were calculated based on the salary and the days
the crew member remained on board.
d) “On the ship”: This category included a number of different expenses
related to the ship. It covered all repairs that had to be made on the ship,
covering the cost for the tools and other materials used and also the
payments to the workers who did the repairs. At the same time it included
expenses made for paper provisions and various items for personal hygiene.
e) Various exceptional expenses: This category included costs, fees and
expenses that either did not fall into any other category or they were not
expected. For example in this category were included the costs for telegrams
and mail services and also payments to pilots and tugs, besides the usual
ones. It also included costs for transfers from the port to various other places,
the cost for buying ballast, consulting lawyers and various gifts.
3
As mentioned above, the expense book covers the period from December
1873 until August 1877. During that period the ship made several voyages
between the Black Sea and the Western Mediterranean ports. More
specifically, besides Constantinople, it also reached the Black Sea ports of
Kertch, Tangarok, Soulina, Nicolaieff, Berdiansk, Vraila and Doultsa. On the
western side the main ports were in Italy, Sicily, Malta and Marseilles. In Italy
and Sicily it reached Livorno, Messina, Milatso, Katania, Genova, and
Kastelamare. The ship also reached the Greek ports of Patra, Zakynthos and
Galaxidi.
During the period the ship was constantly travelling, with only short
intervals between ports. According to captain’s notes and calculations, the
ship made 8 voyages during the period of 3 years and 9 months. This means
that it made an average of approximately 2 voyages per, which coincides with
the estimation for number of voyages during the period 1870-1878, made by
G.Harlaftis and G.Kostelenos.
The expense book
The captain has split the expense book into 5 periods. The first period
covers 16 months and 3 voyages, the second 11 months and 2 voyages and
the rest three 4, 6 and 11 months respectively, covering one voyage each. In
the next part we will examine these five periods in more detail. We will
examine the expenses they paid and the revenues they collected from
freights. At this point we should mention that the captain does not give
information about the cargo the ship carried, except in a few cases. This
probably happened because the type of cargo carried from Black Sea ports to
Western Mediterranean was considered as common knowledge to all.
First period – 1/12/1873 – 28/3/1875
The first period, as already mentioned above, was the longest one, as it
covered 1 year and 4 months. During these 16 months “Ag. Panteleimon”
made 3 voyages and reached many ports. The major ports which it reached
were: Messina, Constantinople, Livorno, Marseilles, Tangarok, Kertch,
Berdiansk, Patra. In all the major ports the length of stay was between 20
days to a month. The length of the trip between ports was 20 days when
4
travelling between the west coast of Italy and Constantinople and a month, or
a little more, if it reached Marseilles.
According to the captain during this first period the ship made 3 voyages,
however as we will see below, there was also a fourth voyage which made
revenue. The three voyages were one from Livorno to Constantinople and
the other two from Black Sea ports to Marseilles. The rest of the routes in
order to reach the loading ports, were done on ballast.
As mentioned before, the expenses were divided in 5 categories. Below
we can see these categories and the amounts paid for each.
Εxpenses
Amount (in fr)
%
Various rights
7.456,04
30%
Food provisions
3.361,75
14%
“On the ship”
4.021,92
16%
Exceptional expenses
1.817,38
7%
Payrolls
8.154,80
33%
Total expenses
24.811,89
When examining the above table we see that the biggest of the expenses
were payrolls and various rights. The next larger amount paid for expenses
was the one related to various repairs done on the ship, followed closely by
food provisions. It is interesting the fact that the first 2 expenses represent the
63% of total expenses, while the next 2 consist the 30%. Although, the period
covered is long, 16 months, and the ship made several voyages, the amount
and the relevant percentage of exceptional expenses was low (7%).
Besides the expenses they paid, the ship had also income from these
voyages. In the below table we can see the freight collected for these
voyages:
Route
Freight
Livorno to Constantinople
13.833,68
Tangarok to Marseilles
11.350,17
Berdiansk to Marseilles
10.797,55
5
Katania to Patra
2.162,60
As we see from above the ship carried cargo from western Mediterranean
to the Eastern side only once (Livorno-Constantinople). The rest 2 voyages
concerned transportation from Black Sea to Marseilles. Although, the captain
mentions only 3 voyages for this first period, from the revenues part we see a
fourth freight that was collected for a voyage from Katania to Patra.
From the information the captain includes in the book, we know that the
cargo from Livorno to Constantinople was bricks and that the ship carried
sulphur from Katania to Patra. For the two voyages from Tangarok to
Marseilles and from Berdiansk to Marseilles, there is no info on the cargoes.
However, based on the period and the route, we can assume that they
concerned grain. The only info the captain gives on these voyages is that in
the first case the freight was at 3 ¼ and in the second case the freight was at
3 5/8 and it included a discharge of 15% of the cargo in Messina.
