AMERICAN EXPORT LINES INC.

Bonsor dates adoption of the flag to 1929, but Rosanoski questions whether a new design could have appeared so quickly in Brown’s 1929 edition, and whether no earlier flag existed. Sources use both Export Steamship and American Export names because the latter was a trading style. Ships & The Sea 1938 records the funnel change from E159 to A113; Excalibur’s black-and-white photograph confirms A113. The USA Houseflags website dates A113’s flag to 1919–64, while the FOTW image is labelled 1929–62.

Before the merger, cargo ships used the A113 funnel and passenger ships A114. Merchant Ships 1963 lists Isbrandtsen as a division using the parent’s funnel.

A430 reconstructs a verbal description of the 1962–4 flag: the “E” is placed over the outline of a globe rather than a lozenge. Marine News reports that, during the merger, the “E” was removed from former American Export funnels and placed on the “Isbrandtsen globe”, a reference Rosanoski found uncertain.

After the Isbrandtsen connection ended in 1973, A115 replaced the earlier design. The flag is white with a narrow red band at the top and blue at the bottom. A narrow blue diamond touches both bands and bears the white letters “AEL”.