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Panama Pacific Line was a subsidiary of 
In 1923 ''Kroonland'' and ''Finland'' were returned to the reinstated intercoastal route along with the American Line passenger steamer . ''Manchuria''s sister ship supplanted ''Kroonland'' on the route in 1925.
Three ships with steam
Panama Pacific Line was a subsidiary of International Mercantile Marine
The International Mercantile Marine Company, originally the International Navigation Company, was a trust formed in the early twentieth century as an attempt by J.P. Morgan to monopolize the shipping trade.
IMM was founded by shipping magnates ...
(IMM) established to carry passengers and freight between the US East
East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...
and West Coasts via the Panama Canal
The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a condui ...
.
Although IMM had begun preparations for this intercoastal service as far back as 1911, service began in May 1915 with the former Red Star Line
The Red Star Line was a shipping line founded in 1871 as a joint venture between the International Navigation Company of Philadelphia, which also ran the American Line, and the Société Anonyme de Navigation Belgo-Américaine of Antwerp, Belg ...
(another IMM subsidiary line) ships and . When landslides in September 1915 closed the canal for an extended time, ''Kroonland'' and ''Finland'' were reassigned to the IMM's American Line
The American Line was a shipping company founded in 1871 and based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It began as part of the Pennsylvania Railroad, although the railroad got out of the shipping business soon after founding the company. In 1902, it ...
. The outbreak of World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and its strain on international shipping caused the intercoastal service to be suspended.
In 1923 ''Kroonland'' and ''Finland'' were returned to the reinstated intercoastal route along with the American Line passenger steamer . ''Manchuria''s sister ship supplanted ''Kroonland'' on the route in 1925.
Three ships with steam turbo generator
A turbo generator is an electric generator connected to the shaft of a steam turbine or gas turbine for the generation of electric power. Large steam-powered turbo generators provide the majority of the world's electricity and are also use ...
s and turbo-electric transmission
A turbo-electric transmission uses electric generators to convert the mechanical energy of a turbine ( steam or gas) into electric energy, which then powers electric motors and converts back into mechanical energy that power the driveshafts.
T ...
— , ''Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
'' and ''Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
'' — came into service in 1928–29, replacing all the other ships on the intercoastal service. These three newest ships included a drive-on service for passengers' automobiles, which allowed passengers to disembark with their cars at ports of call, such as Havana
Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.
, a stop added in the early 1930s.
In 1936 ''California'', docked at San Pedro, California
San Pedro ( ; Spanish: "St. Peter") is a neighborhood within the City of Los Angeles, California. Formerly a separate city, it consolidated with Los Angeles in 1909. The Port of Los Angeles, a major international seaport, is partially located wi ...
, was the setting for the SS ''California'' strike, which contributed to the demise of the International Seamen's Union
The International Seamen's Union (ISU) was an American maritime trade union which operated from 1892 until 1937. In its last few years, the union effectively split into the National Maritime Union and Seafarer's International Union.
The early yea ...
and the creation of the National Maritime Union
The National Maritime Union (NMU) was an American labor union founded in May 1937. It affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) in July 1937. After a failed merger with a different maritime group in 1988, the union merged wi ...
.
In June 1937 the United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
withdrew all maritime mail subsidies, which by then included a total of $450,000 per year to Panama Pacific for its three liners. At the beginning of March 1938 the Panama Canal tolls were revised, increasing Panama Pacific's costs by $37,000 per year. As a result of these cost increases and continuing labor difficulties, Panama Pacific ended its New York – California service and took all three liners out of service. ''California'' was the last to leave service, joining ''Pennsylvania'' and ''Virginia'' in New York at the beginning of May 1938. The United States 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 ...
took over the three liners and transferred them to Moore-McCormack
The Moore-McCormack Lines was a series of companies operating as shipping lines, operated by the Moore-McCormack Company, Incorporated, later Moore-McCormack Lines, Incorporated, and simply Mooremack, founded in 1913 in New York City. It ceased tr ...
Lines to start a New York — River Plate service under Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
's Good Neighbor policy
The Good Neighbor policy ( ) was the foreign policy of the administration of United States President Franklin Roosevelt towards Latin America. Although the policy was implemented by the Roosevelt administration, President Woodrow Wilson had prev ...
.
Ships of the Panama Pacific Line
* * * * * * SS ''Pennsylvania'' * SS ''Virginia''References
Bibliography
* *{{cite book , last=de la Pedraja Tomán , first= René , year=1994 , title=A Historical Dictionary of the U.S. Merchant Marine and Shipping Industry: Since the Introduction of Steam , location=Westport, Connecticut
Westport is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, along the Long Island Sound within Connecticut's Gold Coast. It is northeast of New York City. The town had a population of 27,141 according to the 2020 U.S. Census.
History
...
, publisher= Greenwood Press , isbn=978-0-313-27225-7 , oclc=29311518
Defunct shipping companies of the United States