The firm had its roots in the co-operation between the Gow and McGregor families in Glasgow in the 1850s.
Alan C Gow was a voyage broker, James McGregor organised the freight to fill the ships and by 1860 they were in partnership.
In 1867 Alan Gow had the sailing ship Estrella de Chile built to ply the route between Glasgow, Liverpool, and Chile via Cape Horn.
In 1922, the Glen Line opened its new building on the Bund in Shanghai.
The company lost two further ships to U-boat attacks in the Second World War.