Container Ship SA Winterberg – Safmarine Big White

Safmarine

The company was founded in June 1946 by South African industrialists and American ship owners with three American wartime Victory ships.^[1]: 308 In 1950 it came under American control but in 1959, the Industrial Development Corporation helped finance its repurchase and returned it to South African control.^[1]: 308 It would sell its holding 1984.^[1]: 308

Safmarine became widely known as a north–south trade and African specialist, represented in more than 130 countries throughout the world, and employing more than 1200 seafarers. Safmarine’s container line was headquartered and registered in Antwerp, Belgium, from 1996, when it completed its acquisition of the Belgian container line CMBT, which in turn had been an outgrowth of Compagnie Maritime Belge.

In 1999, Safmarine was acquired by the Danish shipping company A.P. Moller-Maersk Group, where Maersk Line chose to retain the Safmarine brand rather than integrating it wholly into Maersk Sealand. In 2002, Safmarine acquired Torm Lines. On October 3, 2011, it was decided that Safmarine would integrate its internal support and management functions into those of its sister company Maersk Line. In 2020 Safmarine was fully subsumed into Maersk Line.