Grace Shipping Company

Grace Shipping (The Grace Line) was a key part of the parent company, W. R. Grace, for a large part of the corporation's history. The Grace Line began service in 1882, with regular steamship service beginning in 1893. In 1929, the success of Grace Shipping was instrumental for its parent company to enter a joint venture with Pan American World Airways (later to become known colloquially as Pan Am) in order to create Pan American-Grace Airways (Panagra).

In December of 1969, Grace Line was sold to Prudential Lines for $44.5 million, with the merged company renamed Prudential Grace Line.

19th century

The Grace Line began service in 1882, with ports of call between Peru and New York City. The main source of shipping revenue was from the exporting of guano from the Chincha Islands of Peru to fertilizer manufacturers in the United States.[1] Regular steamship service was established in 1893, with a subsidiary called the New York & Pacific Steamship Co. The first ship to test the route was SS Mount Tabor. Steamships utilized the shorter route of the Strait of Magellan, whereas a sailing ship needed to go past Cape Horn.[2]

1940s–1950s

After World War II, the Grace line operated 23 ships totaling, and an additional 14 more on bareboat charters.[19] However, immediately after the end of the war, private ships were under requisition of the U.S. Government. In collaboration with the United States Maritime Commission, the Grace Line built a new fleet of vessels for post-war shipping services. On November 4, 1945, the president of the Grace Line, R. Ranney Adams, announced the post-war shipping services:[20] "Our new combination passenger and cargo liners will be fast and efficient vessels with accommodations for 52 first-class passengers. Each stateroom will have a private bath. All cabins and public spaces will be air conditioned, first applications of the Latin-American trades."

The 1958 versions of Santa Rosa and Santa Paula

In 1956, Gibbs & Cox was again the designer and had designed the replacements for Santa Rosa and Santa Paula, the new SS Santa Rosa (1958) and SS Santa Paula (1958). Newport News Shipping Company built the ships. The ships had the following features:[21]

The ships were designed for twelve-day voyages, with ports of call in Aruba, The Bahamas, Curaçao, Jamaica, and Venezuela.

The key textile designer for the interiors was Dorothy Liebes, who had previously worked with Gibbs & Cox and interior designers Smyth, Urquhart & Marckwald on the SS United States. A profile in Handweaver & Craftsman magazine explained the interior design of the ships for these types of routes as follows:[23]

"Handwoven fabrics, along with the work of contemporary artists, sculptors, ceramists, and craftsmen in metal, enamel and glass help to create a fresh, cool, relaxing modern atmosphere, a new-ship look in keeping with holiday travel in tropical waters."

Santa Paula was launched on January 9, 1958 by Patricia Nixon, the wife of then Vice President Richard Nixon.[24]

Aluminum paneling for fire protection.
Gyrofin stabilizers were fitted to improve stability.[22]
Each room had its own bathroom.
Extended automatic conveyors for palletized cargo in the holds (cargo compartments).

1960s

In 1960, the Grace Line sought to begin containerizing its South American cargo operations by converting the conventional freighters Santa Eliana and Santa Leonor into fully cellular container ships. However, the effort was opposed to by the longshoremen in New York and Venezuela, and the ships were repeatedly laid up idle. The ships were ultimately sold to the domestic container line Sea-Land Service in 1964. Sea-Land immediately modified the two ships to carry its 35-foot containers. Santa Eliana was temporarily renamed Sea and Santa Leonor became Land. The ships were employed on the U.S. coastal and Puerto Rican trades.[25]

The L and M ships

L ships

The Grace Line replaced the aging freighters and added six newly built freighters called the L ships.

M ships

In 1963, Grace made a second attempt to containerize its South American trade when it ordered what was referred to as the M ships, which were:

The ships were combination passenger-cargo ships with partial cellular holds. Each ship could carry 125 first class passengers.[26][27] However, they were no real gain as mixing conventional breakbulk cargo (shipping goods loaded individually) and containers in the same ship was less efficient in terms of the operating economies than full containerization (intermodal freight transport) was capable of. Santa Magdalena, the first of the class, was delivered to Grace Line on February 4, 1965.[28][29][30]

Santa Magdalena
Santa Maria
Santa M'ariana
Santa Mercedes

M ship design

The ships were designed by George G. Sharpe Company, naval architects and engineers. As an engineering company, operations analysis (operations research) of the trade route was made to determine:

This operations analysis included:

In conjunction with trade forecasts prepared by Grace economists, trends in cargo carryings were managed by means of:[31]

The characteristics of the cargo moving on the route.
Establish the feasibility of mechanical handling of cargo in units.

A detailed study of the cargo commodities transported on the route.
Analyses of weight, dimensions, net cubic volume, gross cubic volume, port of origin, and port of destination.
A classification of the cargo concerning its susceptibility to unitization.

Having trends analyzed

L ships

The Grace Line replaced the aging freighters and added six newly built freighters called the L ships.

M ships

In 1963, Grace made a second attempt to containerize its South American trade when it ordered what was referred to as the M ships, which were:

Santa Magdalena

M ship design

The ships were designed by George G. Sharpe Company, naval architects and engineers. As an engineering company, operations analysis (operations research) of the trade route was made to determine:

This operations analysis included:

In conjunction with trade forecasts prepared by Grace economists, trends in cargo carryings were managed by means of:[31]

The characteristics of the cargo moving on the route.
Establish the feasibility of mechanical handling of cargo in units.

A detailed study of the cargo commodities transported on the route.
Analyses of weight, dimensions, net cubic volume, gross cubic volume, port of origin, and port of destination.
A classification of the cargo concerning its susceptibility to unitization.

Having trends analyzed

Sale of the shipping company

In December 1969, Grace Line was sold to Prudential Lines for $44.5 million, with the merged company renamed Prudential Grace Line. Spyros S. Skouras was elected president. A Pacific and Atlantic Division were created. The divisions were managed as follows:[32][33]

Arthur C. Novacek, the last president of the Grace Line, headed the Atlantic Division.
Edmund J. Camuti, the former traffic vice president for the Prudential Line, headed the Pacific Division.

type	Shipping company
founded	1886
fate	Company was sold to Prudential Lines in 1967 in a merger that created the Prudential Grace Line.

Grace Shipping Company

19th century

Beginning of the 20th century

1920s

Entrance of parent company into the airline industry

1930s and 1940s

1940s–1950s

The 1958 versions of Santa Rosa and Santa Paula

1960s

The L and M ships

L ships

M ships

M ship design

L ships

M ships

M ship design

Sale of the shipping company

1970s

1980s

1990s–2010s

References