International Navigation Company
The International Navigation Company ( INCo ) was a US shipping company headquartered in Philadelphia . The company operated a liner service on the transatlantic route between North America and Europe .
history
In 1871 the International Navigation Company was founded to operate a scheduled service from Philadelphia to Europe. The external symbol for ships of the shipping company or, more precisely, the direct subsidiary was a black chimney with a white band in the upper third.
Since the main source of income for shipping companies at that time was the transport of emigrants and these traveled from Europe to the USA, the new company needed a representative office in Europe. The new company followed the example of other American shipping companies (e.g. Guion Line ) and founded a subsidiary on European soil. In 1872 the Societé Anonyme de Navigation Belge-Americaine SA , better known as Red Star Line , was founded with headquarters in Antwerp . What exactly was the reason for the new company to be based in Belgium is not known, but the shipping company developed well and New York soon became the terminal port in North America.
In 1884 the hapless American Line was bought up, which since 1872 had also operated a line service from Philadelphia to Europe, more precisely to Liverpool . The INCo was now represented by two shipping companies in the transatlantic service and this service was finally beginning to be quite successful. In 1886 the traditional British Inman Line , which had got into financial difficulties, was bought up and renamed Inman & International Steamship Company Ltd. ( I&I ) joined the growing INCo empire. The two sister ships City of New York and City of Paris were built for this shipping company in 1888 and 1889, respectively. Not only were they the largest ships in the world at the time with 10,499 GRT , but at more than 20 knots they were also the fastest. They were the only INCo ships that won the Blue Ribbon .
In 1893, the US Congress passed a special law that allowed Inman ships to be flagged into the USA. The shipping company Inman & International SS Co. Ltd. was disbanded and all of their ships, now under the Stars and Stripes, were transferred to the American Line . In 1895, the sister ships St. Louis and St. Paul, measured with 11629 GRT, began operation, both ships had to be built at US shipyards so that the Inman ships could be flagged for the USA. This was a condition set by the US Congress. For a long time the St. Louis and St. Paul would be the last large passenger ships to be delivered from a US shipyard.
In 1900 the International Navigation Co. was bought by the US bank tycoon JP Morgan , who had a plan to build a monopoly in transatlantic shipping. Morgan quickly added such respected shipping companies as the Atlantic Transport Line , Leyland Line , White Star Line and the Dominion Line to his fast-growing empire . In 1904 the INCo was renamed the International Mercantile Marine Company ( IMMC ) and expanded into a holding company for all companies acquired by Morgan. The INCo itself, however, was practically dissolved, its subsidiary Red Star Line and American Line continued to exist under IMMC direction.
Ships (American Line)
| year | Surname | tonnage | shipyard | Status / fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1873 | Abbotsford | 2595 GRT | k. A. | Sunk at Anglesey in 1875 |
| 1873 | Kenilworth | 2595 GRT | k. A. | Sold in 1875 |
| 1873 | Pennsylvania | 3488 GRT | W. Cramp & Sons Ltd., New York | Sold in 1898 |
| 1873 | Ohio | 3488 GRT | W. Cramp & Sons Ltd., New York | Sold in 1898 |
| 1874 | Indiana | 3488 GRT | W. Cramp & Sons Ltd., New York | Sold in 1898 |
| 1874 | Illinois | 3488 GRT | W. Cramp & Sons Ltd., New York | Sold in 1897 |
| 1893 ( 1888 ) | new York | 10,499 GRT | J. & G. Thomson Ltd., Glasgow | 1888: ex City of New York , Inman Line / 1893 to INCo / 1920 out of service |
| 1893 ( 1889 ) | Philadelphia | 10,499 GRT | J. & G. Thomson Ltd., Glasgow | 1889: ex City of Paris , Inman Line / 1893 to INCo / 1920 out of service |
| 1893 ( 1874 ) | Berlin | 5526 GRT | Caird & Co. Ltd., Greenock | 1874: ex City of Berlin , Inman Line / 1893 sold to INCo / 1898 |
| 1893 ( 1872 ) | Chester | 4791 GRT | Caird & Co. Ltd., Greenock | 1872: ex City of Chester , Inman Line / 1893 sold to INCo / 1898 |
| 1894 | Southwark | 8669 GRT | W. Denny & Bros. Ltd., Dumbarton | 1911 out of service |
| 1894 | Kensington | 8669 GRT | J. & G. Thomson Ltd., Glasgow | 1910 out of service |
| 1895 | St. Louis | 11629 GRT | W. Cramp & Sons Ltd., New York | 1920 out of service |
| 1895 | St. Paul | 11629 GRT | W. Cramp & Sons Ltd., New York | 1923 out of service |
| 1901 | Haverford | 11635 GRT | J. Brown & Co. Ltd., Clydebank | Launched in 1920 / sold for demolition in 1925 |
| 1902 | Merion | 11635 GRT | J. Brown & Co. Ltd., Clydebank | Sold in 1914 |