OOCL - OOCL History

OOCL History

The founder of OOCL, the late C Y Tung, dreamed of creating the first international Chinese merchant fleet. In 1947, he achieved that dream when the first ship with an all-Chinese crew reached the Atlantic coast of the USA and Europe. Regular cargo and passenger services were subsequently developed under the name of Orient Overseas Line.

When containerization began in 1969, the company was re-named Orient Overseas Container Line. In those days, Victory-class vessels could carry 300 TEU, a far cry from today's post-Panamax vessels that ply the world's oceans. In April 2003, OOCL took delivery of the SX-Class OOCL Shenzhen, the largest containership ever built then at 8,063 TEU.

Today, OOCL has vessels of different classes with capacity varying from 2,992 TEU to 13,208 TEU, plus ice-class vessels that suit extreme weather conditions. As a member of the Grand Alliance and G6 Alliance, our vessels form part of a 290-plus fleet of ships. Both our self-owned and chartered-in vessels can carry general cargo, reefer cargo and dangerous goods, according to the needs of customers.

All OOCL vessels meet and exceed international environmental standards, adhering to OOCL's own Safety, Quality and Environmental (SQE) management system; demonstrating OOCL's commitment to environmental protection and good corporate citizenship.

In 1982, following the death of his father C Y Tung, C H Tung assumed the leadership of Orient Overseas (International) Limited (OOIL), OOCL's parent company for 14 years. In 1996, C C Tung took over at the helm on C H Tung's election as Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Today, OOCL is one of the world's leading container transport and logistics service providers, with more than 290 offices in 60 countries around the world.

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