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British shipping companies (I)

Indo-China Steam Navigation Co. Ltd.
Inman Line
International Shipbrokers Ltd.
The Iquitos Steamship Co.
Isle of Man Steam Packet Company
Isle of Wight Royal Steam Packet
Isles of Scilly Steamship Co., Ltd.

See also:

Indo-China Steam Navigation Co. Ltd.

image by Ivan Sache, 6 March 2004

Indo-China Steam Navigation Co. Ltd. Based Hong Kong. Flag is a group one of owners Jardine, Matheson & Co. and in 1985 the company changed name to Jardine Ship Management Ltd.
Neale Rosanoski, 31 May 2004

Inman Line

image by António Martins-Tuválkin

The flag is red with a small white canton, probably square, containing a black diamond not touching the canton's edges.
Jan Mertens, 5 May 2005

This firm, officially the 'Liverpool and Philadelphia Steamship Company', was founded in 1850 by William Inman and two Richardson brothers (for whom he had started working a few years earlier); from 1854 on, Inman was the sole proprietor. Convinced that passenger satisfaction was a major factor in a highly competitive market, Inman was not above travelling steerage to study conditions during voyages. On the technical side, the firm was very progressive and favoured twin screw- driven ships, so much so that Cunard, a fierce competitor, abandoned paddle steamers.

During the years 1854-56, all ships were active in the Crimean War effort; one year later, a change in name to 'Liverpool, New York and Philadelphia Steamship Company' reflected expansion. From 1875 on, the firm – then called 'Inman Steamship Co. Ltd' – cooperated with the White Star Line. Financial difficulties led to voluntary liquidation late 1886 and at that occasion the International Navigation Co. (US), owners of the American Line (US) and the Red Star Line (BE), bought their assets. A company called 'Inman & International Steamship Co.' operated the ships under the British flag but this changed in 1892 when the US Mail contract necessitated flying the US flag. The I&I episode had its moments of glory when the ‘City of Paris’ and ‘City of New York’ each briefly captured the Blue Ribband. By 1893, all ships sailed for the American Line.

Sources:
http://www.gregormacgregor.com/Tod&Macgregor/inman_line.htm
http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/inman.html
http://www.greatoceanliners.net/cityofnewyork.html (‘City of New York’, one of the finest ships ever)
http://www.greatships.net/newyork.html
http://inman.surnameweb.org/sketches/dictnary10.htm (biography of William Inman)
Inman house flag on this picture: http://www.tradecards.com/scrapbook/transportation/045.32.html
Picture showing the I & I flag, here: http://www.greatships.net/scans/CC-NY01.jpg:

image by Rob Raeside

The flag is a white swallowtail bearing the firm’s initials in red.
Jan Mertens, 13 May 2005

International Shipbrokers Ltd.

image by Jarig Bakker, 15 February 2006

International Shipbrokers Ltd., London - red flag, white diamond, blue "IS".
Source: Loughran (1995)
Jarig Bakker, 15 February 2006

The Iquitos Steamship Co.

image by Ivan Sache, 93 April 2008

Lloyds Book of House Flags and Funnels (1912) shows the house flag of "The Iquitos Steamship Co., Ltd. (Booth Line)" (#215, p. 47), a company based in Liverpool, as white with a red cross in the middle.

The history of the company, as reported on the "TheShipsList" website, explains the origin of the house flag:
"Founded in the 1866 as Alfred Booth & Co to operate services to Northern Brazil and the Amazon. In 1881 the Booth Steamship Co. was formed. In 1901 the Booth and Singlehurst's Red Cross Line were amalgamated into a single company and named Booth Steamship Co. (1901) Ltd. At the same time, to tidy up the tug and barge operations on the River Amazon, Booth & Co. was formed and these small units transferred to this company. In 1911 the Iquitos SS Co. and its fleet was absorbed by Booth Steamship Co. In 1946 the Booth Line was sold to the Vestey Group of companies and in 1975 all the group's ships were pooled under Blue Star Ship Management Ltd and the Booth Line ceased to exist as a seperate entity."

The Booth Line operated routes between Europe (Liverpool, Porto, Lisbon, Hamburg, Antwerp, Le Havre, London), South America (Brazil -
Manaos, Para) and North America (Galveston, New York).
http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/booth.html
Ivan Sache, 9 April 2008

Isle of Man Steam Packet Company

Red with the letters UIOMSPCo in white across the centre. Between the M and S is a large Manx triskelion (in white?) which is over half the height of the flag.
James Dignan, 18 October 2003

Triskelion is yellow, as are the letters, or: Red, with IOM, Three Legs, SPC (no o) in Yellow.
Jarig Bakker, 18 October 2003

An extensive history is at http://www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/fulltext/sp1904/index.htm
Phil Nelson, 19 October 2003

Isle of Man Steam Packet Co. Sources do not agree on what the flag is but whether this means that there have been any changes is unknown. An 1885 source shows white letters but otherwise everyone seems to agree that they and the emblem of Man are yellow. Whether the "o" appears after the "C" seems to be equally split but the most important point is which way the Man emblem is placed. Again sources vary as to whether the kneeling knee faces fly or hoist. The Brown series were firmly in the latter camp until 1978 but since then they have it being to fly. From the only photo of a flag that I have come across, although details are not clear, I suspect that it is [now at least] in line with the Island flag with that knee being towards hoist [see gb~i112b.gif attached] but the format is only a guess. The company's logo shows spurs but whether such small detail is included on the flag is uncertain although the Stewart series indicate that it does. The fleet commodore flies a swallow-tailed version.
Neale Rosanoski, 31 May 2004

Isles of Scilly Steamship Co., Ltd.

image by Jarig Bakker, 10 December 2005

Isles of Scilly Steamship Co., Ltd., St. Mary's - blue flag, white cross; in all quarters red "ISSCo".
Source: Loughran (1995)
Jarig Bakker, 10 December 2005

image by André Coutanche, 22 September 2000

The house flag of the Isles of Scilly Steamship Company which appeared as a logo on their website and which I have drawn with a guess at a reasonable ratio. This image differs from the one in Loughran (1995) in ratio, but also in having just "C" in the lower fly rather than "Co".
André Coutanche, 22 September 2000