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.
With the emergence of containerization, the company was re-named Orient Overseas Container Line in 1969. In those days, Victory-class vessels could carry 300 TEU, a far cry from today's G class vessels that ply the world's oceans. In May 2017, OOCL took delivery of the OOCL Hong Kong, the largest containership ever built then at 21,413 TEU. Today, OOCL has vessels of different classes with capacity varying from 2,992 TEU to 24,188 TEU, plus ice-class vessels that suit extreme weather conditions. As a member of the Ocean Alliance, our vessels form part of the strong and efficient 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. In 2018, OOIL was acquired by COSCO SHIPPING Holdings Co. Limited.
Today, OOCL is one of the world's leading container transport and logistics service providers, with about 130 offices in more than 100 major cities around the world.
