Farrell Lines Incorporated was a boat company named in 1948 after James A. Farrell, Jr., and John J. Farrell, sons of

James Augustine Farrell James Augustine Farrell Sr. (February 15, 1863 – March 28, 1943) was president of US Steel from 1911 to 1932. A major business figure of his era, Farrell expanded US Steel by a factor of five during his presidency, turning it into America's f ...

, president of

US Steel United States Steel Corporation, more commonly known as U.S. Steel, is an American integrated steel producer headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with production operations primarily in the United States of America and in several countries ...

. The company was previously known as American South African Lines (ASAL). It was a passenger line and cargo line in regular service from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

stopping at

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Sou ...

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

and Lourenço Marques (

Maputo Maputo (), formerly named Lourenço Marques until 1976, is the Capital city, capital, and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a popul ...

) in

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

. The ships were well-appointed and carried about 180 passengers.

Flag

In heraldic terms, the house flag is field per saltire red and blue, overlaid by a white

saltire A saltire, also called Saint Andrew's Cross or the crux decussata, is a heraldic symbol in the form of a diagonal cross, like the shape of the letter X in Roman type. The word comes from the Middle French ''sautoir'', Medieval Latin ''saltator ...

Original routes

*1925 New York to

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...

*1935 New York to

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

*1965

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

East Coast East Coast may refer to: Entertainment * East Coast hip hop, a subgenre of hip hop * East Coast (ASAP Ferg song), "East Coast" (ASAP Ferg song), 2017 * East Coast (Saves the Day song), "East Coast" (Saves the Day song), 2004 * East Coast FM, a ra ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

*1975 U.S.

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

to Australia and New Zealand

Ships funnel

The ships

funnel A funnel is a tube or pipe that is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, used for guiding liquid or powder into a small opening. Funnels are usually made of stainless steel, aluminium, glass, or plastic. The material used in its construct ...

(smokestack) *1925 - 1946

Buff Buff or BUFF may refer to: People * Buff (surname), a list of people * Buff (nickname), a list of people * Johnny Buff, ring name of American world champion boxer John Lisky (1888–1955) * Buff Bagwell, a ring name of American professional wr ...

*1946 - 2000 Buff with black top and depiction of houseflag

Reporting mark

FRLU *Note: Marks ending in U are for

container A container is any receptacle or enclosure for holding a product used in storage, packaging, and transportation, including shipping. Things kept inside of a container are protected on several sides by being inside of its structure. The term ...

owners.

History

The heritage and shipping prowess of Farrell Lines can be traced back to the early 1900s when

James A. Farrell James Augustine Farrell Sr. (February 15, 1863 – March 28, 1943) was president of US Steel from 1911 to 1932. A major business figure of his era, Farrell expanded US Steel by a factor of five during his presidency, turning it into America's f ...

Sr., the late president of the

United States Steel Corporation United States Steel Corporation, more commonly known as U.S. Steel, is an American integrated steel producer headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with production operations primarily in the United States of America and in several countries ...

, established his own steamship company. The

Isthmian Steamship Company The Isthmian Steamship Company was a shipping company founded by US Steel in 1910. Isthmian Steamship was the brainchild of US Steel President James A. Farrell, who had connections with the maritime industry through his father's trade as a ship ...

was created in 1910 as a subsidiary of U.S. Steel and was designed to mitigate the costs of shipping U.S. Steel's freight. James A. Farrell grew up the son of a ship's captain, and the knowledge he acquired aided him in establishing a shipping legacy. Farrell's foray into the shipping industry was a great success. He saved U.S. Steel Corporation substantial sums of money and ultimately decided to delve even further into this new enterprise. By 1928, Farrell was involved in several shipping ventures and operated three of the most influential companies in the industry: Argonaut Lines, Robin Lines, and the American South African Lines (ASAL). James A. Farrell Sr. had two sons to whom he imparted his shipping knowledge and business savvy. Both sons, John and James Jr., went on to operate two of the three major shipping investments. James Jr. was president of ASAL while John was principal stockholder and president of Argonaut Lines. In 1940, John abolished Argonaut Lines and transferred its vessels to ASAL. Shortly thereafter, James Jr. served in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Naval Intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a ...

