Merchant Shipping in the Service of the Navy Board

The War of Austrian Succession marked the first time a large number of British warships served in the Mediterranean and West Indies. To supply them, the Royal Navy used merchant ships to carry naval stores. The vessels were hired on short-term space charters. These agreements stipulated that the ships would be inspected by government officials, that they would sail in convoy, and that demurrage would be paid in the event of delay. Shipowners found the terms attractive enough for the navy to have little difficulty hiring vessels in the London market. Almost 100 merchantmen were chartered during the war, but the significance of the practice was less economic than strategic. For 200 years it would enable Britain to exercise sea power in distant waters

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