Pacific Far East Line, also called PFEL in short, was a

passenger A passenger (also abbreviated as pax) is a person who travels in a vehicle, but does not bear any responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination or otherwise operate the vehicle, and is not a steward. The ...

and

cargo Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including trans ...

shipping line founded in 1943 by Thomas E. Cuffe, in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. At the beginning he started by chartering foreign ships to run the lines in

tramp trade A boat or ship engaged in the tramp trade is one which does not have a fixed schedule, itinerary nor published ports of call, and trades on the spot market as opposed to freight liners. A steamship engaged in the tramp trade is sometimes called ...

. 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 The United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 195 ...

and

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 ...

. After World War II Pacific Far East Line purchased some of the low-cost surplus ships. All purchased ships were given names ending with the word "Bear". Pacific Far East Line flag was blue with a golden bear and below the letters PFEL, and Pacific Far East Line ads called PFEL routes "Routes of the Bear". During wartime, the South Atlantic steamship line operated

Victory ship The Victory ship was a class of cargo ship produced in large numbers by North American shipyards during World War II to replace losses caused by German submarines. They were a more modern design compared to the earlier Liberty ship, were slight ...

s and

Liberty ships Liberty ships were a ship class, class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost constr ...

s. Chairman Thomas E. Cuffe died in 1959. Pacific Far East Line operated some

Lighter aboard ship The lighter aboard ship (LASH) system refers to the practice of loading barges (lighters) aboard a bigger vessel for transport. It was developed in response to a need to transport lighters, a type of (usually but not always) unpowered barge, be ...

(LASH ships). In 1977 The US Maritime Subsidy Board approved the application of Pacific Far East Line, Inc. (PFEL) for being granted a construction-differential subsidy (CDS) for financing the reconstruction of four LASH barge carriers into full

container ship 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 ...

s at Bethlehem Steel's San Francisco shipyard at a cost of U$5 millions each. The four ships were the Thomas E. Cuffe, Golden Bear, Japan Bear, and the Pacific Bear, all built in 1971 and 1972 at Avondale Shipyards, Inc., New Orleans, La. However, as containerization expanded, Pacific Far East Line failed to upgrade sufficiently rapidly its fleet to

s and modernize as other shipping lines did in the 1970s. With the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

over Pacific Far East Line lost revenues and eventually went bankrupt and closed in 1978, all ships being sold or scrapped due to age.

Coastwise Line

Coastwise Line was owned-managed by Pacific Far East Line out of San Francisco, with Headquarters at 315 California Street. Coastwise Line was founded by Hector Hunt in 1938 in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

. The ships flew a white and blue flag with "CL" on the Flag. During World War II the Coastwise Line was active chartering ships. In 1960 Coastwise Line closed. Coastwise Line main ports were New York City, New Orleans, Galveston, Havana, and other ports. Coastwise Line operated ferry lines across San Francisco Bay, riverboats between San Francisco and Sacramento. Coastwise Line has port facilities for transferring equipment across the Sacramento River between Port Costa and Benicia, California. Main route was moving Northwest timber. Coastwise Line operated the ''Alaska service'' which ran between the Pacific Coast and British Columbia to/from Alaska. Coastwise Line operated the ''Columbia River service'' that ran between Portland, Oregon to/from Long Beach, California.

Lykes Coastwise Line

Lykes-Coastwise Line was a partnership founded in 1934 in Florida, with routes on the east coast, the agreement ended in 1946. Lykes-Coastwise Line also operated charter ships during World War II.

Pacific Far East Line Routes

*US homes ports were:

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and San Francisco. * Main foreign ports were: Japan, Yokohama, Kobe, Osaka, Okinawa, Korea, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam, Guam, Philippines, Manila, Philippine Islands, and Thailand. Also ports in Manchuria. Some ports in the

U.S.S.R. The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

Ships

file:SS American Victory.jpg, World War II

file:YAG 39 USS GEORGE EASTMAN (After being refitted with scientific equipment).jpg, World War II

Liberty ship Liberty ships were a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost construction. Mass ...

Some ships charted or owned by Pacific Far East Line and Coastwise Line: * SS Canada Bear (was SS Paducah Victory) * SS Hawaii Bear * SS Alaska Bear (was SS Bluefield Victory) * SS India Bear * SS California Bear *

SS Peter Silvester SS ''Peter Silvester'', was an American merchant marine ship built for the United States Maritime Commission. She was operated by the Pacific Far East Line under charter with the Maritime Commission and War Shipping Administration. ''Peter Sil ...

sank * SS Golden Bear LASH carrier (was Beaver Mariner) * SS Korean bear (was Sooner Mariner) * SS Hong Kong Bear C4 * SS Oregon Bear C4 * SS Washington Bear C4 (was Tar Heel Mariner) * SS Pacific Bear Sank *

SS Guam Bear USS ''General R. L. Howze'' (AP-134) was a for the U.S. Navy in World War II. The ship was crewed by the U.S. Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch ...

