The Puget Sound Navigation Company (PSNC) was founded by Charles E. Peabody in 1898. It operates a fleet of steamboats and ferries at Puget Sound in Washington and the Georgia Strait in British Columbia. Known as colloquial as the Blackbine , PSNC achieved a "virtual monopoly" on voice traffic in the 1930s and competed with the Canadian Pacific Railway steamer on multiple routes.
Prior to 1927, when the company was controlled by Joshua Green, the home flag was made up of designs by Mrs. Green, a red star on a white diamond with a blue background. After 1927, when Joshua Green sold his interest to the Peabody family, the Black Ball company flag was diverted to Puget Sound Navigation Co., and the company was known as the Black Ball Line.
PSNC began to fight after World War II, as operating costs increased and unions threatened strikes. PSNC petitioned the State Utility Commission to ask for permission to raise the fare but was refused. After a long series of court battles, PSNC union employees finally went on strike. The company responded not by hiring strike strikes, but by halting operations, expecting public pressure would convince the State to allow tariff increases. The state refused to intervene, and PSNC eventually sold its inland operating assets to Washington State Department of Transportation for $ 4.9 million in early 1951, creating Washington State Ferries on May 31.
PSNC retained the assets used in their operations in Canada and, after the 1951 reshuffle, operated a vastly reduced fleet of five vessels as Black Ball Ferries, Ltd. on route between Vancouver and Nanaimo, and across Howe Sound and Jervis Inlet. The first Canadian route began on August 11, 1951 and is between Horseshoe Bay (in West Vancouver) and Gibsons Landing on the Sunshine Coast, BC. In November 1961, the company sold most of its assets to BC Ferries, which began operations in June 1960 as a division of the British Columbia Toll Highways and Bridges Authority, a Crown corporation from the provincial government of British Columbia.
Black Ball Line's current descendants are the Black Ball Ferry Line, which currently operates only one route across the Strait of Juan de Fuca, between Port Angeles and Victoria, using MV Coho . Originally Black Ball Line has a second service known as Black Ball Freight Service which is a subsidiary of Puget Sound Navigation. It is not clear when the subsidiary was made. In 1936, R.J. Acheson bought a subsidiary. In 1952, Acheson and his wife hosted a new subsidiary of Black Ball Freight Service, renamed it Black Ball Transport, Inc. In 2008, Black Ball Transport was renamed now. Black Ball Freight service ends in 2008.
Video Puget Sound Navigation Company
Acquisitions
Neah Bay Dock Company
The Neah Bay Dock Company is a subsidiary of the Puget Sound Navigation Company. In 1929, the Neah Bay Dock company owned a pier and hotel in Neah Bay, Washington.
Maps Puget Sound Navigation Company
See also
- Pacific Wharf Company
References
Further reading
- A guide to Vernon R. Stedman Papers. 1933-1972. 1.21 cubic feet (2 boxes).
Source of the article : Wikipedia