Royal Naval impressment has never been repealed. It fell out , after being cof use in 1815, so no one has been 'press ganged' since then.

Foreign sailors sailing on British ships for two years or more or marrying a British woman became liable for impressment. It is hard to know what percentage of sailors were impressed because they could be offered a bounty (money) if they volunteered after being caught by the press gang.

Service conditions in the Royal Navy were not necessarily worse than the merchant service. The work was easier (many more men to do it) the food sometimes even better! - ship owners didn't provide rations on the same scale as the navy but the quality for both could be very variable. The main problem for pressed men was loss of liberty. In the merchant service you would expect to get home to your wife and family from time to time. In the navy you might finish one commission of several years and then get turned over to a new ship.

Here in the port of Hull our main trade at the time was Greenland whaling. There were sometimes pitched battles with the press gang when whalers returned to port, lives

were even lost. After spending a long season catching whales the men just wanted some time at home.