Dashboard Information Downloads Vessels Masters Cargos Activities Registered Ports Ports of Origin Fishing Port Registration Numbers Weather Notes With Transcriber Notes Thanks

Graphs Cargo by Time Cargo by Type Activity by Time Activity by Type Top Vessels Registered Ports Ports of Origin

With Question Marks Vessels Masters Cargos Registered Ports Ports of Origin

Arrival Records 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 After 1920 - probably transcription errors Browse Days

This website is part of the CodeTheCity 19: History + Data = Innovation and CodeTheCity 20: History and Culture events. It's very much a work in progress playground for extracting and presenting the historical vessel arrival information.

The source code for this dashboard is available on GitHub.

Aberdeen Harbour Arrival History

This site contains information about the arrival of vessels into Aberdeen harbour between 1914 and 1920. The data has been transcribed from harbour log books of the period.

Please read the Information page for details about the various assumptions that have been made about the data and any questions we are hoping the wider community can answer.

Transcription Progress

Records Transcribed

28007

28007 records have been transcribed.
26092 records checked by a second person.

Last update: 02 December 2021 12:01

Arrival Records

The transcribed arrival records for each year can be viewed via the following links:

1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920

On this day in history

Today in 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920

Date Weather
02-12-1914 Wednesday 2nd. Strong Southerly Gale and rain, heavy sea running outside.
02-12-1915 Thursday 2nd. Fine Weather throughout the day, sea moderate.
02-12-1916 Saturday 2nd. Wind S West and showery throughout sea smooth.
02-12-1917 Sunday 2nd December. Northerly Gale, accompanied by heavy snow squalls. Heavy sea rising.
02-12-1918 Monday 2nd. Wind southerly moderate to strong, rough sea outside showery throughout the day.
02-12-1919 Tuesday 2nd. Wind variable light sea smooth rain throughout the day.
02-12-1920 Thursday 2nd. Wind veered to WSW fresh gale accompanied by rain middle and latter, mod breeze from WSW sea going down.
Date Vessel Number Registered Port Master Registered Tonnage Port of Origin Cargo Activity Fishing Port Registration Number Checked
02-12-1914 Redhall 2460 British Ross 353 Shields Coal Yes
02-12-1914 St Ronald 2461 British Scott 395 Kirkwall Light Yes
02-12-1914 Spray I 2462 British Alves 375 Goole Coal Yes
02-12-1914 Sweet Home 2463 British Winter 68 Leith General Yes
02-12-1914 Utopia 2464 British Smith 64 Put Back Windbound Yes
02-12-1915 Thrift British Mackay 208 Sunderland Coal Yes
02-12-1915 Redhall British Fergusson 335 Blyth Coal Yes
02-12-1915 HMMS Ocean Queen British North Sea Cruising H856 Yes
02-12-1915 Femern Swedish Ludvigson 335 Gothenburg General Yes
02-12-1915 HM BS Strathmore British North Sea Cruising Yes
02-12-1915 HMMS Collingwood British North Sea Cruising Yes
02-12-1915 HM Sub E17 British North Sea Cruising Yes
02-12-1915 HMS Speedwell British North Sea Cruising Yes
02-12-1915 HMS Gossimer British North Sea Cruising Yes
02-12-1915 HMS Skipjack British North Sea Cruising Yes
02-12-1915 HMS Circe British North Sea Cruising Yes
02-12-1915 HMS Des Orwell British North Sea Cruising Yes
02-12-1915 St Magnus British Leask 272 Wick Light Yes
02-12-1915 St Clair British Burgess 349 Leith Light Yes
02-12-1915 Cape Wrath British 73 Leith Light Yes
02-12-1916 Thrift British Mackay 208 Blyth Coal Yes
02-12-1916 HM Des Nesus British North Sea Cruising Yes
02-12-1916 HM Des Michael British North Sea Cruising Yes
02-12-1916 HMS Clover British North Sea Cruising Yes
02-12-1916 HMW Arkinwhale British North Sea Cruising Yes
02-12-1917 HMDes Ursula North Sea Cruising Yes
02-12-1917 HMDes Patridge North Sea Cruising Yes
02-12-1917 HMDes Nazim North Sea Cruising Yes
02-12-1917 HMDes Inzae North Sea Cruising Yes
02-12-1917 Dan Stroud North Sea Cruising Yes
02-12-1917 Neil Gow North Sea Cruising Yes
02-12-1917 Strathbran North Sea Cruising Yes
02-12-1917 Macbeth North Sea Cruising Yes
02-12-1917 TW Irvin North Sea Cruising Yes
02-12-1917 Boreas North Sea Cruising Yes
02-12-1917 J Archibald North Sea Cruising Yes
02-12-1917 Feugh North Sea Cruising Yes
02-12-1918 Nimbus Dawn North Sea Cruising Yes
02-12-1918 Dawn North Sea Cruising Yes
02-12-1918 Fierycross North Sea Cruising Yes
02-12-1918 Herring Gull North Sea Cruising Yes
02-12-1918 Bydand North Sea Cruising Yes
02-12-1918 Ind Summer North Sea Cruising Yes
02-12-1918 Jeipack North Sea Cruising Yes
02-12-1918 St Ronald North Sea Cruising Yes
02-12-1918 Frank Arnold North Sea Cruising Yes
02-12-1918 Ugilbank North Sea Cruising Yes
02-12-1918 HMTug Vaunter Everton North Sea Cruising Yes
02-12-1918 Sch Emma Louise British Guthrie 57 Put Back Windbound Yes
02-12-1918 Scottish Belle North Sea Cruising Yes
02-12-1919 Tug Criterion British Shields Light Yes
02-12-1919 Tug St Catherine British 12 Lerwick Towing Yes
02-12-1919 St Ninian British 262 Leith Light Yes
02-12-1919 Thrift British 206 Sunderland Coal Yes
02-12-1919 Tug Criterion Shields Light
02-12-1919 St Ninian Williamson 262 Leith Light
02-12-1919 HMTug Cathrine Lerwick Towing
02-12-1919 Thrift Mackay 213 Sunderland Coal
02-12-1919 Emma Louise Elder 56 Sunderland Coal
02-12-1919 F Argo Swedish Brenner 249 Aahus Granite
02-12-1919 St Ronald Scott 395 Kirkwall Light
02-12-1920 Border Glen British Mair 75 Dysart Coal Yes
02-12-1920 Thrift British Mackay 206 Goole Coal Yes
02-12-1920 St Ronald British Leask 395 Kirkwall Light Yes
02-12-1920 Deneside British Stewart 129 Seaham Coal Yes
02-12-1920 Test British Beattie 183 Burntisland Coal Yes

