Orient Overseas Container Line

Oriental Overseas Container Line (OOCL) was established in 1967 in Hong Kong by CY Tung. Its first fully cellular container ship was the 300 teu HONG KONG PRODUCER, an ex-Liberty ship converted in Hong Kong by the Whampoa Shipyard in 1969 which was used to transport containerized cargo across the Pacific. 

OOCL launched its first newly built fully cellular container ship of 1,200 TEU, ORIENTAL LEADER in 1971. OOCL listed as Orient Overseas (Holding) Limited (OOHL) on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 1973. 

The company acquired a one-third stake of Dart Line right after OOCL went public in 1973, which allowed it to enter the transatlantic trades. In 1973, OOCL also containerised its Far East-Europe service, teaming up with Japanese and European Lines to form the ACE Group. OOCL became the first Asian carrier to offer container services in the three main East-West trades. 

The group expanded further in 1980 when it acquired Furness Withy, the parent company of Manchester Liners which had a fleet of 50 ships in 1980. In 1981, OOCL acquired Seatrain's transpacific services. In 1984, OOCL took full control of Dart and launched the Canada Line in partnership with Canadian Pacific and CMB. 

As a result of the aggressive expansion, the Tung Group faced a deep financial crisis in 1985 with debts of US$2.7 Bn. It underwent a restructuring with support from mainland China interests, while also of disposing of non-core businesses, including Furness Withy which was sold in 1990 to Shaw Savill, a subsidiary of Hamburg-Sud.

OOCL came under the ownership of a new company, Oriental Overseas International Ltd (OOIL) which was a 65% subsidiary of the publicly traded OOHL while the remaining 35% belonging to Chinese interests through a Hong Kong company. Once the debt had been repayed, OOIL absorbed OOHL in 1992 and replaced it as the publicly quoted arm. In 1993, OOIL recorded a substantial profit of $127 M and was able to pay dividends for the first time in since 1985.