The Russian Steam Navigation and Trading Company ( or ROPiT , also referred as Russian S.N.Co.) of Odessa

Odessa

Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...

 was one of the biggest joint stock steamship companies in Imperial Russia. It was established in 1856 and ceased to exist in 1918 due to nationalization

Nationalization

Nationalisation, also spelled nationalization, is the process of taking an industry or assets into government ownership by a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to private assets, but may also mean assets owned by lower levels of government, such as municipalities, being...

 after the revolution in Russia.

In 1858 the company obtained a twenty-four year contract for usage of the port of Villafranca Marittima

Villefranche-sur-Mer

Villefranche-sur-Mer is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera.-Geography:...

, on the Mediterranean with the Kingdom of Sardinia

Kingdom of Sardinia

The Kingdom of Sardinia consisted of the island of Sardinia first as a part of the Crown of Aragon and subsequently the Spanish Empire , and second as a part of the composite state of the House of Savoy . Its capital was originally Cagliari, in the south of the island, and later Turin, on the...

.

In 1901 it had a fleet of 72 steamships. Company stock was listed on Saint-Petersburg Stock Exchange.