Wilh. Wilhelmsen facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Wilh. Wilhelmsen Holding ASA

Type	Allmennaksjeselskap
Traded as	OSE: WWI
Industry	Shipping
Founded	1861; 164 years ago (1861)
Headquarters	Lysaker, Norway
Key people	Thomas Wilhelmsen (CEO) Diderik Schnitler (chair)
Number of employees	Ca. 21,000

Wilh. Wilhelmsen Holding ASA (WWH) is a big Norwegian company that works in the shipping business. Its main office is in Lysaker, Norway. This company is huge! It has over 21,000 employees and works in 75 different countries. The Wilhelmsen group runs the largest shipping network in the world, with more than 2,200 locations globally.

The WW group started on October 1, 1861, in Tønsberg, Norway. Their very first ship was a sailing ship called the Mathilde in 1886. Halfdan Wilhelmsen was a smart leader. He understood that steamboats were the future of shipping. So, in 1887, the company bought a steamship named Talabot. After buying Talabot, the company really started to make money. Since then, all their ships have names starting with the letter "T". This means the same name has been used many times for different ships over the years. For example, there have been at least four ships named Talabot, from oil tankers to ro-ro vessels.

Since 1978, the main owners have been the siblings Cecilie Paus and Helen Juell. Their brothers, Wilhelm Wilhelmsen and Finn Wilhelmsen, have passed away. The fifth generation of the Wilhelmsen family now includes Thomas Wilhelmsen, Olympia Paus, Pontine Paus, Cathrine Løvenskiold Wilhelmsen, Hedvig Juell, Maren Juell, Hannah Wilhelmsen, Monica Wilhelmsen, and Julie Wilhelmsen.

The History of Wilhelmsen Shipping

A NOSAC car carrier ship

In 1861, the company was started by (Morten) Wilhelm Wilhelmsen. This happened in the town of Tønsberg, Norway. Over the next 20 years, Wilhelmsen's fleet grew quickly. They added about one new ship each year. By 1886, Wilhelmsen was the biggest ship owner in Tønsberg.

In 1886, Wilhelm's oldest son, Halfdan Wilhelmsen, joined the company. He was key in changing the company from using sailing ships to its first steamship. In late 1887, they bought a 1,800-ton cargo ship called Talabot. This steamship was a very good investment for the Wilhelmsens. Because of this, the letter "T" became a special tradition for naming all their ships.

In 1890, Halfdan Wilhelmsen set up the company's main business: regular shipping routes. In 1911, they created NAAL (The Norwegian Africa and Australia Line). This helped them expand their routes even more.

A big step in growing their Roll-on/roll-off (Ro-ro) operations happened in November 1995. Wilh. Wilhelmsen fully bought NAL (Norwegian America Line). NAL owned 7 car carrier ships. NAL also had a 70% share in NOSAC (Norwegian Specialised Autocarriers). Wilh. Wilhelmsen Line already owned the other 30% of NOSAC. At that time, NAL was having problems with less cargo and lower profits. But taking over NOSAC was important. It added almost 20 more car carrier ships to their fleet. It also helped them fully enter the Korean market. There, the company won a contract with Kia Motors. They shipped cars from South Korea to the United States from 1996 to 1998.

The Wilhelmsen Family Tree

The Wilhelmsen family owns the company. They are related to Wilhelm Zachariassen Holst (born around 1732). He worked at Vallø saltverk. His great-grandson was the shipping boss (Morten) Wilhelm Wilhelmsen. He was born in 1839 and died in 1910. He was the person who started Wilh. Wilhelmsen. He was the father of ship-owner Halfdan Wilhelmsen (1864–1923). He was also the father of factory owner Finn Wilhelmsen (1867–1951), ship-owner Wilhelm Wilhelmsen (1872–1955), and businessman Axel Wilhelmsen (1881–1957).

Halfdan Wilhelmsen was the father of Else Werring (1905–89). She was married to ship-owner Niels Roth Heyerdahl Werring. Wilhelm Wilhelmsen (born 1872) was the father of ship-owner Tom Wilhelmsen (1911–78). Tom Wilhelmsen was the father of the current owners of the Wilh. Wilhelmsen company. These are Morten Wilhelm Wilhelmsen (1937–2020), Cecilie Paus (born 1943), and Helen Juell (born 1947). Cecilie Paus is the mother of fashion designer Pontine Paus. She is also the mother of Olympia Paus, who is married to Alexander Nix.

