Zanzibar, Tanzania Passenger Lists 1929-1937

Passenger Lists available from the GG Archives from the Port of Zanzibar, Tanzania. Organized by Date of Departure, Steamship Line, Steamship or Ocean Liner, Class of Passengers, Route, and the Ship's Captain.

Zanzibar is the semi-autonomous part of Tanzania in East Africa. It is composed of the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, 25–50 kilometres off the coast of the mainland, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar) and Pemba. The capital is Zanzibar City, located on the island of Unguja.

1929-05-23 SS Llandaff Castle Passenger List

Steamship Line: Union-Castle Line
Class of Passengers: First Class
Date of Departure: 23 May 1929
Route: London to South Africa via the Mediterranean
Ports of Call: London to Natal via Marseilles, Genoa, Port Said, Port Sudan, Aden, Mombasa, Tanga, Zanzibar, DarEs-Salaam, Port Amelia, Beira and Lourenço Marques (Maputo)
Commander: Captain E. F. Gilbert

Front Cover of a Cabin Passenger List from the SS City of New York of the American South African Line, Departing 21 July 1937 from Beira to New York

1937-07-21 SS City of New York Passenger List

Steamship Line: American South African Line
Class of Passengers: Cabin
Date of Departure: 21 July 1937
Route: Beira to New York via Lindi, Dar-Es-Salaam, Zanzibar, Tanga, Mombasa, Durban, Port Elizabeth, Capetown, and the Island of Trinidad
Commander: Captain C. W. Schmidt, Lt. Cmdr. USNR

⚠️ About Accuracy in Historical Records Research Tip

Context. The GG Archives presents passenger lists as faithfully as possible to the original documents. While OCR is generally accurate, portions of these collections—especially image captions and some transcriptions—are typed by hand and may include typographical or spelling variations. The original manifests themselves also contained clerical inconsistencies (names recorded phonetically, mid-voyage corrections, etc.).

What this means for your research:

Search variant spellings of names (e.g., “Schmidt/Schmitt/Smith,” “Giuseppe/Joseph”).
Cross-reference with immigration cards, passport applications, naturalization files, city directories, and newspapers.
Treat manifests as primary sources with historical quirks—use them alongside corroborating records.
For place names, consider historical borders and language variants (e.g., Danzig/Gdańsk, Trieste/Trst).

How to cite. When quoting a name from a manifest, consider adding [sic] for obvious misspellings and include a note such as “spelling as printed in original passenger list.”

Need help? If you spot a likely transcription error in captions, feel free to contact us with the page URL and a brief note—we love community input. 🙏

Curator’s Note

For over 25 years, I've been dedicated to a unique mission: tracking down, curating, preserving, scanning, and transcribing historical materials. These materials, carefully researched, organized, and enriched with context, live on here at the GG Archives. Each passenger list isn't just posted — it's a testament to our commitment to helping you see the people and stories behind the names.

It hasn't always been easy. In the early years, I wasn't sure the site would survive, and I often paid the hosting bills out of my own pocket. But I never built this site for the money — I built it because I love history and believe it's worth preserving. It's a labor of love that I've dedicated myself to, and I'm committed to keeping it going.

If you've found something here that helped your research, sparked a family story, or just made you smile, I'd love to hear about it. Your experiences and stories are the real reward for me. And if you'd like to help keep this labor of love going, there's a "Contribute to the Website" link tucked away on our About page.

📜 History is worth keeping. Thanks for visiting and keeping it alive with me.