Maersk Line celebrates 80 years

IN AN era of mergers and
acquisitions, an 80-year
history is a rare milestone.
But for Maersk Line, July 12
marked that historic moment
– the date in 1928 on which
Leise Maersk, the line’s first
vessel, sailed from Baltimore
on the US East Coast en route
to the Far East via the Panama
Canal with a cargo of Ford car
parts and general cargo.
Carrying 3 600 tons of
cargo, the equivalent of 200
twenty-foot containers (teus),
she reached Japan 59 days
later and the Philippines on
the 72nd day. On her return
voyage she carried sugar, silk,
and oil products.
Numerous milestones
followed as the line continued
its expansion drive.
The 1950s was a decade of
expansion, especially in the Far
East, with a service connecting
Japan with emerging markets
in South East Asia and the
Middle East, the introduction
of a “Round-the-world” line,
and inclusion of West Africa in
the network.
1956 was another
significant date with the first
container shipped aboard the
Ideal X from Port Newark,
New Jersey to Houston.
But it was in 1973 that
container shipping truly took
off and Maersk Line ordered
its first dedicated container
vessels. In 1975 Adrian Maersk,
with a 1 400 teu capacity,
undertook the line’s first
containerised sailing.
As the container revolution
gained momentum in the
1970s and 80s, AP Moller
applied a more holistic
approach to the transport
chain, leading to further
involvement in terminal and
port development and the
establishment of a logistics
company (Maersk Logistics,
originally called Mercantile).
In 1996 Regina Maersk
became the world’s largest,
most modern container vessel
with a 6 000 teu capacity and
a crew of 15. But she only
ruled the seas for a year – in
1997, the 6 600 teu Sovereign
Maersk took over but was
eclipsed in 2006 by Emma
Maersk with capacity for more
than 11 000 teus. That’s 65
times more than the Leise
Maersk 80 years ago and
clearly a record waiting to
be broken!