A Sad Event in 1989

In September 1989, a plane chartered by the shipping company had a tragic accident. It was Partnair Flight 394, flying to a ship christening ceremony in Hamburg. Sadly, this event caused the loss of many employees, including top leaders of the company.

What Wilhelmsen Does Today

Shipping Services

MV Tortugas at the Port of Rotterdam, Netherlands, 2008

Wilhelmsen is very active in shipping. They are experts in moving "roll-on/roll-off" (Ro-ro) cargo. This is great for large or unusually shaped items. Think of train cars, small airplanes, or big industrial machines. Their Ro-ro ships have huge ramps. These ramps can hold cargo weighing up to 420 tonnes at once!

Together with their partners (EUKOR and Wallenius Lines), the group manages about 160 car and roll-on/roll-off carriers. These ships operate all over the world. Their customers include companies that make cars, construction equipment, and agricultural machinery. In the car carrier market, they are the third largest in terms of how much cargo they can carry. Only MOL and NYK Line are bigger. Each year, Wilhelmsen's shipping companies move 5 million cars. They also transport 12 million cubic meters of other large or special cargo.

The group both owns and rents vessels. These ships are used by their partner companies. These include Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics, American Roll-on Roll-off Carrier, United European Car Carriers, and EUKOR Car Carriers. Wilhelmsen and Wallenius Line bought 80% of EUKOR Car Carriers in November 2002. This company used to be the Ro-ro part of Hyundai Merchant Marine.

In June 2011, Wilh. Wilhelmsen bought the MV Tønsberg. This was the first of a new type of "Mark V" Ro-ro ships. These ships were built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. They are the largest Ro-ro ships in the world!

Logistics and Supply

Wilhelmsen also offers many logistics services on land. These services work with their sea transport. They include managing terminals and technical services. They also help arrange land transport and manage the supply chain management for vehicles. Besides the services offered through WWL, the WW group has investments in other companies. These include South Korea's Glovis, Australia's Kaplan, and two US companies: American Auto Logistics and American Logistics Network.

Wilhelmsen's maritime service part includes ship services and ship management. It also offers insurance and other sea-related activities. The group provides services like agencies in many ports. They are one of the world's biggest companies that manage ships for others. The WW group offers full technical management and crewing. They also provide related services for all main types of vessels. This includes 50% of NorSea Wind. They also sell marine products, chemicals, and logistics for ships. Plus, they act as agents for ships. The group also provides insurance for both their own needs and for other clients.

The supply services part includes NorSea Group and WilNor Governmental Services. The WW group owns about 75.2% of NorSea Group. This group provides supply bases and logistics for the offshore industry. Also, WilNor Governmental Services (WGS) offers military logistics services. They work in Norway and other countries. In 2018, WGS helped Allied and Norwegian forces during the NATO exercise "Trident Juncture 18". WGS worked with the Norwegian Armed Forces. They created a web-based ordering system called HOBS. This system made it easier to order supplies before and during the exercise. It also helped with billing after the exercise for all nations involved. Wilhelmsen owns 51% of WGS directly. The other 49% is owned through NorSea Group.

Ship Incidents

In the early morning of December 14, 2002, the MV Tricolor ship was sailing. It was carrying almost 2,871 new BMW, Volvo, and SAAB cars. It was going from Zeebrugge, Belgium, to Southampton, UK. The ship collided with another cargo ship, the mv Kariba, in the English Channel. The Kariba was able to continue, but the Tricolor sank. It had to be cut apart to be removed. Luckily, no one was hurt in this accident.

Between late 2018 and early 2019, at least two ships operated by Wilhelmsen faced issues. These were the MV Thalatta and MV Morning Composer. They were heading to Australian ports. Australian authorities stopped them. They suspected the cargo had Brown marmorated stink bugs. The ships faced long delays. They were asked to leave Australia's territorial waters. After a long wait, they were not allowed to enter any port. This was until all the cargo was fumigated again.

Current Wilhelmsen Ships

Images for kids

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  Torino

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  Toledo

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  Topeka

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  Toscana

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  Tomar

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  Torrens

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  Trinidad

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  Tysla

See Also

• MV Tricolor
• List of roll-on/roll-off vessel accidents
• Wallenius Lines
• Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics
• American Roll-on Roll-off Carrier
• EUKOR
• United European Car Carriers