Robert Steele & Company


Robert Steele & Company was a shipbuilder based in Greenock, Scotland, formed in 1815 by Robert Steele and two sons. It followed dissolution of an earlier shipbuilding partnership between Robert Steele and John Carswell, known as "Steele and Carswell."
The first vessel the company built was the three-masted barque Rebecca. The company was one of the shipbuilders credited with the development of the four-masted barque along with Alexander Stephen and Sons.
The company built twenty China tea clippers, many of which won China Tea Races.
The following are some of the Tea Clippers built by Robert Steele and company:
Vessel NameMaterialOwners / AgentsDate BuiltPeriod OwnedNet TonnageLength Overall Breadth Depth
ArielCompositeShaw, Lowther & Maxton18651865-1872853197.433.921
ChinamanComposite1865668
Ellen RodgerWoodenAlexander Rodger & Co18581858-1866585155,829.419.5
FalconWoodenPhillips, Shaw & Lowther18591859-1900794191.432.220
Guinevere1862647
KaisowCompositeAlexander Rodger18681868-1891820193.23220.3
Kate CarnieWoodenAlexander Rodger & C. Carnie18551855-1889576148.42619
King ArthurIron1862699
LahlooCompositeAlexander Rodger & Co18671867- 1872799191.632.919.9
MinWoodenAlexander Rodger & Co18611861-1891629174.529.819.3
SericaCompositeJames Findlay18631863-1872708185.931.119.6
Sir LancelotCompositeJohn McCunn18651865-1895886197.633.721
TaepingCompositeAlexander Rodger18631863-187176718331.119.9
TitaniaCompositeShaw, Lowther, Maxton & Co18661866-19108792003621
WyloCompositeKillick Martin & Company18691869-1886829192.932.120.2
Young Lochinvar724

From 1854 the company started building iron ships, such as Irish ferry, ss Mangerton, an 1855 Robert Steele steamship, which struck wooden barque Josephine Willis in 1856