American Steamship Company
Encyclopedia
The American Steamship Company (ASC) is an American transportation company that operates a fleet
of self-unloading vessels in the Great Lakes
. The company is owned by the General American Transportation Corporation
(GATX).
by partners John J. Boland
and Adam E. Cornelius
. Their first ship, the SS Yale
was the first steel vessel owned by a Buffalo firm and earned large profits for the partners. Over the next five years, the company added six new vessels to their fleet.
At the end of World War I
, the American Steamship Company became the first Great Lakes steamship company to outfit all of its vessels with radio telegraph
equipment.
ASC acquired the Mitchell Steamship Company in 1922, thus adding another four vessels to its growing fleet.
ASC was hard hit by the Great Depression
, but took advantage of the downturn to convert three of its bulk freighters to self-unloading vessels, which would prove to be the way of the future in Great Lakes shipping. In the 1940s, self-unloaders would bring new business to ASC, and the focus of the company would ship from transporting iron ore and grain
to shipping coal
and limestone
. During World War II
, ASC was active in the war effort, at one point having twenty ships engaged in war trades around the world.
The company embarked on a major expansion in the 1950s, though the company continued to be run by Boland and Cornelius and their sons. By 1965, ASC's annual volume exceeded 20 million tons, and the company again launched an expansion effort. In 1967, the firm acquired the Oswego Shipping Company. In 1973, the Boland and Cornelius families sold ASC to the General American Transportation Corporation
(GATX).
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, ASC became one of the first shipping companies to introduce computers on all of its vessels.
From 2002 to 2006, the company partnered with Oglebay Northern Marine Services, and in 2006, acquired six vessels from Oglebay Northern Marine Services, bringing the size of ASC's fleet to 18 vessels and making it the largest American domestic provider of dry bulk self-unloader transportation services on the Great Lakes.
Fleet
-Vehicles:A fleet is a collection of ships or vehicles, with many specific connotations:*Fleet vehicles, two or more vehicles*Fishing fleet*Naval fleet, substantial group of warships*A group of small ships or flotilla...
of self-unloading vessels in the Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
. The company is owned by the General American Transportation Corporation
General American Transportation Corporation
GATX Corporation is an equipment finance company based in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1898, GATX's primary activities consist of railcar operating leasing in North America and Europe...
(GATX).
History
The American Steamship Company was founded in 1907 in Buffalo, New YorkBuffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
by partners John J. Boland
John J. Boland
-Biography:John J. Boland was the son of a Great Lakes schooner captain. At age 20, Boland formed a small shipbroking and shipping chartering business. In 1902, he hired Adam E. Cornelius to do clerical work. In 1904, Boland invited Cornelius to enter into a partnership with his firm. In 1907,...
and Adam E. Cornelius
Adam E. Cornelius
Adam E. Cornelius was one of the co-founders of the American Steamship Company.-Biography:At age 20, Cornelius went to work for a small shipbroking and shipping chartering business owned by John J. Boland in Buffalo, New York. Initially, Cornelius did clerical work and earned six dollars a week. ...
. Their first ship, the SS Yale
SS Yale
SS Yale, a 3,731 gross ton coastal passenger steamship, was built by the Delaware River Iron Shipbuilding and Engine Works in 1906. In March 1918 the U.S. Navy acquired her from the Pacific Steamship Company of Seattle, Washington, placing her in commission later in that month as USS Yale...
was the first steel vessel owned by a Buffalo firm and earned large profits for the partners. Over the next five years, the company added six new vessels to their fleet.
At the end of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the American Steamship Company became the first Great Lakes steamship company to outfit all of its vessels with radio telegraph
Wireless telegraphy
Wireless telegraphy is a historical term used today to apply to early radio telegraph communications techniques and practices, particularly those used during the first three decades of radio before the term radio came into use....
equipment.
ASC acquired the Mitchell Steamship Company in 1922, thus adding another four vessels to its growing fleet.
ASC was hard hit by the Great Depression
Great Depression in the United States
The Great Depression began with the Wall Street Crash of October, 1929 and rapidly spread worldwide. The market crash marked the beginning of a decade of high unemployment, poverty, low profits, deflation, plunging farm incomes, and lost opportunities for economic growth and personal advancement...
, but took advantage of the downturn to convert three of its bulk freighters to self-unloading vessels, which would prove to be the way of the future in Great Lakes shipping. In the 1940s, self-unloaders would bring new business to ASC, and the focus of the company would ship from transporting iron ore and grain
GRAIN
GRAIN is a small international non-profit organisation that works to support small farmers and social movements in their struggles for community-controlled and biodiversity-based food systems. Our support takes the form of independent research and analysis, networking at local, regional and...
to shipping coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
and limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, ASC was active in the war effort, at one point having twenty ships engaged in war trades around the world.
The company embarked on a major expansion in the 1950s, though the company continued to be run by Boland and Cornelius and their sons. By 1965, ASC's annual volume exceeded 20 million tons, and the company again launched an expansion effort. In 1967, the firm acquired the Oswego Shipping Company. In 1973, the Boland and Cornelius families sold ASC to the General American Transportation Corporation
General American Transportation Corporation
GATX Corporation is an equipment finance company based in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1898, GATX's primary activities consist of railcar operating leasing in North America and Europe...
(GATX).
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, ASC became one of the first shipping companies to introduce computers on all of its vessels.
From 2002 to 2006, the company partnered with Oglebay Northern Marine Services, and in 2006, acquired six vessels from Oglebay Northern Marine Services, bringing the size of ASC's fleet to 18 vessels and making it the largest American domestic provider of dry bulk self-unloader transportation services on the Great Lakes.
Fleet
- M/V American Spirit
- M/V Burns Harbor
- M/V Indiana Harbor
- M/V Walter J. McCarthy Jr.
- M/V American Century
- M/V American Integrity
- M/V St. Clair
- M/V American Mariner
- M/V H. Lee White
- M/V John J. Boland
- M/V Adam E. Cornelius
- Str. American Victory
- Str. American Valor
- Str. American Fortitude
- M/V Buffalo
- M/V Sam Laud
- M/V American Courage