If we examine the expenses versus the revenues we see that expenses
reached the amount of 24.812 francs in total, while the revenues were at the
amount of 38.144 francs. If we compare the expenses with the revenues, we
see that revenues exceed expenses by the amount of 13.334 francs. This
means that overall the period and the 3 voyages can be characterized as
profitable.
Second period – 5/5/1875 – 20/4/1876
The second period covers 11 months, during which the ship made two
voyages. Both voyages were on the route from Black Sea to Marseilles. The
major ports which “Ag. Panteleimon” reached were: Messina, Constantinople,
Marseilles, Tangarok, Kertch, Soulina, Vraila. In all the major ports the length
of stay was between 15 to 20 days and only once it remained in a port for a
month. The length of the trip between ports was 20 days when travelling
between the west coast of Italy and Constantinople and a month, or a little
more, if it reached Marseilles.
The route of the ship during this period was the following: It started from
Messina and headed to Constantinople, with no stops in other ports and then
to Black Sea ports (Kertch and Tangarok). On the return trip it passed from
6
Constantinople and it reached Malta. After a stop that lasted a month it
headed to Marseilles. From there it sailed to Constantinople, headed to the
Black Sea ports of Vraila and Soulina and then returned to Marseilles, which
was the last port for this period.
The expenses for this period per category are as follows:
Εxpenses
Amount (in
fr)
%
Various rights
5.815,50
31%
Food provisions
2.557,72
14%
“On the ship”
2.574,20
14%
Exceptional expenses
1.413,22
8%
Payrolls
6.439,34
34%
Total expenses
18.799,98
As we can see from the above table, the payrolls and various rights not
only concern the biggest part of the expenses, but their share reached 65%.
Food provisions and ship repairs follows in the rank, however the share they
represent is considerable lower, compared with the first two (14% each).
Finally during this period the exceptional expenses were low and their
percentage reached only 8%.
The revenues related to this voyage derived by two voyages, as mentioned
before, and may be seen below:
Route
Freight (francs)
Tagkarok to Marseilles
10.710,15
Vraila to Marseilles
10.870,85
Both voyages referred to transportation of cargo from the Black Sea ports
to Marseilles and the amount collected for them was similar. There are no
notes from the captain on the cargoes carried during these voyages, only that
the freight in both cases was at 3 ¼. As in the first period, we can assume it
carried grain and that the return voyages were done in ballast.
7
Overall the expenses reached the amount of 18.800 francs in total, while
the revenues were at the amount of 21.581 francs. This means that revenues
over passed expenses by the amount of 2.781 francs, which allow us to
consider both voyages of this period as marginally profitable.
Third period – 20/4/1876 – 28/8/1876
The third period was the shortest one, as it covers only four months and
one voyage. The major ports which it reached were: Constantinople, Soulina,
Vraila, Doultsa and then Ithaki and Marseilles with a brief stop in Malta. The
length of time since the ship arrived to Constantinople and until it reached
Marseilles was 3 months. It remained in ports only for a short period, except in
Vraila and Marseilles, where the ship stayed for a month.
The expenses for this voyage are as follows:
Εxpenses
Amount (in fr)
%
2.181,98
31%
Food provisions
695,71
10%
“On the ship”
963,81
14%
Exceptional expenses
1.141,56
16%
Payrolls
2.106,48
30%
Various rights
Total expenses
7.089,54
As we can see from the above table, the payrolls and various rights
concern again the biggest part of the expenses and the share when added
reaches 61%. This period, however, we have a change in the third position of
the expenses. Exceptional expenses comes third, with a percentage that
reaches 16%, 2% more than the amount paid for repairs for this period and
6% more than food provisions.
As this voyage included only one route it is very interesting to check the
freight collected.
8
Route
Freight
Marseilles to Vraila
2.079,00
Vraila to Marseilles
10.348,35
The voyages were from Marseilles to Vraila and back. The cargo carried to
Vraila was bricks, while there is no mention on the cargo it carried during the
return voyage. The expenses reached the amount of 7.090 francs and
compared with the revenues, which were 12.427,35 fr, we can see that the
voyage made a profit of 5.338 fr.
Fourth period – 20/9/1876 – 12/3/1877
The fourth period covers a period of six months and one voyage. The route
the ship followed during these six months and the major ports it reached were:
Constantinople, Soulina, Vraila, Lavrio and then Messina, Kastelamare,
Genova and back to Messina. This period includes only one voyage and the
period covered from the time the ship arrived to Constantinople until it
reached Messina was 6 months. The length of stay in ports was relatively
small in all ports, except Vraila where the ship remained for a month.