(renamed SS New Zealand Bear) * SS Japan Bear (was Grand Canyon Mariner) * SS Tosina * SS Portland Trader * SS Nikobar, Sank 1934 as SS Carlsholm * SS Ames Victory * SS Anchorage Victory * SS Boise Victory * SS Villanova Victory * SS Winthrop Victory charted for Vietnam War *

SS Simmons Victory USS ''Liberty'' (AGTR-5) was a ''Belmont''-class technical research ship (i.e. electronic spy ship) that was misidentified and attacked by Israel Defense Forces during the 1967 Six-Day War. She was originally built and served in World War I ...

* SS Greeley Victory * SS Owensboro Victory * SS Grinnell Victory * SS Santa Clara Victory, charted for Vietnam War * SS Rider Victory * SS Pan American Victory, charted for Vietnam War * SS Princeton Victory, charted for Vietnam War *

SS Swarthmore Victory SS ''Swarthmore Victory'' (MCV-737) was a type VC2-S-AP2 Victory-class cargo ship built for the United States during World War II. The ship was built as part of the Emergency Shipbuilding program by Permanente Metals Corporation in Yard& ...

charted for Vietnam War * SS Yugoslavia Victory * SS Luther Burbank charted for Vietnam War *

SS Morgantown Victory SS ''Morgantown Victory'' was a Victory ship built during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding program. ''Morgantown Victory'' (MCV-632) was a type VC2-S-AP2 Victory ship built by Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyards. The Maritime Administra ...

for Vietnam War * SS Lyman Stewart * SS Morrison R. Waite * SS Augustus Thomas * SS Henry M. Stephens * SS Hiram S. Maxim * SS Edwin Abbey * SS Chung Tung *

SS Fleetwood USS ''Bellatrix'' (AF-62) was an ''Alstede''-class stores ship in service with the United States Navy from 1961 to 1968, following commercial service from 1945 to 1961. She was scrapped in 1969. Prior to Commissioning The ''USS Bellatrix'' ...

SS George Eastman USS ''George Eastman'' (YAG-39), a "Liberty-type" cargo ship, was laid down under Maritime Commission contract on 24 March 1943 by Permanente Metals Corp., Yard 2, Richmond, California; launched on 20 April 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Ann Troutman; a ...

SS Rufus King SS ''Rufus King'' was a standard Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Founding Father Rufus King, and was wrecked in July 1942, upon Amity Bar South of Moreton Island and north of North Stradbroke Is ...

Coastwise Line Ships

SS Coast Farmer ''Coast Farmer'', gaining the name in 1937 and previously bearing the names ''Point Arena'' (1928) and ''Riverside Bridge'' (1920), was a U.S. Shipping Board Emergency Fleet Corporation Design 1023 ship ordered under the name ''Minnewawa'' and b ...

* SS Coast Trader sank *SS Coast Banker *SS Coast Merchant *SS Coast Shipper *SS Coast Miller * SS Codington * SS Leland Stanford * Coastal Sentry * SS La Grange *SS Abbot L. Mills *SS King S. Woolsey * SS Jacob H. Gallinger * SS James Lick * SS James W. Cannon * SS Harry Leon Wilson *SS Harvey W. Wiley *SS Henry Villard * SS Horace See * SS Benjamin Bonneville *SS Henry Longfellow * SS Charles M. Russell * SS Elizabeth Blackwell

Lykes Coastwise Line ships

*Empire Flamingo *Empire Falcon * SS Joel Chandler Harris *SS Abbot L. Mills * Empire Ortolan

PFEL LASH carrier

Two C4-S-1t

LASH carrier The lighter aboard ship (LASH) system refers to the practice of loading barges (lighters) aboard a bigger vessel for transport. It was developed in response to a need to transport lighters, a type of (usually but not always) unpowered barge, be ...

were built by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation in San Francisco: * SS China Bear 1962 LASH carrier, scrapped 1986 * SS Philippine Bear 1962 LASH carrier, scrapped 1986 The C4-S-1 class, also known as the ''Mariner'' class, where the largest of the C4 ships, 37 were built. SS Cape Island MSC

PFEL Ro-Ro Ship

* ''Atlantic Bear'' was a

Roll-on/roll-off Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels or using ...

ship built in 1976 by Sun Shipyards for the Pacific Far East Line, at 17,300 DWT for $30 million, in 1984 she was renamed ''Atlantic Spirit'' in 1989 ''Kaimoku'' in 1998 ''El Yunque''.

