States Marine Lines was the

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 ...

of the States Marine Corporation founded by Henry Mercer in 1930 in

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 ...

. In 1931 Cornelius S. Walsh became an investor and the company Secretary. At the 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 was added to the line. In 1934 States Marine started monthly cargo routes to

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 ...

. In 1937 States Marine charted the SS ''Carrollton'' a 1903, 1,732 tons from, acquired by Saginaw Dock and Terminal Company of

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. In 1940 States Marine Lines purchased the SS ''Lone Star'' a 1919, 5,101 tons cargo ship from

Mississippi Shipping Company Mississippi Shipping Company (also called Delta Line) of New Orleans, Louisiana was a passenger and cargo steamship company founded in 1919. In 1961 officially changed its name to the Delta Line. The Mississippi Shipping Co. serviced port from t ...

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

and the SS ''Wolverine'', 1919, 4,990 tons, cargo ship from Export Steamship Company in

. In 1941 States Marine Lines charted the SS ''Atlantic Trader'', 1918, 2,241 tons, a cargo ship from Saginaw Dock and Terminal Company of Cleveland. In 1941 States Marine Lines charted the SS ''Green Mountain'', a 1919, 4,988 tons, a cargo ship from Federal Marine Corp. of New York. In 1941 States Marine Lines charted the SS ''Hoosier'', 1920, a 5,060 tons cargo ship from Hoosier Marine Corp. of New York. In 1941 States Marine Lines charted the SS ''Keystone'', 1919, a 5,565 tons, cargo ship from Shepard Steamship Company of Boston, MA. On 10 July 1942 SS ''Hoosier'' was sunk by Uboat U-376 after departing Archangel, USSR. On March 13, 1943, the SS ''Keystone'' sunk by U-172 after her engine failed in convoy UGS-6 from New York to North Africa. During

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 ...

the States Marine Lines 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 ...

. During wartime, the Mississippi Shipping Company 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 ...

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, and a few

Empire ship An Empire ship is a merchant ship that was given a name beginning with "Empire" in the service of the Government of the United Kingdom during and after World War II. Most were used by the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT), which owned them and co ...

World War II

* SS Benjamin Hawkins *War World II Victory ships: * SS Mercer Victory * SS Morgantown Victory * SS Westerly Victory * SS Hugh J. Kilpatrick *World War II 1920 ships: **Chipana, 1920, 3,280 tons, from Grace Steamship Lines of New York. **Curaca, 1920, 3,280 tons, from New Orleans and South American Steamship Company.

Post World War II

USS Whiteside (AKA-90) anchored in San Francisco Bay c1948

After War World II there were many low-cost ships for sales, States Marine Lines was now able to own more ships than charter. States Marine Lines continued to charter both U.S. and foreign ships. *States Marine Lines purchased from the U.S. Maritime Commission

Type C2 ship Type C2 ships were designed by the United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) in 1937–38. They were all-purpose cargo ships with five holds, and U.S. shipyards built 328 of them from 1939 to 1945. Compared to ships built before 1939, the C2s we ...

s: * SS Cotton State, C2, 1946, 6,103 tons * SS Empire State, C2, 1945, 6,214 tons * SS Garden State, C2, 1946, 6,103 * SS Golden State, C2, 1946, 6,103 tons * SS Hoosier State, EC2, 1944, 7,280 tons * SS Keystone State, EC2, 1944, 7,210 tons * SS Magnolia State, C2, 1946, 6,103 tons * SS Old Dominion State, EC2, 1944, 7,210 tons * SS Palmetto State, EC2, 1945, 7,207 tons * SS Volunteer State, EC2, 1944, 7,216 tons * SS Constitution State, 1943 In 1947 States Marine Lines sold off ''Atlantic Trader'', ''Green Mountain'', ''Wolverine'', ''Blue Grass State'', ''Evergreen State'', ''Lone Star State'', ''Peach Tree State''. In 1947 States Marine purchased controlling interest in the South African Marine Corp., also called Safmarine.

