[1] The Grace Line began service in 1882, with ports of call between Peru and New York City.

The main source of shipping revenue was from the exporting of guano from the Chincha Islands of Peru to fertilizer manufacturers in the United States.

Steamships utilized the shorter route of the Strait of Magellan, whereas a sailing ship needed to go past Cape Horn.

[11] Now without a transpacific service, Grace did not need the six inter coastal freighters (the above mentioned five and Santa Paula) and sold them to the American Hawaiian Line.

[12] With the experience of Grace Shipping in South America, the parent company of W.R. Grace and Company was, in 1928, able to enter into a joint venture with Pan American Airways for the creation of Panagra (Pan American-Grace Airways) in South America.

[14] In order to comply with existing U.S. Mail contracts, the Grace Line acquired four Santa Rosa-class ships from the Federal Shipbuilding Company of Kearney, New Jersey.

As of 1932, the new Santa Rosa was the most economical steamer at sea in terms of specific fuel consumption.

In collaboration with the United States Maritime Commission, the Grace Line built a new fleet of vessels for post-war shipping services.

On November 4, 1945, the president of the Grace Line, R. Ranney Adams, announced the post-war shipping services:[21] Our new combination passenger and cargo liners will be fast and efficient vessels with accommodations for 52 first-class passengers.

A profile in Handweaver & Craftsman magazine explained the interior design of the ships for these types of routes as follows:[24] Handwoven fabrics, along with the work of contemporary artists, sculptors, ceramists, and craftsmen in metal, enamel and glass help to create a fresh, cool, relaxing modern atmosphere, a new-ship look in keeping with holiday travel in tropical waters.Santa Paula was launched on January 9, 1958 by Patricia Nixon, the wife of then Vice President Richard Nixon.

However, the effort was opposed to by the longshoremen in New York and Venezuela, and the ships were repeatedly laid up idle.

[27][28] However, they were no real gain as mixing conventional breakbulk cargo (shipping goods loaded individually) and containers in the same ship was less efficient in terms of the operating economies than full containerization (intermodal freight transport) was capable of.

As an engineering company, operations analysis (operations research) of the trade route was made to determine:[32] This operations analysis included: In conjunction with trade forecasts prepared by Grace economists, trends in cargo carryings were managed by means of:[32] In December 1969, Grace Line was sold to Prudential Lines for $44.5 million, with the merged company renamed Prudential Grace Line.

The divisions were managed as follows:[1][33] The Prudential Grace Line was taken over by Delta Steamship Lines of New Orleans, Louisiana in 1978, allowing Delta to carry on shipping services to Latin America from both the U.S. Atlantic and Pacific Coasts.

[37]Santa Paula (1958) in its converted form as the Kuwait Marriott floating hotel officially opened in 1980.

[27] Santa Paula (1958) as the Ramada al Salaam floating hotel was destroyed during the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990, the exception of its spare machinery.