Article 108 of th Royal Decree of December 26, 1815, require the maintenance of a register. Consular staff had to record the daily arrival and departure of ships.
Consular staff had to record the daily arrival and departure of ships..

The data that the consular staff had to record constitute the entries in the register:

• date of arrival and departure
• reason for arrival or departure
• the name, type and tonnage of the ship
• the name, nationality, and rank of the captain as well as the number of his license
• type of cargo, on arrival and destination, and on departure
• origin
• destination
• dates and numbers of ship's papers (passes, crew lists; nationality licenses; seaman's passports)
• observations

This survey of records includes the following:

• Arrival and departure dates
• Reasons for arrival and departure
• Name of the ship and captain
• Data relating to the cargo
• Origin and destination of the voyage

Additional information about captains (place of birth, affiliation, and license number) has been included in the linked ‘authority’ record.

The records concern arrivals and subsequent departures from the port of Tripoli in Lebanon; they integrate perfectly with the data from the similar register in Beirut, outlining, and sometimes specifying, the trajectories.

With regard to ship cargoes, here is an explanation of some recurring terms, some of which are now obsolete:

• Cochineal (Cocciniglia ovvero Dactylopius coccus): insect from which the red/carmine pigment used as a dye was derived
• Galls: malformations/growths on leaves, trunks, and plant roots. Galls are rich in tannin, which was used to produce inks and dyes
• Gambello (hair): mohair yarn
• Granone (Zea mays): corn