In 1797, the East India Company (EIC) chartered a number of East Indiamen and "country ships" to serve as transport vessels for a planned British invasion of Manila, the capital of the Spanish Captaincy General of the Philippines. The vessels gathered at Penang in September and waited there. However, the British government cancelled the invasion following a diplomatic overtures with Spain and the EIC released the vessels it had engaged. After the invasion was cancelled, the captains of the ships engaged sued the EIC for demurrage.Asiatic Annual Register for the Year 1805 (1807), p.53–60.
The EIC held several vessels in India to support the expedition. There were eight regular ships: Lord Camden, Busbridge, Minerva, Lord Macartney, Lord Hawkesbury, Sir Stephen Lushington, Phoenix and General Goddard, and three "dismantled ships": Pitt, Lascalles, and Royal Admiral. Several EIC "extra ships" on a voyage charter were also engaged for the cancelled invasion. The captains of all the vessels sued the EIC for demurrage, citing expenses they had incurred due to the delay to their homeward bound journeys, and for the eight regular ships, the additional risks involved in the detours to Penang. In 1800, British authorities awarded six of the captains of the regular ships £750 each, and further ordered that the officers of all vessels involved receive payment from the EIC.
EIC ships Vessel Claim for transport services (£sd) Claim for demurrage (days) Claim for demurrage (£sd) 7,600 – 7 – 2 292 6,083 – 6 – 8 59 1,597 – 18 – 4 6,753 - 18 - 3 6,401 – 19 – 2 59 1,597 – 18 – 4 13,249 – 6 – 6 179 3,729 – 3 – 4 Harriott (or ) 10,438 – 3 – 2 272 8,440 – 16 – 0 206 4,291 – 13 – 4 207 4,312 – 10 – 0 217 4,520 – 16 – 8 106 2,308 – 6 – 8 292 6.083 – 6 – 8 Pitt 229 6,655 – 6 – 3 10,148 – 13 – 7 5,819 – 15 – 5 210 3,192 – 0 – 0
Country ships The list of the names of the country ships comes from a House of Commons Select Committee report.Select Committee... (1814), p.654. The charter costs and period come from the Bengal Journal (April 1798; p. 614.)Asiatic Annual Register, Or, A View of the History of ..., Vol. 7, pp.43-4.
Vessel Burthen (bm) Charter ratesicca rupees Period 600 8,500/mo. 10 June 1797 to 10 February 1798 Ajax 460 6,000/mo. 3 June 1797 to 3 February 1798 Calcutta 10,000/mo. 25 May 1797 to 28 February 1798 Charlotte 350 £4,000/mo. Three months advance 450 6,000/mo. 20 June to 20 December 1797 Hercules 450 6,000/mo. 3 June 1797 to 3 February 1798 India 800 10,500/mo. 25 May to 25 November 1797 + 10 days demurrage@£100/day Munster Lass 350 3,500/mo. 2 June 1797 to 3 April 1798 Nancy 705 10,0000/mo. 11 June to 10 December 1797 950 10,500/mo. 25 May 1797 to 25 March 1798 Union 350 4,000/mo. 20 June 1797 to 20 March 1798 Brisk Eliza Ann Goonony Trident
In addition was lost in the Hooghli River in July "going on an expedition".
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