Collins Line

American shipping company

Also known as: United States Mail Steamship Company

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June 24, 2026

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The Collins Line, officially the United States Mail Steamship Company, was an American shipping company founded in 1847 by Edward Knight Collins. For a period, it provided significant competition to the British Cunard Line in transatlantic service.1

From 1850 to 1854, the Collins Line operated some of the fastest and most luxurious ships on the Atlantic, including the "Atlantic," "Pacific," "Arctic," and "Baltic". However, the line ceased operations in 1858 after two of its ships were lost at sea and its government subsidy was withdrawn. Despite its short lifespan, the Collins Line was notable for its pursuit of speed and luxury in transatlantic travel.12

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The Atlantic Ferry
One exception was the Collins Line, which in 1847 owned the four finest ships then afloat—the Arctic, Atlantic, Baltic, and Pacific—and in 1851 the Blue Riband (always a metaphorical rank rather than an actual trophy) given for the speediest crossing of the New York–Liverpool route passed from Cunard’s Acadia…
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One exception was the Collins Line, which in 1847 owned the four finest ships then afloat—the Arctic, Atlantic, Baltic, and Pacific—and in 1851 the Blue Riband (always a metaphorical rank rather than an actual trophy) given for the speediest crossing of the New York–Liverpool route passed from Cunard’s Acadia…
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Edward Knight Collins
…States Mail Steamship Company (Collins Line), which for a time gave serious competition to the British Cunard Line. From 1850 to 1854 Collins’s paddle-wheel steamers, the “Atlantic,” “Pacific,” “Arctic,” and “Baltic,” were the fastest and most luxurious ships in the transatlantic service. In 1858, after the loss of two…
Read More
…States Mail Steamship Company (Collins Line), which for a time gave serious competition to the British Cunard Line. From 1850 to 1854 Collins’s paddle-wheel steamers, the “Atlantic,” “Pacific,” “Arctic,” and “Baltic,” were the fastest and most luxurious ships in the transatlantic service. In 1858, after the loss of two…
Read More