The expenses of the voyage divided into the five categories can be seen
below:
Εxpenses
Amount (in fr)
%
Various rights
3.061,48
35%
Food provisions
1.143,26
13%
“On the ship”
1.133,26
13%
Exceptional expenses
1.010,48
12%
Payrolls
2.354,89
27%
Total expenses
8.703,37
When examining the expenses we see that there is no change compared
to other periods. Various rights and payrolls remain the two categories that
consist the biggest part of the expenses and their share reaches 62% of total.
The different element in this period is the fact that the rest three categories
9
are equally participating in total expenses with a percentage of 12%-13%
each.
During this period the ship travelled again moved from Marseilles to Vraila
and back. The voyage to Vraila included a cargo of 292 tons of coal at 6 fr per
ton, while there are no available information for the return cargo. In the table
below we may see the amount of total freight collected.
Route
Freight
Marseilles to Vraila
1.839,72
Vraila to Marseilles
13.054,10
If we compare the expenses of this trip, that reached the total amount of
8.703 francs, with the revenues, we see that once more revenues reached
14.893,82 fr and surpassed expenses by the amount of 6.190 francs.
Therefore, the fourth period and the relative voyage are also considered as
profitable.
Fifth period – 5/5/1875 – 20/4/1876
The last period of the expense book covers 11 months and only one
voyage. It reached several ports among which were: Constantinople,
Nicolaieff, Constantinople, Messina, Kastelamare, Marseilles, Galaxidi. For
this voyage the length of stay in ports was considerably smaller than in the
other voyages, as it did not last longer than 10 days.
The voyages in this part were between Constantinople, Nicolaieff and
Messina , with no stops in other ports and then to Marseilles with a week’s
stop in Kastelamare. The other different element of this voyage is that after
unloading in Marseilles the ship returned to Galaxidi, probably for an interval
between the continuous voyages.
The expenses for this period are as follows:
10
Εxpenses
Amount (in fr)
%
1.599,39
29%
Food provisions
741,74
14%
“On the ship”
529,30
10%
Exceptional expenses
488,02
9%
2.097,88
38%
Various rights
Payrolls
Total expenses
5.456,33
As we can see from the above table the payrolls and various rights consist
67% of total expenses. As third in rank, follows the amount paid for food
provisions which, however, represents less than half the one paid for the first
two. Exceptional expenses and expenses for repairs account equally for the
last 20% of total expenses.
The revenues related to this voyage may be seen below:
Route
Constantinople to Marseilles
Freight
11.428,75
As we can see the freight concerned only the voyage from the
Constantinople to Marseilles, for which the captain provides no additional
information. The voyage from Messina, last port from previous period, to
Constantinople was done in ballast.
Overall the expenses reached the amount of 5.456 francs in total, while the
revenues collected reached the amount of 11.429 francs. This means that the
voyage had a profit of 5.973 francs.
An overall view
In the previous part of the article we examined each period of ship’s
expense book separately in order to see the routes, the ports it reached, the
relative expenses and the freight it collected. Finally, we made a first
assessment of the economic outcome of the period. Another interesting side
11
of the expense book is to examine the financial elements of the expense book
across the periods in order to see trends, differences and make comparisons.
In the below table we can see the allocation of the expenses per voyage in
all five periods.
Expenses
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
period
period
period
period
period
Various rights
30%
35%
31%
35%
29%
Food provisions
14%
14%
10%
13%
14%
“On the ship”
16%
14%
14%
13%
10%
7%
8%
16%
12%
9%
33%
39%
30%
27%
38%
Exceptional
expenses
Payrolls
We have seen when examining the periods separately the allocation of
expenses in each one and the percentage of each expense category. Another
aspect that it will be interesting to check is the expense allocation among
different voyages and the possible trends. We have expenses with
percentages around 30% in all periods and those which are up to 16%. More
specifically various rights and payrolls are the categories that absorb the
biggest part of the expenses in all periods.
An initial observation is that for all periods the top expenses are payrolls
and various rights. What varies between them is their percentage in relation to
total expenses and which is the largest. For the first, second and fifth period
payrolls are the largest part of the expenses, while the other two various rights
were. In all periods both expense categories represent a share of over 30%
each, except in the fourth and fifth period, where payrolls and various rights
represent the 27% and 29% respectively.
The rest three categories represent the rest 33%-39% of the expenses. In
all periods these expenses have a share that doesn’t overstep 16% and in
some cases they are as low as 7%. More specifically, food provisions always
had a significant part of the expenses, as expected. However, their share is
stable between at approximately 14% during four out of five periods. Only
12
during the third period it has the smaller share at 10%, which is explained by
the fact that this was the shortest period. When compared to various rights
and payrolls percentages, we see that food provisions have half their share.
Exceptional expenses are the most volatile category, which is
understandable and expected. So, we see that in three periods they consist
7% to 9% of total expenses, in the rest two periods their share reaches 12%
and 16%. Although the last percentage is high, if we check the actual amount
we will see that it is the same as in the rest periods, except the last one.
