You can also learn about our history and see our timeline from our anniversary site.

 

1861

• Wilh. Wilhelmsen (WW) was established by Morten Wilhelm Wilhelmsen (1839-1910). The first office was located in Tønsberg, Norway.

 

1865

• The first vessel, Mathilde, was acquired.
• Wilhelmsen started as a shipbroker at the age of 22, but when he bought his first ship, ship owning became the company’s core business.

 

1886

• WW owned 11 sailing ships and was Tønsberg’s largest ship owner.

 

1887

• From 1887 to World War I, WW developed into Norway’s largest shipping company under ythe founders son Halfdan Wilhelmsen (1864-1923). He made the company a pioneer within bulk, tank, tramp and liner shipping.
• The first steamer, Talabot was acquired, named after a French railway engineer. The steamer was immediately profitable and the letter "T" became synonymous with the naming tradition for WW’s vessels.

 

1900

• WW controlled 22 steamships and one sailing ship, and the fleet had grown to be the largest under Norwegian flag.

 

1904

• Wilhelm Wilhelmsen (1872-1955), with the nickname “Captain Wilhelmsen”, the founder’s third son, became a partner. He was the first in the family with a career at sea.

 

1911

• WW entered into liner trade, which soon became its most important activity.
•  At its fiftieth anniversary, WW took delivery of two ore carriers, Tellus and Themis. They were the world’s largest dry cargo ships at that time.
• “The Norwegian Africa and Australia Line” (NAAL) was established by WW and Fearnley & Eger, with three purpose-built steamers contracted for the service. The line was soon extended to India, the Straits and Indonesia.

 

1913

• In WW’s first tanker period, San Joaquin, the first tanker was delivered and WW soon operated a fleet of 10 vessels, which in 1919 was 90% of the total Norwegian tanker tonnage.
• WW and Fearnley & Eger acquired a controlling interest in the Norwegian Mexico Gulf Line (NMGL).

 

1917

• WW moved its head office from Tønsberg to Christiania (Oslo).

 

1920

• WW assumed full control over NAAL and NMGL.

 

1921

• The first diesel powered liner vessel, America, was delivered. 

 

1927

• Kaare Schøning (1884-1960), attorney at the Supreme Court of Appeal, became partner. A position he held until 1957.

 

1930

• Niels Werring (1897-1990), married to Halfdan Wilhelmsen’s daughter, Else, joined the company as partner.
• WW introduced a new series of fast cargo liners with service speeds increasing from 11 to 16 knots. Tourcoing (1933) secured a lasting record of 31 days from Sydney to Dunkirk in the important Australian Wool Derby.

 

1938

• Tom Wilhelmsen (1911-1978), son of Captain Wilhelmsen, became partner . A position he held until his death in 1978.

 

1940

• 52 seamen and nearly half of the WW fleet were lost during World War II. Of WW’s 54 ships, ten were seized by the Germans, while the remaining 44 served the Allied cause. One vessel, Torrens, made history in this role. She made 20 round trips carrying 63 000 American soldiers, war material and troop equipment to various theatres of war, earning herself the name “The Ship of Good Cheers”.

 

1950

• Oil transportation became an increasing part of WW’s sphere of activities.

 

1951

• WW re-entered the tanker trade with the delivery of Tartar. The second tanker period ended in 1984.

 

1958

• Niels Werring jr. (1930-  ), son of Niels Werring sr., was partner from 1958-2000.

 

1960

• The first cargo liner, Tricolor (V) was delivered. She was the first vessel in a series of six with machinery and accommodation situated right aft, and with deck cranes in addition to the conventional derricks for more efficient cargo handling.

 

1962

• The first WW bulk carrier since World War I, Templar, was delivered, followed by Troja (1963) and then Tonga, Takara and Tanabata (1968).

 

1963

• Wilhelm Wilhelmsen (1937-  ), son of Tom Wilhelmsen, became partner. He was president and group CEO from 2000-2003. He also served as chair of the board from 2003-2010.

 

1967

• Construction of still more advanced ships continued, Torrens (II) was the first of the Scandia ships; “open ships”, with twin hatches and deck cranes, and with a service speed of 19 knots.
• Furthermore, four slightly larger and faster Scandia ship were built, 21.5 knots racehorses represented the ultimate in conventional cargo liner design by WW.

 

1970

• WW was a large player in the offshore oil contracting industry in the 1970s.
• Wilhelmsen Offshore Services (WOS) was established as an independent partnership owned by Skips-A/S Tudor (WW) with 50% and by R.S. Platou and Storebrand with 25% each.
• A Canadian – Norwegian joint venture was established on a 50/50 basis between Leitch Transport, Toronto and WW. “Troll Carriers” specialized in bulk, car and forest product transportation.

 

1972

• The ro-ro concept was developed jointly in the 1970s by WW, Transatlantic and East Asiatic in the Australian trade, marketed as ScanAustral/ScanCarriers. The first vessel, Tricolor (VI), was handed over in 1972.
• In 1972, Wilhelmsen Offshore Services (WOS) took delivery of its smallest fleet unit, the Tender Trout.

 

1973

• Leif Terje Løddesøl (1935-  ) was managing director from 1973-1979 and from 1988-2000. He also served as chair of the board from 2000 -2003.

 

1974

• The ship management company Barber Ship Management was established. One of the world’s leading ship management companies.
• The semi-submersible drilling rig, Treasure Scout , was completed for North Sea operations.

