TransAtlantic Lines LLC is an American shipping company based in Greenwich, Connecticut. The limited liability company was founded in 1998 by vice-president Gudmundur Kjaernested The company owned and operated 5 vessels, including one tug-and-barge combination. Four of these vessels were chartered by the Military Sealift Command, and performed duties such as delivering cargo to U.S. military activities in Diego Garcia. TransAtlantic maintains resident agents in the U.S. District of New York and other federal Districts to receive service of process. TransAtlantic Lines had no collective bargaining agreements with seagoing unions. History In 1997, Gudmundur Kjærnested decided to start a shipping company to serve the Iceland route. Then an Icelandic citizen, educated in the United States, and having worked at Van Ommeren shipping for seven years, he was familiar with the route and its history. Kjarnested is a citizen of Iceland and U.S. resident alien who was married on May 20, 2000 to U.S.-national Margaret Elizabeth Bozzi. He is also president of Atlantsskip in Reykjavik, Iceland. The two were originally even partners in both ventures, and are also the primary owners of the Icelandic company TransAtlantic Lines-Iceland EHF (TLI). Shortly thereafter, they accepted an offer from shipping company American Automar to purchase the company. The company made several preparations to bid for the Iceland contract. The company did not yet own any ships, but did secure four letters from U.S. shipping companies pledging to supply vessels sufficient to cover the charter requirements. One of the pledged vessels was the supply boat Native Dancer. Eight bids for the 1998 U.S.–Iceland run were solicited by the Military Traffic Management Command on 30 January 1998, and six bids were received. Observers speculate that the bids were from the Icelandic company Eimskip, Dutch shipping company Van Ommeren, Atlantsskip, TransAtlantic Lines, and TransAtlantic Lines Iceland. In September 1998, the Military Traffic Management Command awarded 65% of the Iceland contract to TransAtlantic Lines Iceland, the lowest overall bidder, and the remaining 35% to the TransAtlantic Lines LLC, the lowest bidder among American shipping companies. The portion awarded to TransAtlantic Lines LLC had a cumulative total value of $5,519,295 and was set to expire by 31 October 2000. Within a month, TransAtlantic re-flagged Juno to the United States and renamed it Geysir at the Port of Jacksonville. In response to the awards, the government of Iceland lodged a protest with the U.S. State Department, arguing that "TLI was