General Steamship Company was founded in 1920 in Houston, Texas, as a Private Company, and now goes by Gensteam since 1996. General Steamship Company has a fleet of cargo ships that operate worldwide. Gensteam has a Gensteam Operations Desk website that tracks all shipping logistics. Gensteam headquarters is now in San Francisco, California. General Steamship Company was part owner of American Pacific Steamship Company in New York state and Los Angeles during and post World War II. American Pacific Steamship Company was founded in 1942 in New York City, and was previously called Los Angeles Tanker Operators Inc. which operated T2 tanker ships. During World War II the General Steamship Company and American Pacific Steamship Company were active with charter shipping with the Maritime Commission and War Shipping Administration.
Calmar Steamship Company was a proprietary subsidiary of the Bethlehem Steel founded in New York City in 1927. Bethlehem Steel Company founded Calmar Steamship Company and other steamship companies after finding general shipping companies could not meet the company's needs in a timely manner. At the time Bethlehem Steel Company was the second-largest steelmaker in the United States and the world, only behind U.S. Steel. Calmar Steamship Company shipped Bethlehem Steel Company products from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific coast. On the return trip, Calmar Steamship Company would bring lumber products from the Pacific coast to the Atlantic coast. Calmar Steamship Company closed in 1976, as United States steel manufacture declined in the 1960s.
Interocean Shipping Company, Interocean Steamship Company of San Francisco was a subsidiary of the Bethlehem Steel Company founded in the late 1930s and closed in 1986.
Mystic Steamship Company, also known a Boston Tow Boat Company was a Boston, Massachusetts shipping company. Named after the Mystic River. The company was founded in 1854 as the T-Wharf Towing Company. Boston Tow Boat Company was an operator of ship salvaging, icebreaker shipping, and a tugboat operator. The other major operation was transporting coal. Mystic Steamship Company operated collier ships and coal barges. Coal was load at Newport News, Virginia and delivery to New York Harbor, Philadelphia and Baltimore. Mystic Steamship Company was also a bulk grain transporter. Eastern Gas & Fuel Associates purchased and ran Mystic Steamship Company. Eastern Gas & Fuel Associates is now Eastern Enterprises. T-Wharf Towing Company merged into the Boston Gas Eastern Enterprises Incorporated, its parent company on June 30, 1917. Boston Gas Eastern Enterprises reformed the shipping lines as the Boston Towboat Company Incorporated. Boston Fuel Transportation Company purchased Boston Towboat Company in 1985. Boston Fuel renamed the company the Boston Towing and Transportation Companies. In 1940, the company became the Mystic Steamship, a Division of Eastern Gas and Fuel Associates.
Merchants and Miners Transportation Company, often called M&M and Queen of Sea, was a major cargo and passenger shipping company founded in 1852 in Baltimore, Maryland. In 1852 is started with routes from Baltimore and Boston two wooden side wheelers ships. In 1859 M&M added two iron hulled steamers to its fleet. In 1866, post Civil War, M&M added routes to Providence, Rhode Island, Norfolk and Savannah, Georgia. In 1876 M&M purchased the Baltimore & Savannah Steamship Company add routes to Savannah, Jacksonville and Charleston. In 1907 the Winsor Line of Philadelphia's J. S. Winslow & Company of Portland, Maine was purchased, with seven steamships. The Winsor Line was founded in 1884 by J. S. Winslow. The Winsor Line first route was from Norfolk, Virginia to New England ports, supplying West Virginia coal. The Winsor Line sailing ship Addie M. Lawrence took ammunition to Europe during World War I. By World War II M&M had a fleet of 18 ships and add routes to Miami. With the outbreak of World War II the War Shipping Administration requisitioned Merchants and Miners Transportation Company fleet of ships for the war effort.
Blidberg Rothchild Company was a shipping company founded by Allan Blidberg and Sylvester Rothschild in New York City, United States. The shipping company has is start with a previous company Blidberg and Sagen Company founded by Tryggve Sagen and Allan Blidberg. Tryggve Sagen owned a ship in Oslo, Norway before coming to the United States in 1919. Sylvester Rothschild was born in 1896 in Sweden, he was a finance officer in Gothenburg. Rothschild came to America in 1919 and started the shipping company with Sagen. Blidberg and Sagen Company had shipping routes from New York to Scandinavian and Baltic ports. Sagen was president, Blidberg vice president and Sylvester Rothschild was the Secretary for the shipping company. Sylvester Rothschild was from Gothenburg Sweden, were he was the Vice-consul. In the 1930s Tryggve Sagen departed the company and the firm was renamed Blidberg Rothchild Company. The company had offices in Gothenburg and Norway. Blidberg Rothchild Company worked with an affiliated company Eastport Steamship Co of New York. Blidberg Rothchild Company also worked with an affiliated company Bridgeport Steamship Line of New York, a New Haven Railroad company.
