House Flags of U.S. Shipping Companies: N

Naess Shipping Co

  by Joe McMillan

Naess Shipping Co, New York <us~$naes.gif> (Source: [usn61])
As Naess was one of the members of the American Committee for Flags of Necessity, I assume it did not operate under the U.S. flag but under flags of convenience. As it evidently did not belong to the successor organization, the Federation of American-Controlled Shipping, I would assume it was out of business by the time FACS was formed in 1974. The house flag was red with a large white lozenge and a blue N.
Source: US Navy's 1961 H.O.

Joe McMillan, 2 November 2001

Charles Nelson Steamship Company

      by Joe McMillan

Charles Nelson Steamship Company
Primarily a coastwise firm serving the Pacific coast, Nelson also went into the intercoastal business for a time but in 1934 was shut out of the group that fixed rates for the Pacific-to-Gulf of Mexico traffic on the grounds that it was too small to sail a regular schedule. I have found two flags. The first (ca. 1908) was white with red stripes along the upper and lower edges, with a blue lozenge on the center bearing the letter N between two white stars. The later flag was blue with a yellow N.
Source: 1908 update to Flaggenbuch 1905, Wedge (1926), Talbot-Booth (1937)

Joe McMillan, 2 November 2001

New England Fuel Transport Company

  by Joe McMillan

New England Fuel Transport Company, Boston (?-1926)
The flag was more interesting than most of tonight's set: white with a blue cross separating the letters N,E,F, and T in red, and on the center a blue disk inscribed "Co" in white.
Source: www.steamship.net

Joe McMillan, 2 November 2001

New York & Brazil Mail Line

New York & Brazil Mail Line, New York
Although listed under this name in Manning, the only line serving New York and Brazil during this period seems to have been the U.S. and Brazil Mail Steamship Company, which was the name for three different entities that operated from 1865-1875, 1878-1881, and 1883-1893. The line was viewed by the British government as an intruder on the British monopoly over mail service to and from Brazil, and was conseqently driven out of business by heavy British government subsidies to the Royal Mail West Indies Company. Manning also labels the same flag as representing the "Empire Line." The flag was white with a blue saltire and the red letters G and A in the hoist and fly. No information on what the letters stood for, but I'm struck by the presence of the blue saltire, which also appears in the city flag of Rio de Janeiro.
Source: Manning (1874)

Joe McMillan, 5 November 2001

New York & Charleston Steamship Co

  by Joe McMillan

New York & Charleston Steamship Co
Based on the fact that the flag was white with a red M, and that the Morgan Line served Charleston at several times, this may be one of the various companies making up Charles Morgan's coastwise empire, but I'm not sure of that.
Source: Manning (1874)

Joe McMillan, 5 November 2001

New York, Havana & Mexican Mail Line (Alexandre Line)

  by Joe McMillan

New York, Havana & Mexican Mail Line (Alexandre Line), New York (1867-1888)
The Alexandre Line provided the first regularly scheduled steamship service between New York and Veracruz, later expanding to other Mexican ports and Cuba. Purchased by the Ward Line in 1888. The flag was red with a white lozenge bearing the black initials F.A.
Source: Manning (1874), Flaggenbuch 1905

Joe McMillan, 5 November 2001

New York, Philadelphia & Northern Railroad Co

  by Joe McMillan

New York, Philadelphia & Northern Railroad Co, Philadelphia
No information on this company; presumably it served the Philadelphia-New York area. The flag was a red burgee with a white lozenge bearing the company initials in red.
1909 update to Flaggenbuch 1905

Joe McMillan, 5 November 2001

New York & Porto Rico Steamship Co

  by Joe McMillan

New York & Porto Rico Steamship Co (Porto Rico Line), New York (1885-1949) <us~nypr.gif> (Source: Lloyds 1912, [gsh34])
The roots of this company, like those of the Bull Line, go back to Archibald H. Bull's fleet of sailing vessels that operated from New York to Puerto Rico beginning in 1873. In 1885, Bull incorporated the New York & Porto Rico [sic] Steamship Company, along with other investors, operating under the British flag. When Puerto Rico became a US possession after the Spanish-American War, the U.S. cabotage privilege was extended to the new territory, forcing Bull to sell his British ships and buy American ones instead (until 1912, a ship had to be U.S.-built to fly the U.S. flag). The expense involved caused Bull's other shareholders to seek a buyer for their shares. The man they found, John Berwind, proposed an all or nothing deal and Bull was forced to sell his shares as well. Bull went on to found another company, known as the Bull Line, while Berwind sold out to Charles Morse's Consolidated Steamship Lines in 1907. Consolidated went broke in 1909 and the NY&PR was taken over by the Atlantic, Gulf & West Indies Steamship Lines holding company. However, AGWI continued to operate it under its own name and flag until 1949, when the Bull Line bought the Porto Rico Line and ended its separate identity. The flag for most of the lines existence was a yellow B (for Bull or Berwind) on a red triangular pennant. I have also seen occasional renderings with the B in white.

  by Joe McMillan

During the period when it was owned by the Consolidated Steamship Lines, a C rather than a B appeared on the pennant.
(Sources: www.steamship.net, Flaggenbuch 1905

Joe McMillan, 5 November 2001

New York & West Indies Steamship Co

  by Joe McMillan

New York & West Indies Steamship Co, New York
A distinctive flag, white with a central disk divided blue over red.
Source: Manning (1874)

Joe McMillan, 6 November 2001

Norfolk & Southern Steamship Co

  by Joe McMillan

Norfolk & Southern Steamship Co (ca. 1905-07)
A red burgee with the white initials N&S.
Source: www.steamship.net

North Atlantic & Gulf Steamship Co

  by Joe McMillan

North Atlantic & Gulf Steamship Co, New York
A tramp company dating back to at least the late 1940s. (Tramp companies dispatch vessels to pick up cargoes as orders for transportation arrive rather than keeping to fixed steaming schedules.) This company flew a red and white checkered flag (two rows of three rectangles each) with the initials NA&G in counterchanged letters.
Source: US Navy's 1961 H.O.

North Pacific Steamship Co

       by Joe McMillan

North Pacific Steamship Co, San Francisco
Evidently this line functioned in the early 20th century, but I have no other information. I have two flags under this name: Flaggenbuch 1905 shows a red flag with a white chevron extending from the lower edge to the center of the upper edge. Lloyds (1912) shows a blue flag with a white disk bearing a red star. As the contemporary Great Northern SS Co. used a similar flag with the addition of a white saltire, there may well have been a corporate relationship, especially as another company under the same ownership as the GNSS was called the Great Northern Pacific SS Co.. But this is speculation.
Flaggenbuch 1905, Lloyds (1912)

Northwestern Steamship Co

  by Joe McMillan

Northwestern Steamship Co, Seattle (1904-08)
This company provided service between Seattle, Vancouver and Alaska. It was taken over by the Alaska SS Co. As in the case of the 1912 flag of the North Pacific Steamship Co, this one seems to have features in common with the Great Northern SS Co flag--it was white with a blue saltire and a red star overall.
Source: 1909 update to Flaggenbuch 1905