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Edward Moltenius, New York (ca. 1855)
Flag was red with a black cross. No further information.
Source: chart of "Private Signals of the Merchants of New York"
Joe McMillan, 31 October 2001
image by Eugene Ipavec, 24 August 2009
Moore & McCormack Co, New York (1913-1982)
Moore-McCormack (also known for short as Mooremack) was one of the leading
US-flag carriers to South America and, from 1926 on, the leading US-flag carrier
to Scandinavia and the Baltic. The company diversified into land, energy, and
natural resources businesses in the 1960s and became Moore-McCormack Resources.
Shipping gradually became a sideline. In 1982, United States Lines bought out
the shipping subsidiary and merged it into its own operations. The
Moore-McCormack flag was green with a white disk bearing a red letter "M".
See also Mooremack's Gulf [of Mexico] Line
Source:
US Navy's 1961 H.O.
Joe McMillan, 7 September 2001
Moore & McCormack Co. (Mooremack). Their main shipping interests were through
Moore-McCormack Lines Inc. and this was the company taken over by United States
Lines Inc. in 1982 being renamed United States Lines (S.A.) Inc. However in 1973
they had established Moore-McCormack Bulk Transport Inc. to operate their tanker
interests and this continued to operate until early 1987 when it was sold to the
ex chairman of the company, James R. Barker, who set up Mormac Marine Group
Inc., and was renamed Mormac Marine Transport Inc. Moore & McCormack Resources
Inc. continued as a ship operator, albeit of one vessel only, until going
bankrupt in 1998.
Neale Rosanoski, 5 March 2004
This 1997 reunion photo (clickable) shows a large white disk and a fat
initial “M”:
http://www.moore-mccormack.com/images/Reunion%20Flag%202.jpg
(in context:
http://www.moore-mccormack.com/Enchanted-Isle/Reunion-Cruise.htm). Another related item on
this interesting site is the story of how the company HQ flag was not hoisted
so as not to disturb a pigeon’s nest (first half of right column):
http://www.moore-mccormack.com/The-Company/MooremackNewsJun51.htm.
Jan Mertens, 23 August 2009
Their fleet commodore used a yellow bordered flag.
Neale Rosanoski, 5 March 2004
See also:
According to Talbot-Booth (1937), Mooremack's Gulf [of Mexico] Line used the same
flag as Moore-McCormack but with a "C" in place of the "M."
Joe McMillan, 31 October 2001
Moore & McCormack Co. and Mooremack's Gulf [of Mexico] Line. To keep things
in perspective, these relate to the same company and the Mooremack's Gulf Lines
flag with the "C" shown by Joe is the first company flag shown by the flag books
being given against Moore & McCormack Co. Inc. by Brown 1926 and 1929. Lloyds
Reedereiflaggen of 1933 also ascribes it to Mooremack Gulf Line and Honolulu
Steamship Co. [this latter was a Government company post WW1 presumably operated
by Moore McCormack]. The explanation of the "C" is still not clear to me but it
may be related to Commercial SS Co as associated by Talbot-Booth 1942 and 1944
books. However the Commercial South American Line has been established as
existing and was being operated by Moore McCormack by at least 1920 so it fits
the time frame as a possibility for the origin. The flag use by Moore McCormack
also included
American Scantic Line and the entry
for that company includes it being shown on a timetable and surmising by Jan
which could do with a link to this page.
The replacement of the "C" by an
"M" starts with Brown 1934 and the National Geographic magazine of 9/1934.
Possibly this arose from the expansion from around 1926 as Moore McCormack
acquired various fleets with a subsequent desire to use their own brand.
The problem with the "M" flag then becomes one of the shade of green, size of
circle and exact shape of "M". Jan has given a link to an actual flag which was
used in the 1997 reunion cruise but the same source also links to another flag
said to have been owned by an employee (see
http://moore-mccormack.com/The-Company/House-Colors.htm where there may be a
difference in the shade of green – my monitor can be misleading on shades I have
found – but there is definitely a difference with the "M" between a short and
deep "v". This source also shows a funnel and flag photo where the funnel has a
deep "v" and a flag has a shallow one. Checking funnel photos most have the deep
"v" but a shallow one has also been found. It may mean that there have been
alterations in the flag, on the other hand such detail may have been of no
concern and as a long as it stuck to the fundament green, white circle and red
"M", variations were of no interest to the company. In this latter case Ivan's
shade for the fleet commodore would be quite in order.
Neale Rosanoski,
21 April 2011
Moran Towing & Transportation, New York (1860-present)
Moran is the most important tug and barge company on the U.S. east and Gulf
coasts. The company
was founded with a single tug in New York harbor in 1860 and now serves 13 ports
with 91 tugs and
26 barges. The house flag is dark blue with a large white M, although I have
never seen this flag
actually flying from any of its tugs--they are instead identified by the white M
on their black stacks.
Source:
Styring (1971)
Joe McMillan, 31 October 2001
The Mariners' Museum of Newport News, Virginia holds a house flag for the Moran
Towing & Transportation Company presented to the museum by Eugene Moran in 1944.
The dark blue rectangular flag measures 46" at the hoist with a length of 75".
In white block lettering, 18" high and 2 1/4" thick, is "M. T. & T. Co."
