Southern Song Maritime Trade Fleet Organization

Timeline

1. 1161–1165Port of Quanzhou · QuanzhouIn the 1160s, the Quanzhou Maritime Trade Office was the core agency for merchant ship entry and exit. Merchants had to register cargo and obtain official permits; fleets were organized by the unit of a 'ship' with convoy leaders commanding the sailors. Official customs duties, compulsory purchases, and private trade ran in parallel, forming an organizational model of maritime commerce combining official and private elements.
2. 1166–1170Guangzhou, Mingzhou, and South China Sea routes · South China SeaBy around 1170, merchant fleets from Guangzhou, Mingzhou, and Quanzhou sailed abroad on separate routes, with trade reaching Champa, the Arab world, and ports further west. Fleets chose sailing dates according to winter and summer monsoons, connecting with grain transport and domestic river transport, forming the Southern Song's ocean-oriented economic network.