The Alderney Steam Packet Company provided shipping services between

Alderney Alderney ( ; ; ) is the northernmost of the inhabited Channel Islands. It is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependencies, Crown dependency. It is long and wide. The island's area is , making it the third-largest isla ...

and

Sark Sark (Sercquiais: or , ) is an island in the southwestern English Channel, off the coast of Normandy, and part of the archipelago of the Channel Islands. It is a self-governing British Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency, with its own set o ...

Guernsey Guernsey ( ; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; ) is the second-largest island in the Channel Islands, located west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. It is the largest island in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes five other inhabited isl ...

and

Cherbourg Cherbourg is a former Communes of France, commune and Subprefectures in France, subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French departments of France, department of Manche. It was merged into the com ...

from 1897 to 1931.

History

Courier I and Courier II

The origins of the company lie with the construction of the initial vessel ''Courier I'' which was launched on 26 February 1876 by the residents of Alderney and Courier II in 1883. Courier II cost £8,000.(equivalent to £ in ),. The Couriers were built by Day and Summers, Northam in Southampton. In 1897 the owners of the two Courier vessels formed the Alderney Steam Packet Company to operate these shipping services. On 30 April 1906, Courier II struck Les Ânons, a rock south of

Jethou Jethou ( ) is a small island that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey in the Channel Islands. It is privately leased from the Crown, and not open to the public. Resembling the top of a wooded knoll, it is immediately southwest of Herm and co ...

. There were 29 survivors and 10 deaths. The ship was salvaged on 1 August 1906 and returned to service after repairs. In 1913, the Courier I had been sold to Italian owners. She was renamed the Aydon and sailed from Guernsey on 3 February 1913 bound for

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

via Dartmouth. She was then to proceed to Turkey to be used as a passenger steamer in and around

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

Helper

In 1920 they purchased ''Helper'', and a regular service to Sark started on 1 April. Helper had been built for the

West Cornwall Railway The West Cornwall Railway was a railway company in Cornwall, Great Britain, formed in 1846 to construct a railway between Penzance and Truro. It purchased the existing Hayle Railway, and improved its main line, and built new sections between Pen ...

in 1873 by William Allsup of Preston as the ''Sir Francis Drake''. She was renamed Helper in 1908 when a new Sir Francis Drake was introduced. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

she ferried service personnel to Portland Naval Base. In 1919 Helper was sold to Cosens & Co for seasonal excursions out of Weymouth to Lulworth Cove and

Lyme Bay Lyme Bay is an area of the English Channel off the south coast of England. The south western counties of Devon and Dorset front onto the bay. The exact definitions of the bay vary. The eastern boundary is usually taken to be Portland Bill on ...

. Helper was withdrawn in 1926 and broken up for scrap.

RMS Riduna

In 1926 they purchased the RMS Peninnis, formerly ''HMS Argus'', from the Isles of Scilly Steamship Company and renamed her the RMS Riduna. Resembling a steam-yacht with a clipper bow, buff funnel and originally a white hull. She was sent for scrap in 1931.

Closure

In 1929 the Alderney Steam Packet Company entered liquidation, but a new company of the same name was registered in Guernsey. However, this new company did not trade for long, as in March 1931 its goodwill and Courier II was acquired by the St. Malo & Binic Steam Ship Company Ltd., which became the Guernsey, Alderney & Sark Steam Ship Company Ltd. to reflect its current trade in May 1933.

Vessels

*Courier I 1883 - 1913 (Sold to Italy and then Turkey) *Courier II 1883 - 1931 (survived with another company after 1931) *PS Helper 1920 - 1926 *RMS Riduna 1926 - 1931

References

{{Alderney topics , state=collapsed Transport in Alderney Transport companies established in 1897 Transport companies disestablished in 1931 Ferry companies of the Channel Islands Defunct shipping companies of the United Kingdom Packet trade Sark Companies of Alderney 1897 establishments in Guernsey