American Export Lines

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The US shipping company American Export Lines Incorporated in New York existed from 1919 to 1978. They operated both passenger and freight services and was the largest shipping company under the US flag on the route from the North American east coast to the Mediterranean.

history

1919 Export Steamship Corporation Inc.

The company was founded in New York State in January 1919 as Export Steamship Corporation Inc. On May 16 of that year, the shipping company started transatlantic traffic from New York to Antwerp with the chartered freighter Millinocket . It was not until July 26th that the new Lake Festina construction began with the departure from Montreal via Gibraltar, Piraeus to the Black Sea, the Mediterranean service for which the Export Steamship Corporation became famous. In the same year, the shipping company put the first of a series of Hog Islanders, which were produced in large numbers at the American International Shipbuilding Corporation , into service. The Hog Island and other ships of the type replaced the smaller ships previously used.

In 1925, under its director Henry Herbermann, the shipping company acquired sixteen Hog ​​Islanders and two other ships from the United States Shipping Board for US $ 1,062,000 . With these ships, the shipping company offered more than 60 sailings per year from America to the Mediterranean, which was funded by the US government with state aid. The service began on August 25th that year with the departure of the Coeur D'Alene from New York.

In 1928, the company had the largest privately operated US flag fleet on the North Atlantic route with 22 ships. At the same time, the American Export Lines name had become popular for the Export Steamship Corporation. On August 3, 1928, Henry Herbermann announced the uniform naming of all ships used with the prefix " Ex ". From The Lambs was Exporter , from the Hog Iceland the Express us so on. At the same time, the shipping company received a higher subsidized mail ship contract from the Merchant Marine Act of 1928 . A few weeks later, the shipping company announced the construction of four new combination ships for the New York-Mediterranean service and the US Shipping Board approved a loan for 75% of the construction costs. Until then, the American export ships only carried up to twelve passengers. The two ships Exarch and Excelsior with 37 passenger seats were rebuilt as a foundation . After the two ships were put back into service in May and July, the Exilona was converted as the third ship in the same way and put back into service in October. The monthly round trips via Gibraltar, Malta, Alexandria, Jaffa, Haifa and Beirut, or via Gibraltar, Piraeus, Saloniki, Constantinople and Constanza lasted around 75 days and cost 375 US dollars per passenger. The new builds Excalibur , Excambion , Exeter and Exochorda , announced in 1928 , started moving in 1931 and quickly became known as the " Four Aces ". They could each carry 125 passengers, but brought no profit against the background of the global economic crisis .

American Export Lines Inc. (from 1936)

Advertising poster for the " 4 Aces "

In March 1934, the United States Department of Commerce demanded a major reorganization of the Export Steamship Corporation and the resignation of Henry Herbermann as President. The following year, the New York Shipbuilding Corporation sold its majority stake in the shipping company to a syndicate under the leadership of Lehman Brothers and Thomas L. Chadbourne. In August 1936, the newly founded American Export Lines Inc. emerged from this transaction.

After the end of World War II, American Export Lines resumed its pre-war passenger service to the Mediterranean ports in April 1946 with the motor ship Vulcania, built in 1927 for Cosulich Line, and the C4-S-A3 ships Marine Shark and Marine Carp . The Vulcania was at this time, however, already for the shipping company going. On November 1, 1946, she completed her sixth voyage in New York and was returned to Italy two weeks later with her sister ship Saturnia laid up in New York . The following voyages were managed by the Italia shipping company , which American Export selected as its American agency.

In November 1947, the shipping company published plans to build two 23,000-ton express liner passenger ships for service between New York, Naples, Cannes and Genoa, a route on which they would compete with Italy. American Export had made construction contingent on the approval of the United States Maritime Commission for a 50 percent construction grant under the 1936 Merchant Marine Act . In addition, the shipping company took over four attack cargo ships from the US Navy , which replaced the four old " Four Aces " passenger ships after a conversion in 1948 . As Excalibur , Excambion , Exeter and Exochorda , they could each carry 125 passengers and served on the route Hoboken, New Jersey to Cadiz, Barcelona, ​​Marseille, Naples, Beirut, Alexandria, Piraeus, Naples, Marseille, Genoa, Livorno, Barcelona and return .

Named after the famous US Navy sailing ships of 1812, the Independence and Constitution were built at the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation in Quincy, Massachusetts. The twin-screw turbine ships measured at 23,719 GRT ran 23 knots and offered space for 295 passengers in first class, 375 passengers in cabin class and 330 passengers in tourist class. The Independence left New York on February 11, 1951 for the first voyage via Gibraltar, Naples and Genoa. The sister ship Constitution followed in June. As the third ship , the Atlantic, previously used by Banner Line , completed the trio in 1960 . In October 1960, the Isbrandtsen Company from New York acquired the shares of the couple C. Michael Paul and thus the majority of American Export Lines, whereupon the name was changed in October 1962 to American Export and Isbrandtsen Lines .

American Export & Isbrandtsen Lines Inc. (from 1962) and American Export Isbrandtsen Lines Inc. (from 1963)

Also in late 1960, American Export & Isbrandtsen Lines reached an agreement with the United States Maritime Commission to operate the reactor ship Savannah . The same happened with the ships of the Sea Witch class from 1968.

In 1963 the somewhat cumbersome shipping company name was changed to American Export Isbrandtsen Lines .

In the course of the 1960s, the shipping company's liner passenger services accumulated high losses. In 1960, the Exochorda and Excambion were the first passenger ships to be withdrawn from regular service, launched until 1965 and 1967 and then sold. The other two " Four Aces " ships went to CYTung's Oriental Overseas Line in 1965 . Due to the triumphant advance of passenger aviation , problems with the trade unions and the competition with the more modern ships of the Italia Line, money continued to be lost, so that the operation of the remaining passenger ships Independence was discontinued in 1967 and the Constitution in the following year and the passenger service withdrew.

The Savannah was also unsuccessful. She never carried more than 25 passengers and was used exclusively as a cargo ship from 1965. Although the ship was fitted with nuclear fuel rods a second time in 1968, the reactor was expanded in 1970/71 and the ship was finally decommissioned on January 10, 1972.

American Export Lines Inc. (from 1973)

In 1973 the Isbrandtsen Company withdrew from the shipping company, which was then renamed back to American Export Line. On March 28, 1978, Farrell Lines from New York took over American Export Lines, making it the largest privately owned shipping company in the United States. The shipping company and the name American Export Lines then disappeared, but was largely retained as American Export Service for Farrell services from the American east coast to the Mediterranean, Great Britain and Northern Europe.

Web links

Commons : American Export Lines  - collection of images, videos, and audio files