Marc Nucup, 9 March 2004
Moran Towing & Transportation Co. The 2nd flag provided by Marc can only apply
to this company but from what I can trace it was only part of a group of
companies so perhaps the first flag with its single "M" relates to Moran Towing
Corporation dating back to 1860. Lloyds from at least 1953-4 list the fleet
under Moran Towing Co. with Moran Towing & Transportation Co. being designated
as the operators with the fleet being registered under many one, two or three
ship subsidiary companies. By the late 1970s Moran Towing & Transportation are
no longer mentioned in Lloyds but they again surface in the mid 1980s in a minor
role and then in the early 1990s they became the group's operators in New York.
Finally Lloyds state that in 1998 Moran Towing Corporation and Moran Towing &
Transportation amalgamated with the Turecamo Group to form the current Moran
Towing Corporation based in Greenwich CT with 3 other subsidiaries in other
parts of the country.
Neale Rosanoski,15 November 2004
Morgan Steamship Co., New York
Morgan Line (Southern Pacific SS Co.) (1834-ca. 1942), New York
"Morgan Line" was the trade name for a variety of shipping companies founded by
Charles Morgan, who first entered the shipping business by investing in shares
of cargoes in 1819. By the 1830s, he no longer owned cargoes but specialized in
owning and managing the ships themselves. In 1834, he opened the first scheduled
steam service along the US east coast with a line connecting New York and
Charleston. By 1838 he had shifted his focus to the Gulf of Mexico and
Caribbean, steaming among New Orleans, Galveston, and Havana, eventually
returning to the New York-to-Gulf business after the American Civil War. In
addition to shipping, Morgan owned major interests in railroads in the South and
essentially controlled all transportation, including the port facilities, in
the Houston-Galveston area. In 1877, he consolidated his diverse holdings into
the Louisiana and Texas Railroad and Steamship Company. For a short time after
Morgan's death in 1878, his company continued in operation, but in 1882 his
heirs sold a controlling interest to Collis P. Huntington of the Southern
Pacific Railroad. The Morgan Line thus became a subsidiary of the newly formed
holding company, the Southern Pacific Company, but continued to do business
under its own name and flag. Over time, however, it increasingly became known as
the Southern Pacific Steamship Company, its official title. Early in World War
II, Southern Pacific decided to leave the ocean shipping business and, after
more than 100 years in business, the Morgan Line passed from the scene. I have
found two flags for this company. The first, in the 1905 Flaggenbuch, was
white with a red M. The second, in the 1934 National Geographic flags issue, was
a blue burgee with a white star bearing a red M.
Sources: Flaggenbuch 1905,
National Geographic (1934)
Joe McMillan, 31 October 2001
Munson Steamship Company (Munson Line), New York (1899-39)
Walter D. Munson opened a sugar and molasses business in Havana after the
American Civil War and first began chartering ships to carry his products to the
United States in 1873. In 1882, he relocated his headquarters to New York and
bought his first three steamships in 1893 to connect New York with ports in
Cuba, the American Gulf coast, and Mexico. He incorporated the Munson Steamship
Company, or Munson Line, in 1899. Although he expanded somewhat into the South
American market, his main business remained hauling the Cuban sugar harvest to
the United States. When the profitability of the sugar trade began to wane,
Munson got into financial trouble. Munson attempted to recover by establishing
cruise voyages to the Bahamas and Bermuda, but without success. The company was
hit hard by the Great Depression. It went into bankruptcy in 1934, had its
vessels repossessed in 1938, and was dissolved by its shareholders in 1939. The
flag of the Munson Line was a blue burgee with a white M.
Sources: Lloyds 1912,
National Geographic (1934),
Talbot-Booth (1937)
Joe McMillan, 1 November 2001
Munson Steamship Co. (Munson Line). National Geographic is the only source I
have found that shows a tapered swallowtail. Lloyds, Brown and Talbot-Booth all
show an ordinary rectangular swallowtail.
Neale Rosanoski, 5 March 2004
Mystic Steamship Company, Boston (later Mystic SS Div of Eastern Gas & Fuel
Associates)
I know little about this company. It was a member of the American Steamship
Owners' Association, which existed from 1919-1938 and apparently represented the
established liner companies on the Atlantic coast. So Mystic was evidently a
company of some significance. The flag was a white burgee with a red M.
Sources:
National Geographic (1934),
Wedge (1951),
US Navy's 1961 H.O.
Joe McMillan, 1 November 2001
A brief entry with some historical detail on this line can be found at
www.tugboatluna.org/history/boston_harbor2.htm:
"...the Mystic Steamship fleet -- commercially known as the Boston Tow Boat Company -- ....The Mystic Steamship Company can trace its roots to the Boston Tow Boat Company, which had been founded by Boston's maritime executives to assure salvage, icebreaking, and ship towing services in 1854."
"The Mystic Steamship Company operated coal-carrying colliers and coal barges to transport coal from railroad piers in New York Harbor, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Newport News. This coal was used as a fuel, and as the raw material to make lamp gas from coal and coke. Later, Boston Towboat was operated by Eastern Enterprises, owners of Boston Gas and various maritime operations, which is active to this day as Eastern Enterprises."
Ned Smith, 2 November 2001
US shipping lines house flags - 'N' continued