, and upon returning home, he teamed up with his brother to run ASAL. The two were able to create a powerful management team and operated the main U.S. flag and passenger service between Africa and the United States. By 1948, ASAL was the only line operated by the Farrell family and the name was subsequently changed to Farrell Lines. Determined to leave their imprint on the family legacy, the Farrell brothers worked tirelessly to improve their brand and position the company for growth. In 1965, they acquired the Australia-U.S. East Coast service from

United States Lines United States Lines was the trade name of an organization of the United States Shipping Board (USSB), Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFC) created to operate German liners seized by the United States in 1917. The ships were owned by the USSB and all ...

. At this time the brothers also ceased offering passenger services, fixing their focus entirely onto the movement of cargo. Following their 1965 acquisition, growth came along rapidly, and in the early 1970s the company began the transition to containerized cargo handling. Farrell Lines purchased another string of companies in 1975, including the West-Coast Australia Service of the

Pacific Far East 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. L ...

. By 1978 Farrell Lines had become the second largest U.S.-flag merchant fleet, 44 ships, with the acquisition of the entire

American Export Lines American Export-Isbrandtsen Lines, New York, was the leading US-flag shipping company between the U.S. east coast and the Mediterranean from 1919 to 1977, offering both cargo ship and passenger ship services, until it declared bankruptcy and was ...

fleet, including two

container ships A container ship (also called boxship or spelled containership) is a cargo ship that carries all of its load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. Container ships are a common means of commercial intermodal ...

under construction or on order at

Bath Iron Works Bath Iron Works (BIW) is a major United States shipyard located on the Kennebec River in Bath, Maine, founded in 1884 as Bath Iron Works, Limited. Since 1995, Bath Iron Works has been a subsidiary of General Dynamics. It is the fifth-largest de ...

, the ''Argonaut'' and ''Resolute''. When James Jr. and John died in 1978 and 1968, respectively, they had made Farrell Lines a top-tier U.S. flag company. They had upheld their father's legacy and ultimately handed the company down to other members of the Farrell family. But difficult financial times hit the company, and Farrell Lines dropped all of its African and European routes and sold 38 of its 44 ships. By 1991, Farrell Lines continued to operate with only four ships and catered solely to the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

and

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...

Sale

Farrell Lines became a subsidiary of

P&O Nedlloyd P&O Nedlloyd Container Line Limited was an Anglo-Dutch worldwide ocean-going container shipping line, with dual headquarters in London and Rotterdam. The company was formed in 1997 by the merger of the container-shipping interests of Dutch trans ...

Container Line Ltd. in 2000, which was subsequently purchased by the A.P. Møller-Maersk Group in 2005. Following the purchase, Farrell Lines became a part of

Maersk Line Maersk Line or Maersk SeaLand is a Danish international container shipping company and the largest operating subsidiary of the Maersk Group, a Danish business conglomerate. Founded in 1928, it is the world's largest container shipping company by ...

, Limited, the U.S. flag operating arm of the A.P. Møller-Maersk Group. Under

Maersk Line, Limited (), also known simply as Maersk (), is a Danish shipping company, active in ocean and inland freight transportation and associated services, such as supply chain management and port operation. Maersk was the largest container shipping line ...

, Farrell Lines has reemerged as a U.S. flag roll-on, roll-off carrier. Maersk Line, Limited revitalized the Farrell Lines brand in 2010 and increased the fleet to four ships. Farrell Lines currently operates in partnership with Höegh Autoliners and its U.S. affiliate Alliance Navigation, focusing their efforts on transits between the U.S. East Coast and the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

to the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

and

Southwest Asia Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion of the larger geographical region of Asia, as defined by some academics, UN bodies and other institutions. It is almost entirely a part of the Middle East, and includes Anat ...

. Farrell Lines has also been able to sustain its tradition of leadership by participating in the Maritime Security Program (MSP) and the Voluntary Intermodal Sealift Agreement (VISA); both are important programs designed to support the

Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philippin ...

in its sustainment of U.S. military forces to ensure the fleet is prepared in the event that emergency deployment is needed.

Farrell Lines International

Farrell Lines International owned by Farrell Lines Inc. was a Liberian Company with offices at the Farrell House,

Monrovia Monrovia () is the capital city of the West African country of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic coast and as of the 2008 census had 1,010,970 residents, home to 29% of Liberia’s total population. As the ...

