The 2021 edition is now available in .pdf format (illustration says 2020 - but it is updated) and is a data listing of 2100 liners, ferries and cruise ships; every passenger carrying ship over 10000 tons dating from 1858 to the new builds out to 2027. It lists the launch name and any subsequent names, the dates in service, length, beam, speed, number of passengers, shipping company, builder and launch location. There are about 1000 vessels out of service, 950 in service and 150 ships on order or under construction. With all the name changes, there are 4500 entries.
It is only available as a 'searchable' electronic file, to include the latest changes. The price is £50, or US$63. I can accept payment in Sterling, Euros or in US $ via PayPal. Please ask on the message pad below, ensuring that I have your email address. Payment can be made by Paypal to
For example, the information provided - in tabular form in the book
No. Name Dates Age Tonnage Owner Builder & Location Fate
Length & Beam Speed Passenger Numbers
No. Subsequent name Date Owner
No. 22 Statendam 1898-1927 29yrs 10,491 tons for Holland-America Line by Harland & Wolff, Belfast Scrapped Genoa
162.8m x 18.2m 15 kts 1375 passengers
22a Scotian 1911 Allan Line
22b Marglen 1922 Canadian Pacific
740 Willem Ruys 1946-1994 48yrs 23,629 tons for Rotterdamsche Lloyd by De Schelde, Vlissingen Fire, sank Indian Ocean
192.4m x 25.1m 24.6 kts 900 passengers
740a Achille Lauro 1965 Achille Lauro
1720 AIDABella 2007- 69,203 tons AIDA Cruises by Meyer Werft, Papenburg In Service
251.9m x 32.2m 21.8 kts 2566 passengers
1922 MSC Bellissima 2019- 167,600 for MSC Cruises by Chantiers de l'Antique, St Nazaire due in Mar-2019
Floated out 02-Jul-2018 315m x 43m 5686 passengers
You can see images on my Facebook page at
While you are here, please look at my pages of liner, cruise ship, ferry and troopship photos via
the links at the top of this page.
About me.....I've always been interested in passenger ships, watching them as I grew up in
Singapore, Aden and Cyprus and then at school in Dover. I am now retired, pursuing my life
interest having amassed a vast collection of shipping books, particularly on ocean liners of the
20th Century, and latterly cruiseships. Since writing the initial paper version of The Compendium
of the World's Passenger Ships in 1991 and starting the passenger history service in 1999, I have
been asked to contribute towards projects for television, the film industry in America, novels and
several reference books.
