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 shipping company from Norway. It's based in Lysaker, Norway. This company has over 21,000 employees and works in 75 different countries. The Wilhelmsen group has the largest shipping network in the world, with more than 2200 locations.

The Wilhelmsen group started on October 1, 1861, in Tønsberg. Their very first ship was a sailing ship called Mathilde in 1886. Halfdan Wilhelmsen was very smart and knew that steamboats were the future. So, in 1887, they bought a steamship named Talabot. After getting Talabot, the company really started to make money. Since then, all their ships have names that start with the letter "T". Sometimes, they even use the same name for different ships over the years! For example, there have been at least four ships named Talabot, from oil tankers to special ships that carry cars.

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 children of these owners are the fifth generation of the Wilhelmsen family. They include Thomas Wilhelmsen, Olympia Paus, Pontine Paus, Cathrine Løvenskiold Wilhelmsen, Hedvig Juell, Maren Juell, Hannah Wilhelmsen, Monica Wilhelmsen, and Julie Wilhelmsen.

How the Company Started

The Torrens ship from 1939

The company was founded in 1861 by Wilhelm Wilhelmsen in Tønsberg, Norway. Over the next 20 years, Wilhelmsen's fleet grew by about one 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 very important in helping the company switch from sailing ships to its first steamship. In late 1887, the company bought the 1,800-ton cargo ship, Talabot. This steamship was a great investment for the Wilhelmsens. Because of this, the letter "T" became a special tradition for naming all their ships.

In 1890, Halfdan Wilhelmsen started the company's main business: regular shipping routes. In 1911, they created NAAL, which stood for The Norwegian Africa and Australia Line.

A big step in growing their Roll-on/roll-off operations happened in November 1995. They fully bought NAL (Norwegian America Line) and its 7 car carrier ships. NAL also owned 70% of NOSAC (Norwegian Specialised Autocarriers), which was already working with Wilh. Wilhelmsen Line. Taking over NOSAC was important. It added almost 20 more car carrier ships to their fleet. It also helped them enter the Korean market. There, they won a contract with Kia Motors to ship cars from South Korea to the United States from 1996 to 1998.

The Wilhelmsen Family

The Wilhelmsen family owns the company. They are related to Wilhelm Zachariassen Holst, who lived a long time ago. His great-grandson was the shipping leader Wilhelm Wilhelmsen (1839–1910). He was the one who started Wilh. Wilhelmsen. He had several children who also became important in business and shipping.

Halfdan Wilhelmsen was the father of Else Werring. She was married to ship-owner Niels Roth Heyerdahl Werring. Wilhelm Wilhelmsen (born 1872) was the father of Tom Wilhelmsen (1911–78). Tom Wilhelmsen was the father of the current owners of the Wilh. Wilhelmsen company. These owners 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 and Olympia Paus.

A Difficult Time

In September 1989, a plane called Partnair Flight 394 crashed. It was on its way to a special ceremony for a new ship in Hamburg. The shipping company had rented the plane. Sadly, many employees were on board. This event was a very sad time for the company.

What the Company Does Today

Shipping Goods

MV Tortugas at the Port of Rotterdam, the Netherlands, 2008

Wilhelmsen is very active in shipping. They are experts in moving "roll-on roll-off" cargo. This means vehicles and large items that can be driven or rolled onto a ship. This includes things like train cars, small airplanes, and big factory machines. Their special ships have huge ramps that can hold up to 420 tons of cargo at once.

Together with their partners, EUKOR and Wallenius Lines, the group manages about 160 ships. These ships carry cars and other large items all over the world. Their customers include car makers and companies that build construction or farm machines. In the car shipping world, they are the third largest carrier. Every year, Wilhelmsen's shipping companies move 5 million cars. They also transport 12 million cubic meters of other large and unusual cargo.

The group both owns and rents ships. These ships are used by their other companies like Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics, American Roll-on Roll-off Carrier, United European Car Carriers, and EUKOR Car Carriers. In June 2011, Wilh. Wilhelmsen bought the ship MV Tønsberg. It was the first of a new type of "Mark V" roll-on/roll-off ships. These ships are the biggest roll-on/roll-off ships in the world.

Moving Things on Land

Along with shipping by sea, Wilhelmsen also helps move things on land. They offer services like managing terminals and technical support. They also arrange land transport and manage the supply chain for vehicles. Besides the services from WWL, the Wilhelmsen group also has parts in other companies. These include South Korea's Glovis, Australia's Kaplan, and two US companies: American Auto Logistics and American Logistics Network.

Services for Ships

Wilhelmsen's maritime service part includes helping ships, managing ships, and offering insurance. The group provides services like agencies in many ports around the world. They are one of the biggest companies that manage ships for other owners. The Wilhelmsen group offers full technical management, finds crews, and provides other services for all main types of ships. This also includes 50% of NorSea Wind. They also sell products for ships, special chemicals, and help with shipping logistics. Plus, they offer insurance for ships and other things to their own companies and outside customers.

Supply Services

The supply services part includes NorSea Group, WilNor Governmental Services, and other supply activities. The Wilhelmsen group owns about 75.2% of NorSea Group. This company provides supply bases and logistics for the offshore industry. Also, WilNor Governmental Services (WGS) helps with military logistics in Norway and other countries. In 2018, WGS helped both Allied and Norwegian forces during a big NATO exercise called "Trident Juncture 18." WGS worked with the Norwegian Armed Forces to create a system called HOBS. This system made it easier to order and pay for services during the exercise. 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 ship MV Tricolor was sailing from Belgium to the UK. It was carrying almost 2871 new cars. It crashed in the English Channel with another ship, mv Kariba. The Kariba could keep going, but the Tricolor sank. Luckily, no one was hurt.

Between late 2018 and early 2019, at least two ships operated by Wilhelmsen, MV Thalatta and MV Morning Composer, were stopped by Australian authorities. They were thought to have cargo with Brown marmorated stink bugs. The ships were delayed a lot. They were asked to leave Australia's waters and were not allowed into any port until all the cargo was cleaned.

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

More to Explore

• 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