Port numbers were used to refer to a ship's port of registry in the records of the Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen.
They were used in the period from 1835 onwards with additional numbers, from 109 onwards, being added
from 1845 when new ports of registry were created (Hartlepool, for example). Colonial ports were allocated port numbers from 200 onwards.
Some smaller ports were, or became, sub-ports of larger ports (and were sometimes referred to as 'creeks'). The same port number was used for the sub-port. For example, Dunbar was a sub-port of Leith and the Leith port number (60) was used on crew documents pre-1855.
Beware! Port numbers are not the same as port rotation numbers. Port numbers refer to ports: port rotation numbers refer to
ships registered at a particular port. See:
Port rotation numbers
For each port, there are links in the table to the CLIP data for ships:
and documents
For full details on the registration of shipping, see:
Registration of Shipping
First series
Port number | Port | Link |
1 | Aberdeen |
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2 | Aberystwyth |
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3 | Aldeburgh |
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4 | Arundel |
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5 | Ayr |
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6 | Baltimore |
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7 | Banff |
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8 | Barnstaple |
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9 | Beaumaris |
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10 | Belfast |
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11 | Berwick |
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12 | Bideford |
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13 | Borrowstounness |
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14 | Boston |
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15 | Bridgwater |
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16 | Bridlington |
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17 | Bridport |
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18 | Bristol |
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19 | Campbeltown |
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20 | Cardiff |
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21 | Cardigan |
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22 | Carlisle |
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23 | Chepstow |
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24 | Chester |
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25 | Chichester |
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26 | Cley |
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27 | Colchester |
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28 | Coleraine |
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29 | Cork |
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30 | Cowes |
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31 | Dartmouth |
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32 | Deal |
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33 | Dover |
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34 | Drogheda |
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35 | Dublin |
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36 | Kirkcudbright |
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36 | Dumfries |
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37 | Dundalk |
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38 | Dundee |
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39 | Exeter |
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40 | Falmouth |
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41 | Faversham |
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42 | Fowey |
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43 | Galway |
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44 | Glasgow |
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45 | Grangemouth |
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46 | Gloucester |
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47 | Goole |
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48 | Greenock |
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49 | Grimsby |
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50 | Gweek |
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51 | Harwich |
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52 | Hull |
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53 | Ilfracombe |
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54 | Inverness |
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55 | Ipswich |
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56 | Irvine |
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57 | Kirkcaldy |
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58 | Kirkwall |
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59 | Lancaster |
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60 | Dunbar |
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60 | Leith |
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61 | Lerwick |
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62 | Liverpool |
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63 | Llanelli |
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64 | London |
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65 | Londonderry |
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66 | Lyme |
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67 | Limerick |
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68 | Lynn |
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69 | Maldon |
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70 | Milford |
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71 | Montrose |
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72 | Newport |
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73 | Newry |
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74 | Newhaven |
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75 | Newcastle |
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First series continued
Port number | Port | Link |
76 | Padstow |
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77 | Penzance |
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78 | Plymouth |
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79 | Poole |
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80 | Portsmouth |
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81 | Port Glasgow |
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82 | Ramsgate |
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83 | Rochester |
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84 | Hastings |
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84 | Rye |
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85 | Scarborough |
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86 | Scilly |
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87 | St Ives |
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88 | Shoreham |
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89 | Sligo |
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90 | Southampton |
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91 | Southwold |
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92 | Sunderland |
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93 | Stockton |
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94 | Stornoway |
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95 | Stranraer |
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96 | Swansea |
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97 | Truro |
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98 | Waterford |
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99 | Wells |
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100 | Westport |
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101 | Weymouth |
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102 | Wexford |
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103 | Whitehaven |
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104 | Whitby |
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105 | Wick |
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106 | Wisbech |
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107 | Woodbridge |
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108 | Yarmouth |
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Additional numbers from 1845
Port number | Port | Link |
109 | Preston |
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110 | Gainsborough |
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111 | New Ross |
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111 | Ross |
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112 | Maryport |
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113 | Alloa |
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114 | Perth |
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115 | Arbroath |
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116 | Carmarthen |
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117 | Caernarfon |
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117 | Pwllheli |
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118 | Hartlepool |
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119 | Tralee |
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120 | Runcorn |
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121 | Wigtown |
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122 | Ballina |
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123 | Folkestone |
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124 | Shields |
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125 | Strangford |
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126 | Fleetwood |
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127 | Peterhead |
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128 | Workington |
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129 | Lowestoft |
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130 | Teignmouth |
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147 | Douglas |
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148 | Derbyhaven |
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148 | Castletown |
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149 | Peel |
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150 | Ramsey |
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151 | Guernsey |
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152 | Jersey |
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153 | Middlesbrough |
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154 | Ardrossan |
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158 | Granton |
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159 | Newcastle-upon-Tyne |
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160 | Youghal |
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161 | Barrow |
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Colonial ports
Port number | Port | Link |
200 | Halifax, Nova Scotia |
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201 | Liverpool, NS |
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202 | Pictou, NS |
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203 | Yarmouth, NS |
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207 | Sydney, NSW |
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208 | Hobart |
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211 | Launceston, Tasmania |
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212 | Sydney, Cape Breton Island |
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217 | Kingston, Jamaica |
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218 | St Lucia |
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219 | Montego Bay, Jamaica |
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224 | Malta |
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225 | Louis, Mauritius |
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228 | Miramichi Bay, NB |
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229 | Prince Edward Island |
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230 | St John, NB |
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231 | St John's, Newfoundland |
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232 | Kingstown, St Vincent |
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236 | Bathurst, NB |
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237 | Sierra Leone |
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242 | St Andrews, NB |
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245 | St Johns, Antigua |
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250 | Bermuda |
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251 | Arichat, Cape Breton Island |
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252 | Montreal |
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253 | Quebec |
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254 | Demerara, Guiana |
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257 | Bombay |
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258 | Calcutta |
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259 | Cape Town |
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260 | Cochin, India |
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262 | Madras |
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263 | Melbourne |
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271 | Gaspe, NB |
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272 | Windsor, NS |
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273 | St Stephen, NB |
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274 | Digby, Nova Scotia |
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275 | Hong Kong |
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276 | New Glasgow, NS |
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277 | Moulmein, Burma |
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278 | Lunenburg, NS |
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279 | Parrsboro, NS |
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281 | Grand Island, Cape Breton Island |
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282 | Weymouth, NS |
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287 | Antigua |
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288 | Cape of Good Hope |
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289 | Medway, Nova Scotia |
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290 | Port Wallace, NS |
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293 | Richibucto, NB |
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294 | Geelong |
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295 | St Mary's, Newfoundland |
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296 | Stanley, Falkland Islands |
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