Industry | Transportation and shipping |
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Founded | 1933New York City | in
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Sword Line Inc. was a steamship company founded by Charilaos "Charles" G. Poulacos and Abbott Abercrombie in New York City in 1933. Sword Line Inc. had shipping routes from Atlantic ports to and Gulf of Mexico ports. Charilaos "Charles" G. Poulacos and Abbott Abercrombie purchased the ship Eastern Sword in 1932. The Eastern Sword was a 3,785-ton cargo ship built in 1920 at the Uraga Dry Dock Co. Ltd, at Uraga, Japan. The ship sank after being hit by a torpedo from German submarine U-162 on May 4, 1942 twelve miles (19 km) off the coast of Georgetown, Guyana. The Eastern Sword had a crew of 38 and only 13 survived the attack. Sword Line Inc. was active in supporting the World War II effort. [1] [2]
At the time Sword Line, Inc. was purchased, in 1932, Captain Charles G. Poulacos and Abbott Abercrombie were working as assistant director at steamship company. Poulacos was president of Sword Line, Inc. Poulacos and Abercrombie purchased the Eastern Sword from the United States Shipping Board for $54,000. Sword Line, Inc. headquarters was at 76 Beaver St., New York, New York. Poulacos was born in Greece in 1884 and came to America in 1915. Sword Line, Inc. was successful and purchased three more ships. In 1939 Poulacos purchased share of Abercrombie Sword Line, Inc. Poulacos then worked for an electrical distributing company. Eastern Sword had one sister ship, the Ugo Maru, it was not purchased by the United States Shipping Board. The Ugo Maru became an Auxiliary Transport ship in the Empire of Japan. On October 20, 1944, the Ugo Maru was also sunk. Ugo Maru was hit by a torpedo from an American submarine USS Hammerhead (SS-364) off Miri, Borneo. [3] [4]
Sword Line, Inc. ships were used to help the World War II effort. During World War II Sword Line, Inc. operated Merchant navy ships for the United States Shipping Board. During World War II Sword Line, Inc. was active with charter shipping with the Maritime Commission and War Shipping Administration. Sword Line, Inc. operated Liberty ships and Victory ships for the merchant navy. The ship was run by its Sword Line, Inc. crew and the US Navy supplied United States Navy Armed Guards to man the deck guns and radio. [5] [6] [7]