A global presence: Defining the Lloyd’s Register outport

In pursuit of its goal of ‘surveying and classifying the shipping of the world’, Lloyd’s Register established a network of ports and harbours to which it could appoint or recruit surveyors to act on its behalf.1 These “Outports”, as they became known, became the focal point of LR’s operational activity. But what did it mean to be an outport of LR, and where did the idea come from? 

Generally, the term “outport” has been used to identify a port or place other than the main port of the country, or a port or harbour built to support the commerce of larger neighbours. 2 Historically, “outport” was frequently adopted as a ‘generic term for all the ports outside of London’.3 This was given significant impetus in 1558 when, in order to reduce smuggling and regularise what had become ‘a chaotic situation as regards customs revenue’, the English government produced a formal three-tiered port classification system.4 This revolved around “head-ports”, where customs officials were legally appointed to control and authenticate trade, “member-ports”, where deputies of the head-port officials operated, and “creeks”, where no such appointments were made.5

This three-tiered system eventually incorporated the term “outport” to refer to all ports outside of London in customs legislation, and it is likely that it inspired the reformers of LR during the establishment of the Society’s own network. LR adopted a similar three-tiered system, revolving around the outports, the sub-offices and the immediate hinterland. LR used the “outport” term during the reconstitution process to refer to ports and harbours located outside of head office, placing London in what former Chief Surveyor of LR, S.J.P. Thearle, described as ‘fatherly control’ over the outports.6

An early reference to the outports in Society literature came in an address given on 11 December 1823 by John Marshall, an influential figure in the reconstitution of LR, and one with strong links to Hull.7 Marshall argued that any committee established to oversee the reconstitution of the Society should have ‘in attendance’ at least ‘one person from each of the eight principal Outports,’ a proposal that was accepted the following month, with Marshall elected to the committee to represent his home port of Hull. 8 From this point onwards, the term “outport” became an ever-present fixture within the operational activity of LR. 

The primary purpose of an LR outport revolved around extending Society influence domestically and internationally, but there were a number of other criteria that needed to be met. Outport candidates needed to act as the eyes of the Society, monitoring maritime activity in and around each local area. In 1946, the chairman of LR, E.L. Jacobs, stated that it was ‘the duty of the staff at every local office to keep in touch with the daily arrivals’.9 Outport staff were instructed to liaise with local shipping agents, making the outport offices the first point of contact that the vast majority of LR’s clientele had with the Society. 

Two of the most prominent factors that influenced outport selection focused on the maritime activity of each area, key factors being the volume of shipping being handled, and, perhaps more importantly, the number of vessels being built. Another key consideration, however, was the hinterland of outport candidates. Rather than significantly increasing the number of outports, the reconstitution of LR proposed that the Society should look to appoint larger outports that could cover and represent the work being done in the areas that immediately surrounded them. 10 Hull was a good example. As a major port in its own right, Hull was ideally placed to become an important LR outport anyway, but its waterway connections to other centres of maritime activity like Selby, Gainsborough, Goole and Grimsby made it an ideal location to implement this outport-hinterland model.11

Once a location had been chosen for outport status, deciding the size of the required staff was an early order of business. As stated by Jacobs, ‘the size of the staff accords with the work to be done’, with the larger ports needing input ‘from more experienced surveyors’. 12 As a result, outports with a larger staff became LR’s ‘big ports’, often indicated by the presence of a principal surveyor to head the office team. 13 Another important decision centred on whether those staff would be employed on exclusive terms or not, that is, whether the surveyors would work exclusively for LR. This distinction was of paramount importance to the Provisional Committee, the body established to oversee the final stages of the reconstitution of LR. One of the first orders of business at its inaugural meeting on 17 October 1833 was to establish the first list of ports that would be staffed by exclusive appointments, with eight ports eventually selected as the first official outports of LR, namely, Bristol, Glasgow, Hull, Leith, Liverpool, London, Newcastle and Sunderland.

The role of non-exclusive surveyors, however, should not be overlooked here, as they were vital to the expansion of the outport network, particularly during the years immediately after reconstitution. Lower cost, non-exclusive surveyors were a cost-effective tool in the expansion of the outport network. In 1834, LR identified 70 ports and places where the Society should operate. 62 were labelled as non-exclusive outports. 14 Furthermore, of the 63 surveyor appointments made by the Society at the reconstitution, only thirteen were recruited on exclusive terms. 15 Today, there are hundreds of LR outports all over the world, many in the traditional ports and harbours that have been integral to Society operations since 1760. However, many are now based in places that are not even ports at all. Since the mid-twentieth century, the outport network has seen a clear shift towards manufacturing centres, allowing the Society to survey and monitor the production of materials and components alongside those traditional avenues of surveying and classification synonymous with LR. Regardless of their focus, the outports remain the key tool in LR’s operational arsenal, carrying the Society’s work across the globe.