The American Export Lines was a United States-based Company, which operated between 1919 until 1977, when it declared bankruptcy and was acquire Farrell Lines that same year. In 58 years, AEL offered both Cargo and Passenger service.

 

In 1919, shortly after the end of the war, the Export Steamship Corporation was organized and begun making routes between New York and the Mediterranean, but only cargo ships by this point. In the 1920’s, the empathize the ties with the United States, the word “American” was added, becoming the American Export Steamship Corporation. It wasn’t until the 1930’s that the company started offering passenger services as well, which begun in 1930, with the introduction of the S.S. Excalibur, of which follow 3 mores sisters in 1931: S.S. Exeter; S.S. Excambion and S.S. Exochorda. These 4 vessels were also known as the Series One of “Four Aces”. Though the introduction of these 4 ships came at the bad timing, since a year before the introduction of the S.S. Excalibur, in 1929, the Wall Street Crash had happened, and the United States was entering the Great Depression of the 1930’s. In 1936, after many reorganizations, the company became the American Export Lines. During the war, the company operated all transport ships for the U.S. War Shipping Administration, and here we saw the loss of 3 of the Four Aces. Only the S.S. Exochorda survived the war and was later sold to the Turkish Maritime Lines and renamed the S.S. Tarsus.

 

After the war, the company replaced the Series One of “Four Aces” with the Series Two of “Four Aces” in 1948 after buying four C3-class Windsor-class Attack Transports and converting them into passenger-cargo lines. The ships were: USS Dauphin became S.S. Exochorda, USS Dutchess became S.S. Excalibur, USS Queens became S.S. Excambion and USS Shelby became S.S. Exeter. This new quartet sailed under the American Export flag until the 1960’s.

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The crowning achievement in American Export's passenger services were their largest and best-known liners, the twin ships SS Constitution and SS Independence. Of note, in 1956, Grace Kelly sailed on the S.S. Constitution when she was to be wed to Prince Rainier of Monaco. In 1965, after been reorganized into the American Export-Isbrandtsen Lines they started operating the only cargo-passenger vessel, the N.S. Savannah, though she was decommissioned in 1972. But after returning to American Export Lines in 1973, AEL was in operating in heavy losses and been unable to meet crippling debt payments, they declared bankruptcy in 1977, with Farrell Lines buying its port operations in New York and its remaining ships a year later.