Russian Volunteer Fleet (Dobrolyot)

The Russian Volunteer Fleet was created in 1878 at St. Petersburg, at the behest of Tsar Alexander III and started sailings from Odessa to Vladivostok in 1880. He called for private donations to create a "Patriotic Squadron" to destroy the British mercantile fleet if war occurred between Russia and Britain over Afghanistan.
By 1890 there were only seven ships in the fleet, but this figure had grown to fifteen by 1900. The fleet made service runs between Nagasaki, Shanghai, Vladivostok and Odessa. Like the Russian East Asian Fleet, it spent the winter in the ice-free port of Nagasaki. An agency for the fleet was established in Nagasaki at No. 47 Oura by Nicholas Gray in 1897. In December 1902, Gray transferred the agency to M. Ginsburg & Co. In 1904, there were thirteen ships in the fleet, all of which had been built in Britain.
When the Russo-Japanese War began, the transports of the Russian Volunteer Fleet were drafted into war service. By early 1906, with the war concluded, the fleet was back in Nagasaki. Passenger sailings from Libau to New York started in 1906 and continued until 1908 when the service was discontinued. The fleet's agent in the city was still M. Ginsburg & Co. of No. 50 Oura, but Ginsburg himself did not return to Nagasaki after the war. Ginsburg & Co. closed its Nagasaki office in March 1909, but the agency for the Russian Volunteer Fleet remained at No. 50 Oura, where it was managed by N.P. Azbeleff.
A Vladivostok - Vancouver service started shortly after 1908 and passenger/cargo services between Archangel, Odessa and New York continued until 1919.
After the Russian Revolution, there was a protracted argument between the new Soviet leaders and the White Russians of Siberia as to who should control the fleet. Eventually the Soviets took control and the name was changed to "Russian Mercantile Fleet." In early 1926, after the fleet stopped calling here, the Nagasaki City Chamber of Commerce made an unsuccessful effort to have the Russians steamers return to the port.
In 1925, many of their ships came under Allied control, the rest were incorporated into the Soviet State Shipping Line, Sovtorgflot.

From The Times, Tuesday, November 29, 1904:

The Russian Volunteer Fleet
St. Petersburg, Nov. 28th
The newspapers to-day publish details of the proposed reorganization of the Volunteer Fleet after the war. The number of ships, it is stated, will be largely increased, and new passenger and freight services will be started. In view of the extensive emigration traffic to America which is now conducted via Hamburg and Bremen, one of the most important of the projected new sailings will be from Libau or Windau to America. It is added that considerable changes are contemplated in the personnel and the administration of the fleet.

Many thanks to Ted Finch for his assistance in collecting this data. The following list was extracted from various sources. This is not an all inclusive list but should only be used as a guide. If you would like to know more about a vessel, visit the Ship Descriptions (on-site) or the Immigrant Ship web site.

• Routes:
  • 1878 - 1920? Odessa - Nagasaki - Shanghai - Vladivostok.
  • 1906-1908 Libau - Rotterdam - New York.

Funnel: Yellow with black top. Fleet:

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