United States Navigation Company

United States Navigation Company was founded by Edward Carl Wilhelm Oelsner (1888-1973) in New York City in 1917. Oelsner was a Prussian-born German (born in Bialystok, Podlaskie, Poland), who came to America in 1908. In 1915 became a manager of the Hamburg America Line's New York office. In 1917 he became a steamship broker, he then founded his own steamship brokerage firm, United States Navigation Company. United States Navigation Company's first clients were the Hamburg-American Line and North German Lloyd Line. Next Oelsner entered into a joint venture with Biehl & Company chartering ships that serviced the Gulf of Mexico ports. United States Navigation Company when went from just a shipbroker to a ship owner, with the purchase of 1885 SS City of Salisbury, a 397-ton cargo ship. On March 7, 1973, Oelsner died, he and his wife, Eva, were on vacation in Torremolinos, Spain. United States Navigation Company continued doing business. In 1979 the United States Navigation Company was sold and in 1981 closed. The United States Navigation Company supported the World War II effort with its ship and as an operator of United States owned ships.[4][5][6]

United States Navigation Company
IndustryShipping, Shipbroker
Founded1917 (1917) in New York City, United States
Defunct1981
Fatesold in 1979.
Key people
  • Ed Oelsner President[1]
  • John William Oelsner [2]
  • Arnie Portocarrer [3]
  • Johannes W. Praesent
  • Robert W. Boissevain
  • James A. Lyons
  • T. C. Hopkins

United States Navigation Company was a US broker for a number of shipping lines:[7]

  • A partial list of Lines:
  • Hamburg-American Line, of Germany
  • North German Lloyd, of Germany
  • Watts Line, of UK, of Watts, Watts & Co. Ltd.
  • Reardon-Smith Line, of UK
  • Iino Kaiun Kaisha, Ltd., of Japan
  • Baron Line, of Scotland's H. Hogarth & Company
  • K Line, of Japan, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd.
  • Kousal line

Joint Venture

United States Navigation Co. and the Marine Services Company Limited founded a subsidiary, the Canada South Africa Line of Montreal, Canada in 1945.[8]

World War II

United States Navigation Company fleet of ships that were used to help the World War II effort. During World War II United States Navigation Company operated Merchant navy ships for the United States Shipping Board. During World War II United States Navigation Company was active with charter shipping with the Maritime Commission and War Shipping Administration. United States Navigation Company s operated Liberty ships and Victory ships for the merchant navy. The ship was run by its United States Navigation Company crew and the US Navy supplied United States Navy Armed Guards to man the deck guns and radio.[9][10][11]

Ships
SS City of Salisbury as the SS Joppa
    • Ships owned:
  • Fort Meigs T2 tanker (1949 to 1950)
  • City of Salisbury, purchased in 1941 as Joppa, built in 1885 [12]
  • At its peak in 1950 United States Navigation Company had 75 ships, many were surplus World War II ships.
  • Operator for World War II only:
  • SS Audacious (1913)
  • SS Vittorin (also named Guantanamo and Comerio)
A Victory ship of World War II
Liberty ship of World War II


Post World War II:

  • El Coston
  • SS Registan (1910)


See also
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Liberty ships.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Victory ships.

References
  1. "Edward C. Oelsner '37". Princeton Alumni Weekly. January 21, 2016.
  2. "John William Oelsner". Valley News. July 28, 2013.
  3. "Arnie Portocarrero – Society for American Baseball Research".
  4. Records & Briefs New York State Appellate Division A-107
  5. NY Times September 30, 1950, Page 20, Purchased surplus Liberty ships
  6. The Liberty Ships of World War II, by Greg H. Williams
  7. NY Times, LANGUAGE MIXTURE MARKS SHIP OFFICE; U. S. Navigation Is Agent for 6 Foreign-Flag Lines as Well as Running Own Service,December 1, 1952
  8. "Posst War Years – Expanding The Vision, 1945" (PDF).
  9. "Sea Lane Vigilantes". www.armed-guard.com.
  10. 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, MD
  11. "Steamship Company Operators of American Flag Ships during World War II". www.usmm.org.
  12. Victor Lynn Lines , City of Salisbury
  13. mariners-l.co.uk LibShipsF
  14. "LibShipsE".
  15. "LibShipsW".
  16. "LibShipsW".
  17. mariners-l.co.uk LibShipsH
  18. "LibShipsH".
  19. "LibShipsC".
  20. mariners-l.co.uk LibShipsD
  21. mariners-l.co.uk LibShipsJ
  22. mariners-l.co.uk LibShipsJ
  23. mariners-l.co.uk vicshipsK
  24. mariners-l.co.uk vicshipS
  25. mariners-l.co.uk vicshipsT
  26. "Miscellaneous Auxiliary (AG)". www.navsource.org.
  27. "MSS-1". www.navsource.org.
  28. mariners-l.co.uk LibShipsG
  29. mariners-l.co.uk LibShipsD
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