Korean War

States Marine Lines served as Merchant Marine Naval shipping company, supplying goods for the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. Ships made trips to and from

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

. About 75 percent of the personnel taken to Korea for the Korean War came by the Merchant Marine Ships. States Marine Lines transported goods, mail, food and other supplies. About 90 percent of the cargo was moved by Merchant Marine Naval to the Korea War Zone. States Marine Lines made trips between the US and Korea helping American forces engaged against

Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

aggression in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. After the war most ships were put into the

National Defense Reserve Fleet The National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) consists of ships of the United States of America, mostly merchant vessels, that have been "mothballed" but can be activated within 20 to 120 days to provide shipping during national military emergencies ...

. *

United States Merchant Marine United States Merchant Marines are United States civilian mariners and U.S. civilian and federally owned merchant vessels. Both the civilian mariners and the merchant vessels are managed by a combination of the government and private sectors, an ...

ships: * SS Alamo Victory *SS Brigham Victory *SS Beatrice Victory *SS Earlham Victory *SS Grove City Victory *SS Kenyon Victory *SS Loma Victory *SS Oberlin Victory *SS Occidental Victory *SS Ouachita Victory *SS Sharon Victory * SS Twin Falls Victory *SS Wesleyan Victory

Post Korean

In 1954 States Marine took over management of Bloomfield Steamship Company in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, Texas, which was closed in 1969. Bloomfield was founded on post World War II low-cost ships by Ben M. Bloomfield. In 1954 ''Old Dominion State'' and ''Wolverine State'' are sold off. In 1955 States Marine purchased four 1945, 10,780 tons

Type C4-class ship The Type C4-class ship were the largest cargo ships built by the United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) during World War II. The design was originally developed for the American-Hawaiian Lines in 1941, but in late 1941 the plans were taken ov ...

s from the Joshua Hendy Corp. Second ''Hoosier State'', Second ''Keystone State'', Second Wolverine State, and the second Lone Star State. In 1957 States Marine purchased four 1945 Victory ships ewach former line ship names ''Cotton State'', Magnolia State, Palmetto State, and Volunteer State. States Marine also took on charters for the: ''Alma Victory, Beloit Victory, Binghampton Victory, Britain Victory, Clovis Victory, Creighton Victory, Iran Victory, Knox Victory Clovis Victory, Rock Springs Victory and Simmons Victory''. In 1960 States Marine purchased: 7,868 tons C2 ships: SS''Badger State'', ''Bay State, Bayou State, Evergreen State, Blue Grass State, and Buckeye State,, (2), C3, 1943, 7,868 tons. Also Type C3: ''Copper State, SS Aloha State, and Gopher State, SS Steel Director'' NS ''Savannah'' near the Golden Gate Bridge in 1962, managed by States Marine

Nuclear-powered cargo ship

In 1962 States Marine took over management of the first nuclear-powered cargo ship, NS ''Savannah''. Built in 1958 at 13,559 tons, States Marine managed the ship for the

U.S. Department of Commerce The United States Department of Commerce is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government concerned with creating the conditions for economic growth ...

for one year.

Vietnam War

For 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 ...

States Marine operated the charter for the SS ''Gainesville Victory''. Also, in 1965 Henry Mercer purchased Cornelius Walsh shares in the company and purchase the

Waterman Steamship Corporation Waterman is an American deep sea ocean carrier, specializing in liner services and time charter contracts. It is owned by SEACOR Holdings. History Waterman was founded in 1919 in Mobile, Alabama by John Barnett Waterman, Henry Crawford Slaton, ...

. States Marine also supported the Vietnam War with line owned ships and ships charter. States Marine failed to upgrade to

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 and modernize as other shipping lines did in the 1970s and with the Vietnam War over States Marine closed in 1974, all ships being sold or scrapped due to age.

References

{{Commons category, Savannah (ship, 1961), NS Savannah Defunct shipping companies of the United States Transport companies established in 1930 1930 establishments in New York (state)