Keystone Shipping Company is an American

shipping Freight transport, also referred to as freight forwarding, is the physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it has been ...

and

transportation Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...

company headquartered in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. The company operates a fleet of

ship A ship is a large watercraft, vessel that travels the world's oceans and other Waterway, navigable waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research and fishing. Ships are generally disti ...

s for both

dry bulk Bulk cargo is product cargo that is transported unpackaged in large quantities. Description Bulk cargo refers to material in either liquid or granular, particulate (as a mass of relatively small solids) form, such as petroleum/crude oil, ...

cargo and

tankers Tanker may refer to: Transportation * Tanker, a tank crewman (US) * Tanker (ship), a ship designed to carry bulk liquids ** Chemical tanker, a type of tanker designed to transport chemicals in bulk ** Oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanke ...

. Keystone Shipping Company has a fleet of over 20 ships. The fleet consists of: tankers, dry bulk ships, tugboats, tank barges, and roll-on/roll-off ships. Keystone Shipping Company tanker fleet transports

crude oil Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring u ...

and other

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring un ...

products to both coasts in the United States.

History

Foundation and early years

Keystone Shipping Company was founded by Charles Kurz. Since

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the Keystone Shipping Company has been active in the worldwide support of the

United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. U.S. United States Code, federal law names six armed forces: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States Navy, Na ...

. Keystone Shipping Company is part of the

Ready Reserve Fleet The National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) consists of ships of the United States, mostly merchant vessels, that have been mothballed but can be activated within 20 to 120 days to provide shipping during national military emergencies, or non-mil ...

program. Before Keystone Shipping Company, Charles Kurz was a shipping agent, commodities trader, and ship owner. Keystone Shipping Company headquarters is in

Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania Bala Cynwyd ( ) is a community and census-designated place in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located on the Philadelphia Main Line in Southeastern Pennsylvania and borders the western edge of Philadelphia at U.S. Route ...

World War II

Keystone Shipping Company was a major tanker operator during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Keystone Shipping Company operated a fleet of tankers for the

War Shipping Administration The War Shipping Administration (WSA) was a World War II emergency war agency of the US government, tasked to purchase and operate the civilian shipping tonnage the United States needed for fighting the war. Both shipbuilding under the Maritime C ...

. Keystone Shipping Company operated

Type T2 tanker The T2 tanker, or T2, was a class of oil tanker constructed and produced in large numbers in the United States during World War II. Only the T3 tankers were larger "navy oilers" of the period. Some 533 T2s were built between 1940 and the end of ...

s and other tankers. Keystone Shipping Company operated for the war a fleet of over 60 tankers. Each Keystone Shipping Company had a merchant crew of about 9 officers and 39 men. *Charles Kurz became the head of the

(WSA) during World War II, in addition to operating ships. **Some ships operated for World War II: *SS Santee **

Liberty ship Liberty ships were a ship class, class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Although British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost cons ...

s: * Christopher L. Sholes * Charles A. Wickliffe * Andrew A. Humpreys * Henry L. Ellsworth * Thomas F. Cunningham * David Holmes * S.S. Seakay **

T2 Tanker The T2 tanker, or T2, was a class of oil tanker constructed and produced in large numbers in the United States during World War II. Only the T3 tankers were larger "navy oilers" of the period. Some 533 T2s were built between 1940 and the end of 1 ...

* Oscar F. Barrett * Oscar S. Straus **

* Bennington * Bunker Hill

Key Lakes

''Key Lakes'' of

Duluth, Minnesota Duluth ( ) is a Port, port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County. Located on Lake Superior in Minnesota's Arrowhead Region, the city is a hub for cargo shipping. The population ...

is a subsidiary of Keystone Shipping Company operating on the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

with 20 ships. Key Lakes operated tankers, dry bulk ships, tugboats, tank barges, and roll-on/roll-off ships.

Alaska Tanker Company

Keystone Shipping Company entered into a partnership with in the ''Alaska Tanker Company''. Alaska Tanker Company founded in 1999. The other partners were: OSG America Operating Company of

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

and BP Oil Shipping Company. Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc. (NYSE: OSG), purchased all the shares of Alaska Tanker Company on March 12, 2020, and now is a subsidiary of Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc. of Tampa. Alaska Tanker Company transport of Alaskan crude oil with four 190,000 tons tankers. Alaska Tanker Company headquarters is in

Beaverton, Oregon Beaverton is a city in the Tualatin Valley, located in Washington County in the U.S. state of Oregon, with a small portion bordering Portland. The city is among the main cities that make up the Portland metropolitan area. Its population was ...

. **Ships: *Alaska Explorer *Alaska Frontier *Alaska Legend *Alaska Navigator

Keystone Shipping Company ships

** Some of Keystone Shipping Company ships: * MV Cape Kennedy (T-AKR-5083) * SS Denebola (T-AKR-289) *

RS RocketShip R/S ''RocketShip'', formerly M/V ''Delta Mariner'', is a roll-on/roll-off cargo ship operated by Keystone Shipping Company for United Launch Alliance (ULA). Her primary role is transporting components for the ULA Atlas V, Delta IV and Vulcan (roc ...

primary route is moving rocket parts of ULA Atlas V, Delta IV and Vulcan rockets to Cape Canaveral, Fla. and

Vandenberg AFB Vandenberg Space Force Base , previously Vandenberg Air Force Base, is a United States Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County, California. Established in 1941, Vandenberg Space Force Base is a space launch base, launching spacecraft from the ...

. * SS Denebola (T-AKR-289) * MV Cape Knox (T-AKR-5082) * MV Cape Kennedy (T-AKR-5083) * USNS Potomac (T-AO-181) * MV Roger Blough **Some Past ships * SS Chancellorsville T2 * SS Fredericksburg (1958) 1976–2004 *SS Murfreesboro T2 *SS Perryville T2 *SS Pueblo T2 * Birch Coulie * Oakley Wood * Henry C. Wallace * New Zealand Victory * David Holmes * Alan Seeger * Little Big Horn * Fort Capot River *

MV Sea Isle City MV ''Sea Isle City'', ex-''Umm al Maradem'', was a Kuwait Oil Company oil tanker that reflagged during Operation Earnest Will. The ship was completed in 1981 by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Japan, as hull number 1867, for the Kuwait Oil Tanker Co ...

* SS Bridgeton * USS Saugatuck

References

{{Authority control Keystone Shipping Company Tanker shipping companies Petroleum industry Container shipping companies Companies based in Philadelphia Supply shipping companies Logistics companies of the United States Logistics industry in the United States