United States Merchant Marine Academy Kings Point - Midships Yearbook

“EDICATION There are some in each generation who, restless and dissatisfied, turn to the sea to which they are akin. From it they create great legends of daring and determination, and build lives rich with character as honest and powerful as the sea itself. Such a man was Hans Isbrandtsen. To perpetuate his memory and to the preservation of his love of the sea, we dedicate the 1954 Midships. Isbrandtsen was born September 7, 1891, on a small island off Copenhagen, Denmark. Descendant of an impressive line of masters and shipowners, it was only natu- ral that he too should follow the sea, and after a compulsory stint in the Danish Navy he began his career as an appren- tice in a Danish shipping house. In 1914 he came to the United States and, opening a small office at 17 Battery Place, he entered the chartering field. A few years later, in partnership with his cousin, he formed the Isbrandtsen-MoUer Steamship Company and operated a fleet of vessels for the United States Shipping Board during World War I. After the Armistice a purchase of sixteen ships was made, the basis of the present fleet. A shrewd trader as well, he soon combined his shipping interests with vast trading activities in steel, grain, coal, coffee, tea, and rubber, and did much to develop natural resources throughout the world. Typical of a lifetime filled with zest and vigor, Hans Isbrandtsen was on a world wide inspection tour of his holdings when he died at Wake Island on May 13, 1953. ”