PFEL Type C7 Ships

Bethlehem Steel's Sparrows Point Shipyard constructed two C7-S-88a container ships for Pacific Far East Line (PFEL). The two new ships were launched as SS ''Australia Bear'' and SS ''New Zealand Bear''. ''Australia Bear'' was completed in 1973, but before ''New Zealand Bear'' had been fully outfitted both ships were sold in 1974 to

Sea-Land Service, Inc. SeaLand, a division of the Maersk Group, is an American intra-regional container shipping company headquartered in Miramar, Florida with representation in 29 countries across the Americas. The company offers ocean and intermodal services using ...

and renamed ''Sea-Land Consumer'' and ''Sea-Land Producer'' as Sealand's SL18P class. Sea-Land was bought by the

CSX Corporation CSX Corporation is an American holding company focused on rail transportation and real estate in North America, among other industries. The company was established in 1980 as part of the Chessie System and Seaboard Coast Line Industries merger. T ...

in 1986, and both ships were renamed in 2000. The domestic U.S. liner operations of Sea-Land were sold in 2003 and subsequently operated under the name

Horizon Lines Horizon Lines, Inc. was an American domestic ocean shipping and logistics company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was the largest Jones Act maritime shipping and logistics company and accounted for approximately 37% of all US contai ...

. Their service life came in a full circle when Matson, who had initially designed the ships decades earlier, acquired Horizon Lines in 2015. The vessels would serve their new owners a few more years as ''Matson Consumer'' and ''Matson Producer''. They were scrapped in 2018 and 2019 respectively.

PFEL C8-S-81b ships

In the late 1960s, shipbuilding engineer Jerome L. Goldman designed the first LASH ships,

Type C8-class ship Type C8-class ships are a type of Heavy Lift Barge Carrier. Type C8 ships were the 8th type of ship designed by the United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) in the late 1960s. As done with the Type C1 ships and Type C2 ships, MARCOM circulated ...

, the Acadia Forest and the Atlantic Forest. Avondale shipyard start construction in 1969 of the second LASH ships the C8-S-81b. The ten C8-S-81b LASH ships were of identical design and built from 1970 to 1973. The 11 ships were used by two shipping lines Prudential Grace Line in New York and Pacific Far East Line in San Francisco. The price for each ship was $21.3 million. *C8 Barge Carrier ship names: **''Thomas E. Cuffe'', Golden Bear, Pacific Bear, Japan Bear, and China Bear''

World War II

Coastwise Line fleet of ships were used to help the World War II effort. During World War II Coastwise Line operated Merchant navy ships for the

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 ...

. During World War II Coastwise Line was active with charter shipping with the

and

. Coastwise Line operated

s and

s for the merchant navy. The ship was run by its Coastwise Line crew and the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

supplied

United States Navy Armed Guard United States Navy Armed Guard units were established during World War II and headquartered in New Orleans.World War II U.S. Navy Armed Guard and World War II U.S. Merchant Marine, 2007-2014 Project Liberty Ship, Project Liberty Ship, P.O. Box 2 ...

s to man the deck guns and radio.World War II U.S. Navy Armed Guard and World War II U.S. Merchant Marine, 2007-2014 Project Liberty Ship, Project Liberty Ship, P.O. Box 25846 Highlandtown Station, Baltimore, M

/ref> **World War 2 ships: * SS Coast Trader June 7, 1942 torpedoed * SS Coast Farmer July 20, 1942 torpedoed * SS Augustus Thomas Oct. 24, 1944 bombed * SS Rufus King July 7, 1942 stranded, broke in two * SS Samuel Heintzelman July 1, 1943 sank by surface raider in Indian Ocean * SS Peter Sylvester Feb. 6, 1945 torpedoed * SS Abbot L. Mills * SS Rider Victory * SS Ames Victory * SS Anchorage Victory * SS Anniston Victory * SS Harry Leon Wilson * SS Jacob H. Gallinger * SS Villanova Victory * SS Yugoslavia Victory * SS Boise Victory * SS Princeton Victory * SS Benjamin Bonneville * SS Owensboro Victory * SS Elizabeth Blackwell * SS Simmons Victory * SS Charles M. Russell

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pacific Far East Line Defunct shipping companies of the United States Transport companies established in 1943 1943 establishments in California