Maritime Commission opens bids for new combination passenger and cargo liner. Washington, D.C., April 1. Taking its first major step toward developing the American Merchant Fleet, the new federal maritime Commission opened bids today for the construction of a combination passenger and cargo liner to replace the S.S. Leviathan in Transatlantic service. The bids were submitted under the 1936 Merchant Marine Act which specifies that plans must include all the latest safety and National defense features. The War and Navy Departments have requested that the Leviathan be retained as a Military Auxiliary. In the photograph, left to right: Commissioner M.M. Taylor; Telfair Knight, Secretary to the Commission; and Rear Admiral H.A. Wiley, Chairman of the Commission, 4/1/1937