Ocean Shipholdings history

Established in 1920 to promote a national merchant marine and shipyard capacity in case of national emergencies, the Jones Act required ships involved in United States flag trades to be built in American shipyards and without government subsidy, as well as to be owned and operated by Americans.

By 1923, Waterman’s ships called at additional ports in the U.K. and North Europe from United States Gulf and East Coast ports.

Looking to increase stability in the company, Waterman established Ryan Stevedoring Co. in 1924.

The Administration consented to the Waterman purchase over the objections of the Seafarers International Union and another shipping company, Afram, both of whom contended that the merger was in violation of the 1936 act.

Waterman, who died suddenly in 1937, managed to build one of the largest United States steamship companies before the start of World War II.

Tracing its history to the formation of the Central Gulf Steamship Corp in 1947, International Shipholding Corporation, Inc. (ISC) is Louisiana's oldest existing steamship company.

McLean purchased Waterman Steamship’s ship operation in 1955.

By 1961, McLean disposed many of the Waterman assets to finance his Sea-Land fleet.

Created in 1969 through the merger of the ship holdings of five private businessmen, Overseas Shipholding Group (OSG) became the only publicly traded pure ocean shipping company in the United States.

In early 1971, Trans Union merged with Central Gulf, allowing it to launch three new United States-flag LASH vessels, which operated from the Gulf to the Middle East and Southeast Asia, and to commission and commence operating a new series of float-on/float-off heavy-lift vessels.

In 1974, the company acquired a fleet of LASH (lighter-aboard) ships, which transported small barges that shippers used to fill with their freight.

In 1978, International Shipholding Corporation was spun off from Trans Union and formed to act as a holding company, its only significant assets the capital stock of its subsidiaries, which at the time consisted of Central Gulf and certain other affiliated companies.

As part of the spinoff, common stock in ISC was issued to Trans Union stockholders in 1979.

In a 1980 Barron's profile, Hyman attributed OSG's growth to "a willingness to sacrifice the chance to maximize profits in periods of unusually high spot rates for long-term charters, assuring a steadier stream of rising earnings."

By 1981, ISC had paid off its remaining debt to Trans Union, after securing a $41 million, six-year loan, $9 million of which went to its LASH Carriers subsidiary.

In 1984, ISC moved to new headquarters in the Poydras Center Building in New Orleans.

In 1986, Central Gulf purchased Forest Lines from International Navigation Ltd., a subsidiary of International Paper Company.

Vernon, Indiana, to Florida and began operating two of the first four pure car carriers to fly the American flag, transporting vehicles for Honda and Toyota beginning in 1987.

With net income of $11 million in 1988 and revenues of $170.4 million, the company's business was booming.

In March 1989, Niels and Erik Johnsen of New Orleans-based International Shipholding purchased the company.

In fact, Transportation Secretary Samuel K. Skinner later decided in 1990 to revise and lengthen Waterman's vessel subsidy contract on condition that the company use no more than four subsidized vessels on its newly consolidated trade route.

The company's 1991 earnings of $15.2 million on revenues of $328.4 million were bolstered in part by government contracts to charter vessels to carry equipment to Middle East ports, and once again led analysts, who praised ISC's diversification, to rate ISC as a good buy.

In 1992, the firm formed a joint venture with The Chandris Group, a business with over 30 years of experience in the cruise market.

The 1993 Maritime Security and Competitiveness Act, part of the longer term legacy of the Gulf War, also created opportunities for ISC. As the United States withdrew from its bases overseas, it had come to rely increasingly upon prepositioned supply ships.

Mid-decade, OSG garnered an auto transport contract with Toyota that extended until 1994.

The 38,000 dead weight ton vessel, renamed the Energy Enterprise, completed shipyard work and commenced service in February 1996 under a long-term charter to a New England electric utility company carrying coal in the coastwise and near-sea trade.

By 1997, ISC operated a diversified fleet of 31 ocean-going vessels, 18 towboats, 128 river barges, and 26 special purpose barges, in addition to its LASH barges and related shoreside handling facilities.

As it entered 1998, ISC had to contend with a decrease in subsidies for four of its Central Gulf LASH vessels as specified by the Maritime Security Program and a loss from start-up costs for a planned service between the Gulf of Mexico and Brazil, which was later canceled.

In 2016, International Shipholding filed for bankruptcy and Seacor Marine Holdings purchased Waterman Steamship.

CLAIBORNE Ann Walsh says: Sunday, December 29, 2019 at 3:05 pmThe Waterman Steamship Company had.