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

. It existed from the 1950s until the

First Liberian Civil War The First Liberian Civil War lasted from 1989 to 1997. President Samuel Doe had established a regime in 1980 but totalitarianism and corruption led to unpopularity and the withdrawal of support from the United States by the late 1980s. The Nat ...

, which started in 1988. The Company's Feeder Fleet operated four coastal vessels registered in

. Three were designed by Sparkman & Stevens and built by the John H. Mathis & Company,

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a city in and the county seat of Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Camden is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan area and is located directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the 2020 ...

. They were the M/V Kpo, M/V Farmington and the M/V Cestos built in the 1950s by John H. Mathis & Company, Shipbuilders. The M/V Cavalla was a converted U. S. Navy landing ship. They were delivered to

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

on their own bottoms which took approximately thirty days. These ships were designed to have good seagoing qualities and maneuverability so that they could cross a dangerous bar on their regular run. The Officers were licensed and the crew well trained to navigate the coastal waters and rivers of

. These ships brought supplies to the Firestone Natural Rubber plantation in Harbel, Liberia, as well as cargo to be flown inland by the Liberian National Airways at Robert's Field. Since she had cargo handling gear, the M/V Kpo also made regular runs to other undeveloped ports including

Cape Palmas Cape Palmas is a headland on the extreme southeast end of the coast of Liberia, Africa, at the extreme southwest corner of the northern half of the continent. The Cape itself consists of a small, rocky peninsula connected to the mainland by a san ...

. On their return to Monrovia they carried baled rubber as well as latex for trans-shipment to the United States. Having been a

Harbor Pilot A maritime pilot, marine pilot, harbor pilot, port pilot, ship pilot, or simply pilot, is a mariner who maneuvers ships through dangerous or congested waters, such as harbors or river mouths. Maritime pilots are regarded as skilled professionals ...

for the Port of Monrovia and the Captain of ships in the Farrell Feeder Fleet, I have first hand knowledge of these facts. Additional resources include Sparkman & Stevens designs 864 and 920 and the John H. Mathis & Co. Shipbuilders web site.

Current fleet

The Farrell Line fleet currently consists of three pure car/truck carriers built by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., Ltd. In February 2010, Farrell Lines expanded its U.S. flag fleet with larger vessels to meet customers' growing demand. The ''Alliance Beaumont'' and ''Alliance Charleston'', which have adjustable deck configurations to optimize space and maximize militarily useful stowage, joined the ''Alliance St. Louis'' and ''Alliance Norfolk''. The Alliance Beaumont and Alliance Charleston went to Leif Höegh & Co to the fleet of Höegh Autoliners and renamed as ''Höegh Tokyo'' and ''Höegh London'' respectfully and the ''Alliance Fairfax'' joined the Farrell Line Fleet 2013. Welcome To Höegh
/ref>

Farrell Lines New York office

Farrell Lines fourteenth floor office at its downtown

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

location was full of ship models and paintings of ships. Behind the receptionist, as you came in the door, there was a world map with chains of white lights showing the various trade routes served by Farrell Lines ships. The world was illuminated by the white lights across the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

, the Mediterranean and the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

s. John J. Farrell used to stop by before the Christmas holiday and distributed a two-week holiday check to each employee in both good times and bad. Families were a topic John cherished dearly. John was deeply saddened by the loss of his younger brother James many years earlier. The company's maps and other items display a shield with the company's flag under a ship surrounded by two sea-horses on each side above sea waves. The ship depicted in the official logo, was the SS Tusitalia, the last US flag commercial vessel powered by sails, yet the first to be assisted by a steam engine.

Vessels

* Argonaut Lines **Atlantic ** Charles H. Cramp **Henry S. Grove **Lancaster
Pacific

*

United States Shipping Board The United States Shipping Board (USSB) was established as an emergency agency by the 1916 Shipping Act (39 Stat. 729), on September 7, 1916. The United States Shipping Board's task was to increase the number of US ships supporting the World War ...

Challenger
** Eastern Glade **Eastern Glen ** ** West Isleta ** West Cheswald **Western Knight *

War Shipping Administration The War Shipping Administration (WSA) was a World War II emergency war agency of the US government, tasked to purchase and operate the civilian shipping tonnage the United States needed for fighting the war. Both shipbuilding under the Maritime Co ...