Boland and Cornelius Company was a shipping company founded in 1904 by Messrs Boland and Adam E. Cornelius in Buffalo, New York. Adam Edwards Cornelius came up with the idea of having self-unloading ships to save time and money. Adam Edwards Cornelius self-unloading ships changed the way ships were unloading. In 1907 Boland and Cornelius founded the American Steamship Company a subsidiary of Boland and Cornelius Company. American Steamship Company later became the current GATX Corporation. Boland and Cornelius Company flew a white and red flag with B&C in blue.
North Atlantic & Gulf Steamship Company was founded in New York City on February 13, 1932, by George V. Reilly, William M. Stevens, and David H. Jackman. The president of North Atlantic & Gulf Steamship Company in 1932 was Charles Walter Ulsh. North Atlantic & Gulf Steamship Company's treasurer and vice president was Clifton Waller Barrett. Charles Walter Ulsh and Clifton Waller Barrett founded the ship broker firm Ulsh & Barrett. Charles Walter Ulsh invited and patented a skid platform pallet for shipping. His United States patent #US1934389A is used for a stackable and nested skid platform.
Norton Lilly International, was founded as Norton Lilly & Company in 1841 in New York City by John Norton Jr., In 1834, John Norton, Jr. moved to New York in 1834, he was born in Eastport, Maine in 1816. John Norton, Jr. John Norton, Jr. shipping experience started in 1840 when he became a partner in Russell & Norton, a shipping agency for with routes from Florida to the West India. The ship operated out of Apalachicola, Florida and in 1851 added an Australia route to the line. In 1854 John Norton Jr., and his son, Edward N. Norton, opened his own shipping agency, Norton & Company and became the manager of the sailing ship Sea Flower , which operated out of Pensacola, Florida. Norton and son expanded and added a South America route with packet sailing ships. John Norton Jr. second son Augustus Norton joined the firm in 1878. Augustus Norton died on October 17, 1889, and a year later John Norton Jr. died on October 30, 1890. Edward N. Norton continued to run Russell & Norton, but in 1907, add a partner Joseph Thomas Lilly. With the new partnership, the firm was renamed Norton Lilly & Company.
Polarus Steamship Company was founded in 1918, and again in 1923 in New York City by Tikhon Nicholas Agapeyeff (1891–1931). Tikhon N. Agapeyeff's 1918 frim, operated for only about two years. In March 1921, Agapeyeff sold the first Polarus Steamship Company to the C. M. Fetterolf Company for $250,000. The next incorporation in 1923 was a partnership of Agapeyeff, Marcel Levy, and Charles S. Dunaif. Marcel Levy was an attorney and Charles S. Dunaif was an exporter.
Smith-Johnson Steamship Corporation, Smith & Johnson was founded by Howell B. Smith (1898-1979) and Algot W. Johnson (1900-1987) in 1921 in New York City. Howell B. Smith and Algot W. Johnson worked as ship brokers for the Munson Steamship Line before starting their own firm in 1921. Smith-Johnson Steamship Corporation's main work was as a shipbroker for Norwegian ships. During World War II Smith & Johnson operated ships to support the war effort, they also opened an office in New Orleans. Unlike other firms, they did not purchase any of the many surplus ships after the war. Smith and Johnson sold the firm in 1955, it continued to operate under other names till about 1982.
United States Navigation Company was founded by Edward Carl Wilhelm Oelsner (1888-1973) in New York City in 1917. Oelsner was a Prussian-born German, who came to America in 1908. In 1915 became a manager of the Hamburg America Line's New York office. In 1917 he became a steamship broker, he then founded his own steamship brokerage firm, United States Navigation Company. United States Navigation Company's first clients were the Hamburg-American Line and North German Lloyd Line. Next Oelsner entered into a joint venture with Biehl & Company chartering ships that serviced the Gulf of Mexico ports. United States Navigation Company when went from just a shipbroker to a ship owner, with the purchase of 1885 SS City of Salisbury, a 397-ton cargo ship. On March 7, 1973, Oelsner died, he and his wife, Eva, were on vacation in Torremolinos, Spain. United States Navigation Company continued doing business. In 1979 the United States Navigation Company was sold and in 1981 closed. The United States Navigation Company supported the World War II effort with its ship and as an operator of United States owned ships.
