For the British expedition to the Red Sea (1801) the British government hired a number of transport vessels.The transports supported Major-General Sir David Baird's expedition in 1801 to the Red Sea. Baird was in command of the Indian army that was going to Egypt to help General Ralph Abercromby expel the French there. Baird landed at Kosseir, on the Egyptian side of the Red Sea. He then led his troops army across the desert to Kena on the Nile, and then to Cairo. He arrived in time for the battle of Alexandria. Captain Hardie of Shah Kaikusroo was appointed Commodore of the fleet of country ships.
Most of the transports were "country ships". Country ships were vessels that were registered in ports of British India such as Bombay and Calcutta, and that traded around India, with Southeast Asia, and China, but that did not sail to England without special authorization from the EIC. In addition, some of the transports were "regular ships" of the British East India Company (EIC), and some were "extra ships". Regular ships were on a long-term contract with the EIC, and extra ships were vessels the EIC had chartered for one or more voyages.
The data in the table below comes primarily from an 1814 report from a Select Committee of the House of Commons of the British Parliament, which provided the data only on country ships, giving the names of a large number of vessels, and their burthen (bm).
Also, transliteration of non-English names shows no consistency across sources, making it extremely difficult to try to find more information about the vessels in question.
| Name | Burthen | Where built | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Admiral Nelson | 122 | ||
| 800 | Whitby, 1781 | Becomes HMS Mediator, 1804 | |
| Ann and Eliza | 350 | ||
| Anna Maria | 450 | ||
| 450–654 | Calcutta, 1800 | Stranded 22 September 1803 in Balabac Strait | |
| 400 / 462 | British, 1798 | Sold 1821 | |
| Bly Merchant | 480 | ||
| Byram Gore | 456 | ||
| Candidate | 700 / 709 | Calcutta, 1797 | Foundered in the Bay of Bengal, 1804 |
| 478 | Contradictory information | Wrecked at Madeira, 1803 | |
| Commerce | 413 / 450 | Rangoon? | The French privateer captured her on 15 November 1805. |
| 633 | Surat, 1789 | Burnt 1841 at Bombay | |
| Cuvera | 936 | Calcutta, 1798 | Broken up 1853 |
| Brig Dundas | 176 / 187 | Probably Philip Dundas, built at Bombay Dockyard in 1798 for the Bengal Pilot Service | Newbiggin, master; lost at Foul Bay between January 1801 and June 1802[1] |
| Eliza | 400 / 350 | Rangoon | Gibson, master; north of Jiddah between January 1801 and June 1802 |
| Expedition | 70 | ||
| Fancy brig | 125 / 100 | ||
| Fortune | 182 | Ketch; Jolliffe, master; near Mt. Agerib between January 1801 and June 1802 | |
| Friendship | 400 | Rangoon | |
| Friendship | 872 | Demaun, 1794 | |
| Fyze Allum | 700 | Baird, master; Cape Orfin (or Cape Orsoy) on the coast of Africa, 7 June 1801;[2] | |
| 825 | Calcutta, 1794 | Lost on the expedition; crew and passengers saved | |
| Ganges | 450 | ||
| Griffin | 400 | ||
| Hercules | 485 | ||
| Hope | 500 / 580 | Calcutta, 1800 | |
| Jehanguire Shaw Jehangire | 780 / 705 | Deman | |
| Julia | Lost between January 1801 and June 1802 | ||
| London | 350 | ||
| Lowjee Family | 926 | Bombay, 1791 | Destroyed by fire in Bombay Harbour, 1849 |
| 679 / 655 | Bombay Dockyard, 1786 | Wrecked in the Hooghly River in August 1829 | |
| Minerva | 987 / 1057 | Demaun, 1790 | Launched as Amelia; captured 1808 by Al Qasimi pirates and almost the entire crew massacred. |
| Mornington | 450 | ||
| Moorad Bux | 279 | ||
| Raheem Shah | 270 / 275 | Bombay[3] | |
| 300 | Calcutta, 1800 or 1797 | Lost 1814 or later | |
| Pearl | 450 | ||
| Serrah/ | 935 | Bombay, 1792 | "Lost in the French War" |
| Shah Ardasheer | 868 | Bombay, 1786, or 1787 | Burnt at Bombay Harbour on 14 September 1809[4] |
| Shah Kaikusroo | 1046 | Bombay, 1799 | Broken up 1864 |
| Shannon | 90 | ||
| Sophia | |||
| , or Sulimanny | 679 | Demaun, 1797[5] | |
| Superb | 650 | Calcutta, 1795 | Lost 1814 or so |
| Susannah | 244 | Drysdale, master; lost between January 1801 and June 1802 | |
| Taz Balish | 436 | ||
| 675 | Bombay Dockyard, 1793 | Burnt at Saugor, 1817 | |
| 443 | Calcutta, 1789 | ||
| 393 / 400 | Bombay Dockyard, 1800 | ||
The following vessels were listed in the 1814 report as country ships, but were actually vessels of the EIC's navy, the Bombay Marine.
| Name | Burthen | Where built | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fury | EIC schooner of 6 guns[6] | ||
(or Stromboli) | 485 | Bombay, 1793 | EIC bomb ketch/gun vessel of 12 × 3-pounder guns[7] |
| Wasp | EIC schooner of 6 guns | ||
. Charles Rathbone Low . 1877 . History of the Indian Navy: (1613-1863) . R. Bentley and son.