-Owner (ASAL)Operator ** SS Samuel Ashe ** SS Bernard Carter
Chincha
**

SS Jeremiah M. Daily SS ''Jeremiah M. Daily'' was a Liberty ship built for the United States Maritime Commission during World War II. The ship was named in honor of Jeremiah M. Daily, (1871-1924) who was the manager of marine department of the San Francisco Chamber o ...

** SS Minnie M. Fiske
Daniel Morgan
** SS Henry St. George Tucker ** Escabana Victory (USS Regulus (AF-57) **

SS Maritime Victory SS ''Maritime Victory'', hull number 821, VC2-S-AP2/WSAT, renamed USAT ''Pvt. Frederick C. Murphy'', was an American Army troop transport which saw duty just after World War II. The ''Maritime Victory'' was unusual in that as an AP2 vessel, t ...

SS George Washington Carver SS ''George Washington Carver'' was a Liberty ship built for the United States Maritime Commission during World War II. The ship was named in honor of George Washington Carver, and was the second Liberty ship named for an African American. The ...

William Hopper
*Farrell Lines Steamship Inc
CV Argonaut
**CV Resolute ** African Comet (1)
African Comet (2)

African Dawn

African Dawn (2)
** African Endeavor *
(photo)
** African Enterprise **
(photo)
*
(photo)
**African Glade
African Glen

African Grove

African Lightning
** African Meteor (1)
African Meteor (2)

African Moon

**African Patriot **African Pilgrim
African Pilot
** African Planet (1)
African Planet (2)

African Rainbow

African Star (1)
**African Star (2)
African Sun
**Alliance Beaumont
(photo)
**Alliance Charleston **Alliance Norfolk *
(photo)
**Alliance St. Louis
Austral Endurance
**Austral Energy
Austral Ensign

Austral Entente

Austral Envoy
** Austral Glen
Austral Lighting

Austral Moon

**Austral Pilot **Austral Pioneer **Austral Puritan

Australian Gem

Australian Gulf
** Australian Surf
City of New York
*
(photo)
**

Highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Albania * Dukagjin Highlands Armenia * Armenian Highlands Australia *Sou ...

James A. Farrell
** Manderson Victory
Richard Bland
** Soubarissen *Farrell Lines International: **M/V Kpo **M/V Farmington **M/V Cestos **M/V Cavalla *

** CV Lightning ** CV Staghound **Defiance
Export Adventurer

Export Agent

Export Aide

Export Ambassador

Export Banner

Export Bay
**Export Builder
Export Buyer
**Export Challenger **Export Champion **Export Commerce ** Export Courier **Export Defender **Export Democracy **Export Diplomat
Four Aces
**Export Freedom ** Export Leader
Export Patriot
**Great Republic
Red Jacket
** Young America See also
*

Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific Steamship Company The Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific Steamship Corporation of Baltimore, Maryland, was incorporated in May 1920. Its primary mission was to transport goods and produce across the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, across the Pacific Ocean, Pacific and coast to ...

Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company The Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company was a United States shipyard, active from 1917 to 1948. It was founded during World War I to build ships for the United States Shipping Board. During World War II, it built ships as part of the U.S. Gov ...

*(Search for American South African Line) ** List of Empire ships (B) **

List of Empire ships (I-J) Hundreds of Empire ships were employed by the Government of the United Kingdom. They were acquired from a number of sources: many were built for the government; others obtained from the United States; still others were captured or seized from enemy ...

List of Empire ships (M) Suffix beginning with M ''Empire MacAlpine'' ''Empire MacAlpine'' was a 7,954 GRT Merchant Aircraft Carrier (MAC) cargo ship which was built by Burntisland Shipbuilding Company Ltd, Fife. Launched on 23 December 1942 and completed in Apri ...

List of shipwrecks in March 1942 The list of shipwrecks in March 1942 includes all ships sunk, foundered, grounded, or otherwise lost during March 1942. 1 March 2 March ...

Ships gallery

References

External links

The return of Farrell Lines

A historical dictionary of the U.S. merchant marine and shipping industry: since the introduction of steam by René De La Pedraja Tomán

Farrell Lines Fleet

Port of Houston Magazine October 1982

Old Ships picture gallaries

Pacific

{{United States-flag shipping companies Shipping companies of the United States Maersk Line