The Pacific Steam Navigation Company was a British commercial shipping company that operated along the Pacific coast of South America, and was the first to use steam ships for commercial traffic in the Pacific Ocean.[1] At one point in the 1870s, it had the world's largest merchant steamship fleet. The company continued in business until 1965, when it was purchased by another company, but it survived in name through a succession of ownership changes until at least the 1980s.[2]
History
The company was founded by William Wheelwright in London in 1838 and began operations in 1840 when two steam ships Chile and Peru were commissioned to carry mail.[3][4] Early ports of call were Valparaíso, Coquimbo, Huasco, Copiapó, Cobija, Iquique, Arica, Islay, Pisco