Port numbers

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:  Ships  and documents  Documents

For full details on the registration of shipping, see: Registration of Shipping

First series

Port numberPortLink
1Aberdeen Documents
2Aberystwyth Documents
3Aldeburgh Documents
4Arundel Documents
5Ayr Documents
6Baltimore Documents
7Banff Documents
8Barnstaple Documents
9Beaumaris Documents
10Belfast Documents
11Berwick Documents
12Bideford Documents
13Borrowstounness Documents
14Boston Documents
15Bridgwater Documents
16Bridlington Documents
17Bridport Documents
18Bristol Documents
19Campbeltown Documents
20Cardiff Documents
21Cardigan Documents
22Carlisle Documents
23Chepstow Documents
24Chester Documents
25Chichester Documents
26Cley Documents
27Colchester Documents
28Coleraine Documents
29Cork Documents
30Cowes Documents
31Dartmouth Documents
32Deal Documents
33Dover Documents
34Drogheda Documents
35Dublin Documents
36Kirkcudbright Documents
36Dumfries Documents
37Dundalk Documents
38Dundee Documents
39Exeter Documents
40Falmouth Documents
41Faversham Documents
42Fowey Documents
43Galway Documents
44Glasgow Documents
45Grangemouth Documents
46Gloucester Documents
47Goole Documents
48Greenock Documents
49Grimsby Documents
50Gweek Documents
51Harwich Documents
52Hull Documents
53Ilfracombe Documents
54Inverness Documents
55Ipswich Documents
56Irvine Documents
57Kirkcaldy Documents
58Kirkwall Documents
59Lancaster Documents
60Dunbar Documents
60Leith Documents
61Lerwick Documents
62Liverpool Documents
63Llanelli Documents
64London Documents
65Londonderry Documents
66Lyme Documents
67Limerick Documents
68Lynn Documents
69Maldon Documents
70Milford Documents
71Montrose Documents
72Newport Documents
73Newry Documents
74Newhaven Documents
75Newcastle Documents

First series continued

Port numberPortLink
76Padstow Documents
77Penzance Documents
78Plymouth Documents
79Poole Documents
80Portsmouth Documents
81Port Glasgow Documents
82Ramsgate Documents
83Rochester Documents
84Hastings Documents
84Rye Documents
85Scarborough Documents
86Scilly Documents
87St Ives Documents
88Shoreham Documents
89Sligo Documents
90Southampton Documents
91Southwold Documents
92Sunderland Documents
93Stockton Documents
94Stornoway Documents
95Stranraer Documents
96Swansea Documents
97Truro Documents
98Waterford Documents
99Wells Documents
100Westport Documents
101Weymouth Documents
102Wexford Documents
103Whitehaven Documents
104Whitby Documents
105Wick Documents
106Wisbech Documents
107Woodbridge Documents
108Yarmouth Documents

Additional numbers from 1845

Port numberPortLink
109Preston Documents
110Gainsborough Documents
111New Ross Documents
111Ross Documents
112Maryport Documents
113Alloa Documents
114Perth Documents
115Arbroath Documents
116Carmarthen Documents
117Caernarfon Documents
117Pwllheli Documents
118Hartlepool Documents
119Tralee Documents
120Runcorn Documents
121Wigtown Documents
122Ballina Documents
123Folkestone Documents
124Shields Documents
125Strangford Documents
126Fleetwood Documents
127Peterhead Documents
128Workington Documents
129Lowestoft Documents
130Teignmouth Documents
147Douglas Documents
148Derbyhaven Documents
148Castletown Documents
149Peel Documents
150Ramsey Documents
151Guernsey Documents
152Jersey Documents
153Middlesbrough Documents
154Ardrossan Documents
158Granton Documents
159Newcastle-upon-Tyne Documents
160Youghal Documents
161Barrow Documents

Colonial ports

Port numberPortLink
200Halifax, Nova Scotia Documents
201Liverpool, NS Documents
202Pictou, NS Documents
203Yarmouth, NS Documents
207Sydney, NSW Documents
208Hobart Documents
211Launceston, Tasmania Documents
212Sydney, Cape Breton Island Documents
217Kingston, Jamaica Documents
218St Lucia Documents
219Montego Bay, Jamaica Documents
224Malta Documents
225Louis, Mauritius Documents
228Miramichi Bay, NB Documents
229Prince Edward Island Documents
230St John, NB Documents
231St John's, Newfoundland Documents
232Kingstown, St Vincent Documents
236Bathurst, NB Documents
237Sierra Leone Documents
242St Andrews, NB Documents
245St Johns, Antigua Documents
250Bermuda Documents
251Arichat, Cape Breton Island Documents
252Montreal Documents
253Quebec Documents
254Demerara, Guiana Documents
257Bombay Documents
258Calcutta Documents
259Cape Town Documents
260Cochin, India Documents
262Madras Documents
263Melbourne Documents
271Gaspe, NB Documents
272Windsor, NS Documents
273St Stephen, NB Documents
274Digby, Nova Scotia Documents
275Hong Kong Documents
276New Glasgow, NS Documents
277Moulmein, Burma Documents
278Lunenburg, NS Documents
279Parrsboro, NS Documents
281Grand Island, Cape Breton Island Documents
282Weymouth, NS Documents
287Antigua Documents
288Cape of Good Hope Documents
289Medway, Nova Scotia Documents
290Port Wallace, NS Documents
293Richibucto, NB Documents
294Geelong Documents
295St Mary's, Newfoundland Documents
296Stanley, Falkland Islands Documents