Red Star Line
Encyclopedia
International Navigation Company
The International Navigation Company was a Philadelphia based holding company owning 26 ships totaling 181,000 tons and carried more passengers than either Cunard or White Star, when the company was reorganized as International Mercantile Marine in 1902...
of Philadelphia, which also ran the American Line
American Line
The American Line was a shipping company based in Philadelphia that was founded in 1871. It began as part of the Pennsylvania Railroad, although the railroad got out of the shipping business soon after founding the company...
, and the Société Anonyme de Navigation Belgo-Américaine of Antwerp, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. The company's main ports of call were Antwerp in Belgium, Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
and Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and Philadelphia in the United States.
Owners
The company was founded by Clement GriscomClement Griscom
Clement Acton Griscom was a prominent American Quaker businessman and nineteenth century shipping magnate.-Biography:...
, who led it from its founding until the International Mercantile Marine Co.
International Mercantile Marine Co.
The International Mercantile Marine Co., originally the International Navigation Co., was a trust formed in the early twentieth century as an attempt by J.P. Morgan to monopolize the shipping trade. The end result was heavy losses for Morgan....
took it over in 1902. Red Star Line survived IMM's financial crisis in 1915. In the 1930's Red Star Line was part of Arnold Bernstein Line.
Heritage
In the city of Antwerp, the former warehouses of the Red Star Line were recently landmarked and will reopen as a museum in 2012 by the City of Antwerp. The works of art of the Red Star Line emigrants made by the Antwerp artist Eugeen Van MieghemEugeen Van Mieghem
Eugeen Van Mieghem was a Belgian artist born in the port of Antwerp. As a boy Van Mieghem was confronted with the harsh reality of life at the waterfront.Even at primary school he showed a talent for drawing...
(1875-1930) will be exhibited there next to Red Star Line memorabilia of the collection of Robert Vervoort.
Ships
Burgee
A burgee is a distinguishing flag, regardless of its shape, of a recreational boating organization.-Etiquette:Yacht clubs and their members may fly their club's burgee while underway and at anchor, day or night, but not while racing. Sailing vessels may fly the burgee from the main masthead or from...
with a red star.
Some Red Star ships were given names ending in "-land". Notable Red Star ships included: chartered from Gourlay Brothers Ship Builders of Dundee
Gourlay Brothers Ship Builders of Dundee
Gourlay Brothers Ship Builders of Dundee was a ship building and shipyard located in Dundee, Scotland.-References:*...
in 1874. chartered from the Hamburg America Line
Hamburg America Line
The Hamburg Amerikanische Packetfahrt Actien Gesellschaft was a transatlantic shipping enterprise established in Hamburg, Germany during...
in 1899. chartered from the White Star Line
White Star Line
The Oceanic Steam Navigation Company or White Star Line of Boston Packets, more commonly known as the White Star Line, was a prominent British shipping company, today most famous for its ill-fated vessel, the RMS Titanic, and the World War I loss of Titanics sister ship Britannic...
from 1926-1929. (1878) sold to Italy in 1905 and renamed SS Venere. (1914) completed as troopship
Troopship
A troopship is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime...
for White Star Line
White Star Line
The Oceanic Steam Navigation Company or White Star Line of Boston Packets, more commonly known as the White Star Line, was a prominent British shipping company, today most famous for its ill-fated vessel, the RMS Titanic, and the World War I loss of Titanics sister ship Britannic...
. Transferred to Panama Pacific Line
Panama Pacific Line
The Panama Pacific Line was a subsidiary line of International Mercantile Marine established to carry passengers and freight between the U.S. East and West Coasts via the Panama Canal....
, renamed . chartered from American Line
American Line
The American Line was a shipping company based in Philadelphia that was founded in 1871. It began as part of the Pennsylvania Railroad, although the railroad got out of the shipping business soon after founding the company...
for 7 voyages 1895-1898. chartered from the Dominion Line
Dominion Line
Trans-atlantic passenger line founded in 1870 as the Liverpool & Mississippi Steamship Co., with the official name being changed in 1872 to the Mississippi & Dominion Steamship Co Ltd. The firm was amalgamated in 1902 into the International Mercantile Marine Co....
