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Starboard view of the S.S. CARMARTHENSHIRE at sea entering Hong Kong Harbour, April 23rd 1897. Unsigned.

S.S. CARMARTHENSHIRE (2929 gross tons). Having been completed by the famous Swan Hunter yard on the Tyne in 1887, the Carmarthenshire became one of the vessels of the famous Shire Line, established in London in 1860 by Captain David Jenkins. Jenkins was born in Exeter in 1824 to a family with its roots in Pembrokeshire, and he went on to establish the first regular shipping service from the UK to Japan in 1869. His ships all bore the names of Welsh counties and it was said that one had to be a Welshman to be considered for employment with the firm! Shire Line eventually became part of the great Royal Mail Group in 1907, but the Carmarthenshire had already been sold out of the service in 1901.