Column Definitions

Date
The date the vessel arrived at Aberdeen harbour
Vessel
Name of the vessel that arrived on the date
Number
Entry number in the log book
Registered Port
The port, or country, in which the vessel was registered at
Master
The person or company in charge of running the vessel
Registered Tonnage
Net registered tonnage of the vessel arriving
Port of Origin
The port that the vessel sailed from to arrive at Aberdeen
Cargo
What the vessel was carrying
Activity
What activity the vessel was carrying out. Note: this is extracted from the source transcribed cargo.
Checked
Has the transcription been checked by a second person

Vessel Types

HM Col
Collier. Coal for ship bunkers, sometimes they carried general stores or goods
HM Des
Destroyer
HM Tug
Admiralty or hired tug
HMGB
Motor Gun Boat
HDML
Harbour defence motor launch
HMAS
Armed sloop
HMBD
Boom defence vessel. Trawlers, drifters and fishermen ideal for handling torpedo nets etc used in defence of port entrances and large capital ships
HMC
Collier. Coal for ship bunkers, sometimes they carried general stores or goods
HMHS
Hospital ship
HML
Mine layer
HML
Motor launch
HMMB
Motor boat
HMML
Mine layer
HMMS
Minesweeper
HMO
His Majesty’s Oiler. Fuel oil carrier
HMP
Patrol vessel
HMQS
Q Ship, used as decoy to engage U-boats, masqueraded as unarmed. When U-boat surfaced they could fight back.
HMRT
Rescue tug
HMS
His Majesty’s Ship. Regular naval vessel
HMSL
His Majesty’s Small Launch
HMSML
Small motor launch
HMSS
Submarine
HMT
Hired Military Transport
HMTB
Torpedo Boat
HMTS
Hired Military Transport (maybe mis-type in transcription)
HMW
His Majesty’s Whaler
HMY
Hired or requisitioned yacht