for 4 voyages 1907. was the SS Sacrobosso. Purchased in 1890 after salvage. 1897 transferred to New York - Seattle trade, 1904 went missing at sea. Sold to Italy in 1911 and renamed . Bought in 1908 from White Star Line, renamed from . Transferred in 1911 to White Star Line's Australia service and name reverted to Gothic. Transferred again in 1913 to Red Star Line and name changed to Gothland. Scrapped in 1913. Launched in 1922 for American Line
American Line
The American Line was a shipping company based in Philadelphia that was founded in 1871. It began as part of the Pennsylvania Railroad, although the railroad got out of the shipping business soon after founding the company...
as SS Pittsburgh. Sold to Red Star Line in 1935 and renamed Pennland. Served as Allied troop ship in the Battle of Dakar
Battle of Dakar
The Battle of Dakar, also known as Operation Menace, was an unsuccessful attempt in September 1940 by the Allies to capture the strategic port of Dakar in French West Africa , which was under Vichy French control, and to install the Free French under General Charles de Gaulle there.-Background:At...
in 1942. Sold to Italy in 1906, renamed Rhyna and scrapped., built as Kenilworth in 1872 for American Line. Purchased in 1877, ran aground on Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
on 19 March 1877, subsequently broke in two and declared a total loss. (1872). Sold to France in 1879 and renamed . (1900). Renamed in 1915. 1917 torpedoed and sunk off Irish coast; loss of 4 lives. Launched in 1918 for White Star Line
White Star Line
The Oceanic Steam Navigation Company or White Star Line of Boston Packets, more commonly known as the White Star Line, was a prominent British shipping company, today most famous for its ill-fated vessel, the RMS Titanic, and the World War I loss of Titanics sister ship Britannic...
as Regina. Transferred to Red Star Line in 1930 and renamed Westernland. Transferred to Bernstein Red Star Line of Hamburg in 1935. Served as Allied troop ship in the Battle of Dakar
Battle of Dakar
The Battle of Dakar, also known as Operation Menace, was an unsuccessful attempt in September 1940 by the Allies to capture the strategic port of Dakar in French West Africa , which was under Vichy French control, and to install the Free French under General Charles de Gaulle there.-Background:At...
in 1942.. Bought as SS Java from Cunard Line
Cunard Line
Cunard Line is a British-American owned shipping company based at Carnival House in Southampton, England and operated by Carnival UK. It has been a leading operator of passenger ships on the North Atlantic for over a century...
in 1878. Sold to France in 1889.
The pictures shown below are from a Red Star Line brochure that agents based in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
gave out to potential passengers.
Red Star Line offices:
- Main Office - 9 Broadway, New York
- Boston - 84 State Street
- Chicago - 90-96 Dearborn Street
- Minneapolis - 121 S. Third Street
- Montreal - 118 W. Notre Dame Street
- New Orleans - 219 St. Charles Street
- Philadelphia - 1319 Walnut Street
- Portland, Maine - 1 India Street
- San Francisco - 319 Geary Street
- Seattle - 709 Second Avenue
- St. Louis - 900 Locust Street
- Toronto - 41 E. King Street
- Washington - 1306 N.W. F Street
- Winnipeg - 205 McDermot Avenue
In popular culture
The Red Star Lines appear in the Mario PuzoMario Puzo
Mario Gianluigi Puzo was an American author and screenwriter, known for his novels about the Mafia, including The Godfather , which he later co-adapted into a film by Francis Ford Coppola...
's The Godfather Part II
The Godfather Part II
The Godfather Part II is a 1974 American gangster film directed by Francis Ford Coppola from a script co-written with Mario Puzo. The film is both a sequel and a prequel to The Godfather, chronicling the story of the Corleone family following the events of the first film while also depicting the...
when the young Vito Corleone
Vito Corleone
Vito Andolini Corleone is a fictional character and the main character in Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather, as well as Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather trilogy, where he was portrayed by Marlon Brando in The Godfather and by Robert De Niro in The Godfather Part II. Premiere Magazine listed Vito...
arrives in New-York. His identification badge is from the Red Star Lines company.
The Paris football club FC Red Star Saint-Ouen are named after the Red Star Line, on which the club's founder Jules Rimet
Jules Rimet
Jules Rimet was a French football administrator who was the 3rd President of FIFA, serving from 1921 to 1954. He was FIFA's longest serving president, having served for 33 years. He also served as the president of the French Football Federation from 1919 to 1946...
's English housekeeper had travelled.