Convict ship

A convict ship was any ship engaged on a voyage to carry convicted felons under sentence of penal transportation from their place of conviction to their place of exile.

Description

A convict ship, as used to convey convicts to the Australian colonies, were ordinary British merchant ships as seen in ports around the world at that time. There was no ship specifically built as a convict vessel. There was no ship engaged exclusively for convict transportation use, all being used for general cargo, or passenger transport, at various times.

Vessels chartered for convict transport were mainly square rigged ships or barques, with the exception of a few brigs, the majority being small to moderate tonnage. The fees paid to the ship owners were so low that only the worst and most decrepit ships were utilised.

English Parliamentary records indicate that the average rate paid by the Government to hire a ship for convict service in 1816 was £6 1s 9d per vessel ton, with tonnages typically between 372 to 584.