American Mail Line of Seattle, Washington was a commercial steamship service with routes to and from Seattle, Washington and the Far East. American Mail Line was founded in 1920, by Pacific Steamship Company also with a $500,000 investment from Dollar Shipping Company. The American Mail Line operated regular service until June 1938. American Mail Line was not profitable and ran with subsidies from Dollar, due to the cancellation of the ocean mail contracts. American Mail Line - And their affiliate Dollar Steamship Lines operated Trans-Pacific Routes, primarily from China and Japan to Canada and the United States. Some of the American Mail Line ships come for the Admiral Oriental Company when Dollar became the owner of Admiral Oriental Line. Admiral Oriental Line formed by H. F. Alexander was acquired in 1922 and renamed the American Mail Line
Pacific Far East Line, also called PFEL in short, was a passenger and cargo shipping line founded in 1943 by Thomas E. Cuffe, in San Francisco, California. At the beginning he started by chartering foreign ships to run the lines in tramp trade. Later scheduled cargo services were added to the line. During World War II the South Atlantic steamship line was active with charter shipping with the Maritime Commission and War Shipping Administration.
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.
Black Diamond Steamship Company (BDSC) was a passengers and cargo Liners of New York City. The Black Diamond Steamship Corporation was founded by J.E. Dockendorff in 1919. First called the American Diamond Line which cargo routes were between New York to Rotterdam and Antwerp by the United States Shipping Board. The company was profitable in the 1920s and early 1930s. Before the United States entered World War II, the US's neutrality, ended much of the lines trade. Dockendorff stepped down as a principal executive in 1934. In 1934 he sold the only ship he had the SS New Britain which he had purchased in 1918, the other 20 ships were government owned. During World War II the company sold most of its American Diamond Line ships and moved to charter shipping. During World War II Black Diamond Steamship Company was active with charter shipping with the Maritime Commission and War Shipping Administration. During wartime, the Black Diamond Steamship Company operated Victory ships and Liberty ships. The ship was run by its crew and the US Navy supplied United States Navy Armed Guards to man the deck guns and radio. The most common armament mounted on these merchant ships were the MK II 20mm Oerlikon autocannon and the 3"/50, 4"/50, and 5"/38 deck guns. After the war there were many surplus ships and much competitions. Black Diamond Steamship Company continued to operated after the war, but closed in the 1955.
Shepard Steamship Company of Boston, Massachusetts was founded in 1930 by Otis N Shepard, and H B, Shepard with service from Pacific Coast to Philadelphia, New York City, Albany and Boston. Service was called the Shepard Line Shepard Steamship Company moved to 21 West Street, New York City in 1947. The Shepard Steamship Company's main cargo was lumber products. Otis N Shepard company, Otis Shepard & Co. partnered with George H. Morse in 1868 to form Shepard & Morse Lumber Company of Burlington, Vermont. During World War II the Shepard Steamship Company was active in charter shipping with the Maritime Commission and War Shipping Administration. During wartime, the Shepard Steamship Company operated Victory ships and Liberty shipss. The ship was run by its crew and the US Navy supplied United States Navy Armed Guards to man the deck guns and radio. The most common armament mounted on these merchant ships were the MK II 20mm Oerlikon autocannon and the 3"/50, 4"/50, and 5"/38 deck guns.
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.
States Steamship Company, also called States Line and SSS, was started in 1928 by Charles Dant, in Portland, Oregon and later moved to the headquarters to San Francisco. Dant started the States Steamship Company to take his lumber product to market. He had a fleet of lumber schooners. Dant started by leasing ships from the United States Shipping Board - Emergency Fleet Corporation and founded the Columbia Pacific Steamship Company in 1919, Columbia Pacific Steamship Company routes were between Portland, Far East and Europe. In 1928 Dant merged the Columbia Pacific Steamship Company into the States Steamship Company. The Europe route ended in 1932 and the ship moved to a Philippines route. With the shift to container shipping in the 1960s and Dant's fleet of ships becoming older and obsolete, the company into bankruptcy in 1979. States Line operated four subsidies: Pacific-Atlantic Steamship Company, California Eastern Line founded in 1937 for lumber shipping, Oregon Oriental Line and the Quaker Line.