 

1976

• The maritime service company Barwil Agencies was established as an agency network to assist WW’s liner vessels.

 

1977

• WW’s first entry into the pure car carrier market occurred when the two bulk carriers Tanabata and Takara were converted into car carriers with fixed decks, two side ramps and with a capacity of about 3 450 cars.

 

1979

• Ivar Løvald (1931-  ) was managing director from 1979-1988.

 

1980s

• WW’s rig engagements, except Polar Pioneer, were in 1989 taken over by a newly established company, Wilrig, where WW had an ownership interest of 20%.

 

1983

• The first pure car carrier, Takayama, joined the fleet.

 

1989

• It was a terrible shock to all WW employees and a blow to the promising development of Wilhelmsen Lines when fifty employees, amongst them half of Wilhelmsen Lines’ office staff in Oslo, lost their lives when a chartered aircraft crashed on 8 September 1989. The employees were en route from Oslo to Hamburg to attend the naming ceremony for Topaz, a new addition to the ro-ro fleet.

 

1993

• WW entered upon its third period in oil transportation by ordering two tankers for delivery, Tarim and Tartar. This tanker trade period ended in 2000.

 

1994

• WW made its final exit from the offshore sector.

 

1995

• WW acquired the outstanding ownership interests in Norwegian South America Line (SAL).
• WW acquired Den norske Amerikalinje, and decided to merge Wilhelmsen Lines and NOSAC. After the merger, Wilhelmsen Lines had a modern fleet of 31 ro-ro vessels and car carriers at its disposal.
• WW moved to its present head office at Lysaker.

 

1999

• Wallenius Wilhelmsen Lines was formed by Wilhelmsen Lines and Wallenius Lines.
• After a restructuring, Wilh. Wilhelmsen’s US flag operations were incorporated in what is currently conducted by the ASL Group.

 

2000

• Tamesis, the first of the fourth generation of ro-ro vessels (Mark IV) was delivered.

 

2001

• Tampa, while on her way from Freemantle to Singapore, rescued 438 refugees. Tampa was threatened with military action if she entered Australian territorial waters with the refugees on board. After a week a compromise was found when an Australian transport vessel brought the refugees to Nauru, an island in the Pacific Ocean. Tampa’s master, Arne Rinnan, and his crew, as well as WW’s shore side staff, had demonstrated to the entire world that the unwritten law of rescue of life at sea overrules other considerations.

 

2002

• EUKOR was established when WW (40%) and Wallenius (40%) together with Hyundai Motor Company (HMC) and Kia Motors Corporation (KMC) (20%) acquired the car carrying division of Hyundai Merchant Marine.
• American Roll-On Roll-Off Carrier (ARC) is owned 50% by WW and 50% by Wallenius and is the third largest US-flag liner carrier, and the largest US-flag ro-ro carrier.
• Our car carrier Tricolor collided in the English Channel with the Bahamas registered container vessel Kariba. The damage to Tricolor was so extensive that the vessel capsized and sank within 30 minutes. Thankfully, none of the 24 crew members was seriously injured as a result of the incident. In order to remove the 190 m long vessel, it had to be cut into 9 sections - each weighing more than 3 000 tonnes.

 

2003

• Ingar Skaug (1946-  ) was group chief executive officer from 2003-2010.

 

2004

• Wilh. Wilhelmsen acquires a shareholding in Glovis Ltd. , currently consisting of 15% of the total issued shares.

 

2005

• Wilhelmsen Maritime Services was established by merging Barber Ship Management and Barwil Agencies.
• The Norwegian stock listed company Unitor group was acquired and integrated into WMS.

 

2006

• Wallenius Wilhelmsen Lines undertook a strategic shift towards fully integrated logistics services, and changed name to Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics .
• The Unitor’s ships service division and Barwil Agencies merged into Barwil Unitor Ships Service. Unitor’s ships equipment division became the business area Unitor Ships Equipment.

 

2008

• Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics starts to operate the world’s largest car carrier, Tijuca, with a capacity of 8 000 car equivalent units.
• Wilhelmsen Maritime Services acquired the Callenberg Group.
• The company consolidated its market brands under one flag and renamed its business areas:
  o Wilhelmsen Ships Service            (formerly Barwil Unitor Ships Service).
  o Wilhelmsen Ship Management    (formerly Barber Ship Management).
  o Wilhelmsen Ships Equipment      (formerly Unitor Ships Equipment).
  o Wilhelmsen Marine Engineering  (formerly Callenberg Group).

2010

• The WWI group (“former” WW ASA) was restructured. The newly incorporated company, Wilh. Wilhelmsen ASA, will continue the Wilh. Wilhelmsen group’s shipping and logistics activities.  Wilhelmsen Maritime Services AS continued under a new holding company, Wilh. Wilhelmsen Holding ASA, which is also the majority shareholder in Wilh. Wilhelmsen ASA.
• Thomas Wilhelmsen (1974 -  ), son of Wilhelm Wilhelmsen and fifth generation at the helm, became group chief executive officer in 2010.

 

2011

• Wilhelmsen Ships Equipment and Wilhelmsen Marine Engineering merged to form Wilhelmsen Technical Solutions.The anniversary vessel Tønsberg was launched; she is the first vessel of the fifth generation ro-rovessels (Mark V) and the world’s largest ro-ro carrier.
• Wilhelmsen Ships Service acquired Nalfleet to further strengthen its marine chemicals portfolio.
• WW celebrated its 150th anniversary.