Zim Integrated Shipping Services
 |
|
 |
|
| Public | |
| Industry | Shipping |
| Founded | 1945 |
| Headquarters | Haifa, Israel |
|
Area served
|
Worldwide |
|
Key people
|
Rafi Danieli (CEO) Aharon Fogel (Chairman) |
| Services |
Container shipping, Refrigerated Cargo, Logistics |
| Revenue |
 US$ 3.717 billion (2010)
|
|
US$ 54 million (2010)
|
|
| Parent | Kenon Holdings |
| Website | Official website |
Zim Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. (Hebrew: צים), formerly ZIM Israel Navigation Company Ltd. and Zim American Israeli Shipping Inc., is the biggest cargo shipping company in Israel, and one of the top-20 global carriers. The company's headquarters are in Haifa; it also has a North American headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia.
ZIM was founded in 1945, by the Jewish Agency and the Histadrut (General Federation of Laborers in the Land of Israel). The first ship was purchased in partnership with Harris and Dixon (based in London) in 1947. This vessel was refurbished, renamed SS Kedma, and sailed to the future state of Israel in the summer of 1947. During her first years, her main task was transporting hundreds of thousands of immigrants to the emerging state. Some of the other ships that had been used for clandestine immigration before the establishment of Israel as a state were confiscated by the British mandate authorities and later joined the company's fleet. The company continued to purchase more ships, among them SS Negba, SS Artza and SS Galila.
During the 1948 war, the company was the sole maritime connection with the state of Israel, supplying food, freight and military equipment.
In 1953, some of the money from the reparations agreement between Israel and West Germany was allocated to the purchase of new ships. The SS Bergensfjord, renamed Jerusalem, sailed the Israel-New York route, Another ship purchased with reparations money was the SS Etzel. The SS Dolphin IV, acquired in 1956, was renamed SS Zion.
In 1950s and 1960s, ZIM concentrated on passenger ships, alongside a constant expansion of the cargo shipping business. Passenger liners were a common means of international transport before the emergence of cheap air transport, and pleasure cruises were also popular. ZIM sailed the Mediterranean Sea, as well as having regular routes to the United States. Some of its ships cruised to the Caribbean during the winter. 1964 saw the completion of the ocean liner SS Shalom, which turned out to be a failure, marking the end of the ZIM passenger shipping era.
...
Wikipedia