Olympic Steamship Company was founded in Seattle, Washington, on August 22, 1925, by John Ambler, Charles A. Wallace, and William W. Shorthill. The Olympic Steamship Company had routes that served the Pacific Northwest. The Olympic Steamship Company had a fleet of about 4 ships. The Olympic Steamship Company was named after The Olympic Mountains in the state of Washington. John Ambler was an attorney, and Charles A. Wallace previously worked at Fisher Flouring Mills Company. William W. Shorthill was a clerk at The Pacific Steamship Company. After the start of the company, Joseph L. Carman, Jr., became vice president. Carman was previously president of Alaska Washington Airways. Olympic Steamship Company's first ship was an acquired 5,335-tonne tanker named the SS Dayton. Olympic Steamship Company renamed the Dayton the SS Olympic. The SS Olympic was built in 1907 as the Harport in South Shields, England. In 1936, Olympic Steamship Company entered into a joint venture with James Griffiths & Sons, Inc., as the Consolidated Olympic Company. The Consolidated Olympic Company offered a Long Beach, California, Seattle, and Tacoma, Washington, route on the Consolidated Olympic Line. The Consolidated Olympic Line was later renamed the Olympic-Griffiths Line. The Olympic-Griffiths Line acquired the 7,216-tonne cargo ship SS Olympic Pioneer, which was used on Pacific Northwest lumber and newsprint routes. The SS Olympic Pioneer also made two long voyages on the world trade route. The SS Olympic Pioneer then moved to a route from Puget Sound to Japan, moving US Army supplies. Olympic-Griffiths Line chartered ships for the other routes on the line. Ernest Clayton became president of the firm in 1940. Ernest Clayton previously worked for the McCormick Steamship Company. The Olympic Steamship Company was active in supporting the World War II effort.
American Foreign Steamship Corporation was founded in Brooklyn, New York City, in 1932 by Ira L. Rosenson, Sophia Pruss and Elias Katz. Rosenson was an attorney and the major shareholder in the firm. American Foreign Steamship Corporation purchased a 5,570-ton cargo ship SS Eastern Glen from the American South African Line in 1933. American Foreign Steamship Corporation named the ship the SS American Oriole. The ship was built by Kabushiki Kaisha Uchida Zosengo company of Yokohama, Japan, in 1920. The ship was a United States Shipping Board ship. The next two ships purchased was the SS Liberty Glo and SS Wildwood, these were Hog Islanders type ships. The two ships were purchased from the South Atlantic Steamship Company. In 1938 another Hog Islanders ship was purchased the, SS Magmeric, renamed the SS American Robin. The American Oriole was sold to England in 1940 to help with the World War II efforts. She was renamed the SS Barberrys, but on November 26, 1942, she was sunk by a torpedoed from German submarine U-663 off of St. John's, Newfoundland.
West India Steamship Company was a passenger and cargo steamship company founded in New York City in 1910. West India Steamship Company was founded by Edward R. Bacon, Robert Bacon and Daniel Bacon. Edward R. Bacon was an attorney and Daniel Bacon was a ship broker. Before founding West India Steamship Company all three had worked for the Barnes Steamship Company. They operated the West India Steamship Line. By 1913, West India Steamship Company had cargo routes from New York City and Norfolk, Virginia to Cuba, Mexico, Colón, Panama, and the Windward Islands. By 1921 West India Steamship Company added routes from Mobile, Alabama, to a number of West Indies ports. West India Steamship Company was active in supporting the World War II efforts.
American Range-Liberty Lines, Inc. was founded as a joint venture of American Range Lines, Inc. and American Liberty Steamship Corporation of New York City on September 8, 1943. American Range-Liberty Lines, Inc. President was Jacob L. Alwine. A. D. Rissmiller was American Liberty Steamship Corporation president. The joint venture to operate was approved by the General Agency Assignment for the War Shipping Administration.
Prudential Steamship Corporation was a shipping company founded in 1933 in New York City by Stephan Stephanidis. Prudential Steamship Corporation operated the Prudential Lines. Prudential Lines main routes was from the United States to Mediterranean ports. The Prudential Lines was never successful and was always near bankruptcy. Prudential Lines was active in supporting the World War II efforts. At its peak in the 1960s Prudential Lines owned and operated two tankers, and five cargo ships. In 1960 the Prudential Steamship Corporation was sold to Spyros Skouras and his family. In 1969 the Prudential Lines merged with Grace Lines, which continued to operate the fleet as the Prudential Grace Line.
William J. Rountree Company was a steamship agent and broker company founded by William J. Rountree in New York City in 1912. William J. Rountree Company was active in supporting the World War II effort by chartering and operating Liberty ships and Victory ships.
Bernuth-Lembcke Company was a tanker ship transportation company founded in 1918 in New York City by Oscar Max von Bernuth and Carlos Eduardo Lembcke. Earlier Oscar Max von Bernuth founded his own company, Bernuth Corporation, on December 20, 1907, in at Suffolk, New York. Carlos Eduardo Lembcke. Earlier founded his own company, C. Lembeke & Company, in 1889. Bernuth-Lembcke Company were active in supporting the World War II effort, shipping fuel oil.
T. J. Stevenson & Company, Inc. was a shipping firm founded in New York City by Thomas J. Stevenson on December 2, 1935. In 1920 Thomas J. Stevenson started working as a ship broker in New York City. Thomas J. Stevenson's father Henery Stevenson worked as a clerk at a shipping firm in New York City starting in 1910. T. J. Stevenson & Company supported the World War II effort by operating United States owned ships. After the war T. J. Stevenson & Company purchased surplus war cargo ships. Thomas J. Stevenson was born in 1892 and died on January 28, 1968.
