United States Shipping Board
[1] The legislation was not then a part of any war effort with specific intent, as stated in the act: A board of five commissioners was to be appointed by the US president with confirmation by the US Senate as the United States Shipping Board (USSB) to acquire and construct suitable vessels and to create corporations under its control to execute the programs.
[1] The US entered the war just over two months after the board had begun its work, which completely changed its focus from generally strengthening the nation's maritime position to a massive wartime program.
[1] During the war, Congress granted the president extraordinary wartime powers, which were used by means of Executive Orders to expand the board's authority and its corporation.
[1] The Chairman of the USSB was initially the head of the EFC, but the General Manager had all real authority except the power to sign contracts.
[5] The new USSB composition, which remained throughout the war was Edward N. Hurley as chairman, with Raymond B. Stevens replacing James B.
[10] Some of Germany's premier liners, such as Amerika, George Washington, Kronprinzessin Cecilie, Astoria, Pensacola, Aeolus, Mercury, Pocahontas, Powhatan, Prinz Eitel Friedrich, Republic, President Lincoln, Kaiser Wilhelm II, Antigone, Rhein, Kronprinz Wilhelm, Covington, Friedrich der Große and Vaterland, were among the seized ships.
[11] On 15 November 1917, the USSB authorized negotiations with foreign countries that had seized German or Austrian ships with actual discussions that continued until January 1918.
[12] The result was the charter or the outright purchase of a number of ships interned from South America to China.
[5][12] The USSB's first action regarding new construction was commandeering every contract, hull, and even steel in the US yards for ships over 2,500 DWT.
[8] The first order was signed by Chairman Hurley on 3 August 1917, to be executed by the EFC to secure control of the shipyards and construction already underway.
The Board's construction program, most notably the Hog Islander ships, was executed through the Emergency Fleet Corporation, which it established on 16 April 1917.
[15] A specific example was the preferred trade by neutrals in manganese with eastern South America when the war effort required nitrates from the west of the continent.
[21] The officer training was expanded to training for crew, deck sailors, firemen, wipers, cooks, and stewards by December 1917 and was open to all male citizens of the ages 18 to 20 or 32 to 35 with a goal expanded from an estimated 85,000 to 200,000 because of the revised estimates of ships by the end of the war.
In 1918, the initial operation and policies of the commission was agreed to between the USSB and the following parties: Subsequently, additional shipping companies and labor organizations entered the agreement with modifications.
In July 1920, the USSB withdrew from the commission agreement and decided to deal with shipping workers directly.