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.
J. H. Winchester & Company was founded by James Henry Winchester (1824-1913) in New York City in 1856. J. H. Winchester & Company was a cargo agent for the United States Shipping Board post World War I, in the 1920s. Winchester raised and born in Annapolis, Nova Scotia, Canada, on June 4, 1824. He moved to the United States in 1831 and settled in Eastport, Maine. Winchester completed the United States naturalized prossess on July 7, 1845 and became a US citizen. He moved to New York and became a ship captain. In New York became a partner in two brigantine sailing ships, one the Mary Celeste. The Mary Celeste was found hastily abandoned in 1872 between the Azores and Portugal. The abandonment is still a mystery today.
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 as 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.
Parry Navigation Company was a shipping company founded in 1942 by Alfred Walter Parry Jr. in New York City. Alfred Walter Parry Jr. first career was ship broker with Smith & Terry Inc. in New York City. He was also the office manager of the Interocean Steamship Company of New York in New Orleans. Smith & Terry Inc also were managing agents for the some United States Shipping Board ships. Alfred Walter Parry Jr. father, Alfred Walter Parry, Sr., was an agent for a railroad company. Parry Navigation Company operated ships for the World War II. Alfred Walter Parry Jr. became a Colonel in the United States Army. Parry served with the US Army Transportation Corps in the South Pacific Ocean. Parry Navigation Company expanded the company and opened an office in San Francisco in 1945. Parry Navigation Company stated the Parry Line in 1947 and expanded with route to Galveston, Texas. The Parry Line had routes from the West Coast of the United States to Manila, Shanghai, Hong Kong and North China. Parry was the vice president for the Lykes Brothers Steamship Company for a few years. Parry was awarded the Legion of Merit and World War II Victory Medal for his service in the US Army Transportation Corps. Charles W. Perkes was a manager in Parry Navigation Company. Perkes, before Parry worked for the Dollar Line.
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.
Olympic Steamship Company was founded in Seattle, Washington on August 22, 1925 by John Ambler, Charles A. Wallace and William W. Shorthill. Olympic Steamship Company had routes that served the Pacific Northwest. Olympic Steamship Company had a fleet of about 4 ships. Olympic Steamship Company was named after 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 Pacific Steamship Company. After the start of the company Joseph L. Carman, Jr., became the vice president. Carman previously was president of Alaska Washington Airways. Olympic Steamship Company's first ship was an acquired 5,335-ton tanker, named the SS Dayton. Olympic Steamship Company renamed the Dayton, the SS Olympic. SS Olympic was built in 1907 as the Harport in South Shields, England. In 1936 Olympic Steamship Company went into a joint venture with James Griffiths & Sons, Inc., as the Consolidated Olympic Company. Consolidated Olympic Company offered a Long Beach, California, Seattle, 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-ton cargo ship SS Olympic Pioneer, which was used on Pacific Northwest lumber and newsprint routes. SS Olympic Pioneer also did two long voyages on world wide trade route. The SS Olympic Pioneer then moved to a routed 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. 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.
Dichmann, Wright & Pugh, Inc. was shipping company founded in Norfolk, Virginia in 1925 by Vilh Dichmann, Bland Saunders Wright, Frank C. Pugh, Clint B. Sellers, and Alan Smith. Pugh had operated a company office in Philadelphia. Clint B. Sellers operated a company office in New York City. Saunders Wright was Dichmann, Wright & Pugh, Inc. President. Alan Smith was the company secretary and treasurer. Bland Saunders Wright worked in the Dichmann, Wright & Pugh, Inc. headquarters in Norfolk until his death on October 16, 1944. After Wright death, Alan Smith became president of Dichmann, Wright & Pugh, Inc and John M. Levick became assistant secretary and treasurer. With the start of World War II Dichmann, Wright & Pugh, Inc. supported the war effort.
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.
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.