Finally, the category “on the ship”, covering expenses related mostly to ship
repairs, has the most stable trend. In four out of five periods their percentage
is between 13% and 16%.
Another type of financial data that are included in the expense book is the
fund transfers the captain made to Galaxidi. In the table below we can see the
amounts sent during the five periods.
Transfer amount
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
period
period
period
period
period
12.867,60
4.722,50
3.416,00
6.405,30
6.451,65
When observing the amount transferred, we see that there are fluctuations.
More specifically, during the first period the largest amount was sent to
Galaxidi, which is justified by the fact that this period was the longest one.
Correspondingly, the smallest amount was sent during the third period, which
was the shortest one. During the fourth and fifth period the amounts sent were
equal and the largest sent among the last four periods, while during the
second period the amount sent was the second smaller. These last three
transfer amounts can be justified by the fact that the fourth and fifth periods
were among the most profitable, while the second period had only marginal
profits.
The next interesting aspect of the voyages that needs to be reviewed is the
comparison between the voyages. Below we can see in brief the expenses,
revenues and profits as were reported in the expense book and analyzed
above.
13
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
period
period
period
period
period
24.811,89 18.799,98
7.089,54
8.703,37
5.456,33
Expenses
Expenses per
voyage
8.270,63
Revenues
38.144,00
Revenue per voyage 12.714,67
Profit
10.484,71
Profit per voyage
3.494,90
% on revenues
27%
9.399,99
7.089,54
8.703,37
5.456,33
21.773,54 12.457,35 14.893,82 11.428,75
10.790,50 12.457,35 14.893,82 11.428,75
2.973,56
5.367,81
6.190,45
5.972,42
1.486,78
5.367,81
6.190,45
5.972,42
14%
43%
42%
52%
Undoubtedly, the most interesting results derive from total financial
overview. We have to examine whether the voyages were profitable, which
one was the most profitable and finally see profit in relation to revenues.
Specifically, we will calculate profit as a percentage of revenues.
In the first two rows of the table we see the expenses as reported for each
period and per voyage1, based on the number of voyages per period. It is
interesting that the 4th period was the one with the most expenses and the 5 th
was the one with the less. The first 3 periods are almost at the same level and
in actual numbers, closer to the 4th period’s amount.
The next element we will examine is the revenues. Once more we have
the total revenues per period and below the revenues per voyage. Based on
that, we see that the period with the largest amount of revenues was the 4th
followed by the 3rd with a considerable amount difference. The rest 3 periods’
revenues were at the same level, but lower than the 3 rd and the 4th.
As for the first part, whether the voyages were profitable, we have already
seen that in the first part of the article. All voyages were profitable, as already
established, and what we should now examine which was the most profitable.
This estimation will have two parts: First in amount and secondly as a
percentage of revenues. Based on the amount of revenues of each voyages,
we see that the most profitable one was the one during the 4 th period,
followed by the one in the 5th period and then the one on the 3rd period. The
profit of the voyages during the first 2 periods is considerably smaller,
compared with the rest.
1
As voyages for this calculation we have taken those which had full freight.
14
If we see the profit from the angle of percentage on revenues, then the
image is a little different. The biggest percentage was during the 5th period,
when the percentage was 52% on revenues. Second best was during the 3 rd
period at 43% and third on the 4th with 42%. The percentage of profit on
revenues during the 1st and the 2nd periods was considerably lower, at 27%
and 14% respectively. If we summarize the results from the above analysis,
we see that the last 3 periods, which concerned one voyage each, had better
revenues, profits and profit percentage on revenues. The first period, which
concerned 3 voyages, was less profitable, while the second which concerned
2 voyages, had only marginal profits.
Conclusion
In the previous part of the article we have seen in every detail the financial
data that the expense book of the sailing ship “Ag.Panteleimon” includes. We
have analyzed the different categories of expenses, the revenues and we
have examined the profitability of the voyages it made during the period
covered by the book. The conclusions that have derived are that all voyages
the ship made were profitable and the relation between profits and revenues
was always positive.
By this case study analysis of the sailing ship “Ag. Panteleimon”, we have
taken the macroeconomic view that sailing ships were a profitable business
that offered great revenues in Greek economy and tested it on a
microeconomic level. We have checked the sailing ship’s financial data during
peak years and also during the first years of the shipping crisis, which had
more effect on sailing ships, as they were also affected by the massive
entrance of steamships in the international trade.
The conclusion is that sailing ships had the dynamics to take advantage of
all the opportunities appearing in the routes they mostly served in the
Mediterranean and Western Europe. They were also capable to overcome
obstacles and difficulties and not only make the best in crisis years, but also
prove that, even then, they could be profitable.