The London and St. Katharine Docks Company was formed with the amalgamation of the companies responsible for London Docks, the St Katharine Dock and the Victoria Dock in 1864 . This new company would become a major rival of the East and West India Dock Company and much of its history would be spent competing with it. As part of this they extended the Victoria Dock to create the separate Royal Albert Dock which covered 432 and was able to accept the large steamships of the period, which result in much of the trade of smaller docks being transferred to it. This success coupled with the London and St Katharine’s rate reduction had a serious impact on the viability of the East and West India Docks and in 1889 the two entered into an agreement whereby their docks would be operated in unison by the London and India Docks Joint Committee. Although under this agreement the two companies continued to manage their own finances and provide capital for new works it was seen as a move towards amalgamation. Despite this the cumbersome working union would continue until 1st January 1901 when the two were properly merged to form the London and India Docks Company.