History

Scroll down to uncover the history of Ben Line

1825

Meet Alexander and William Thomson (pictured right). Two Scottish brothers who began it all when they opened an account as ship brokers in Edinburgh in 1825. Shortly thereafter they became ship owners and ushered in the beginning of what will ultimately become Ben Line Agencies.

1853

You may wonder why a company with founders named Thomson is called Ben Line? Well, the origins of the name harken back to the Thomson homeland in Scotland. “Ben” is the Scottish word for mountain. An ironic name for a shipping company perhaps, yet it sent a clear signal that the owning company meant to become a force in the shipping industry.

Location of the Bens
in Scottland

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1853

1859

So with this very Scottish beginning, how did we end up with such a strong presence in Asia? The answer lies in the Araby Maid (1). This beautiful iron ship undertook our first exploratory voyage to China and Japan (which took nearly 2 years) and heralded what was to become our major trade route.

ARABY MAID (2) 1868 - 1894 Iron ship
(no image available of Araby Maid (1))

1914-18

At the onset of World War I, Ben Line had acquired a fleet of 21 vessels (14 of which were steamers operating in the Far East). But the terrible costs of the Great War were felt when we were left with 11 vessels by the War’s end. It would take resilience and competence to build the company up again.

BENMOHR (2) 1914 - 1918 One of the victims of the First World War

1914-18

1930-39

This resilience was highlighted again during the devastating years of the Great Depression. Despite the massive global down turn, we managed to keep all our vessels in operation throughout the entire period of economic crisis. A feat for which we are justifiably proud.

BENREOCH (1) 1930 - 1939 in Singapore

1939-45

By the time World War II broke out, Ben Line had recovered and our fleet stood at an impressive 20 vessels. However, the grim misfortunes of war did not leave us untouched. Ben Line lost 14 ships to enemy action and, by the War’s end, the fleet stood at just 6 vessels.

BENRINNES (2) 1938 - 1949 in wartime grey

1939-45

1950-72

Despite the severe setbacks of World War II, Ben Line forged ahead. We not only developed our liner services between Europe and the Far East with our impressively fast, custom-built tween deck vessels, we also established a number of new trade routes. It was this willingness to adapt to the times and our pioneering spirit that led to Ben Line becoming one of the leading liner companies.

BENDEARG (3) 1964 - 1981 Tween deck vessel

1972

In 1972, we decided it was time to put our vast experience in shipping to greater use. Ben Line Shipping Management Ltd was established to cater to smaller owners by providing them with ship management services so that they too could benefit from the knowledge we had gained over the years.

GREY HUNTER 1974 - 1986 Tanker managed on behalf of Robert Benson Lonsdale & Co. Ltd.

1972

1972-73

Between 1972 and 1973, the giants of the shipping industry across three countries decided to pool their collective resources and experience to form a 3 country coalition that operated a 17 strong fleet of containerships in the Far East trade. The Trio Group, as it was named, comprised of Ben Line and Overseas Containers Ltd (OCL) from the United Kingdom; Hapag-Lloyd from Germany and Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) and Mitsui-OSK Lines (MOL) from Japan.

BENALDER (6) 1972 - 1992 Twin-screw container ship

1973

1973 was a busy year for Ben Line. Not only did we acquire our first containerships through the Trio Group, we also extended our role in Asia by purchasing dry bulk vessels and chemical tankers and began forging our way into the bulk trades.

BENVORLICH (5) 1976 - 1984 Bulk carrier

1973

1974

With our traditional company spirit of adventure and collaboration, Ben Line decided it was time for a new challenge - offshore oil exploration! We partnered up with experienced oil drilling operator Ocean Drilling and Exploration Company (ODEC) to form Ben ODECO. This joint company owned and operated semi-submersible rigs, jack-up rigs and drill ships.

BEN OCEAN LANCER 1976 - 1990 Self-propelled dynamically positioned drilling ship

1977

By 1977, Ben Line Group employed over 2000 shore-based and sea-going staff; we owned a fleet of 4 container ships, 13 cargo liners, 3 chemical tankers, 6 bulk carriers, as well as 5 rigs and drill ships. We managed (on behalf of other owners) 3 oil tankers and an additional container ship and, through the purchase of another company, we owned a further 7 vessels! Not only were we an impressive shipping line, we also became Britain’s biggest offshore drilling contractor.

BENVENUE (5) 1974 - 1989 Chemical tanker

1977

1984

In 1984, we made history by transporting the word’s heaviest semi-submersible oil rig, the Benreoch III, (weighing in at a hefty 17,200 tons) a whopping 14,000kms on a semi-submersible carrier from New Zealand to Spain.

BENREOCH (3) 1983 - 1996 Self-propelled semi-submersible drilling rig

1987

This all important year saw the advent of Ben Line Agencies as you know it. This came about as the company sensed a new opportunity for growth, and made the strategic decision to begin augmenting our services by looking to outside shipping agencies to complement our in-house core business of container liner shipping.

1987

1992-96

During this period Ben Line Agencies sold our vessels and rigs and, operating from offices in Singapore, Thailand, Japan, Hong Kong, and Malaysia really began focusing on providing top notch liner agency services in Asia.

1996-05

This was a period of significant growth for Ben Line Agencies. We extended our reach throughout Asia with the opening of our own offices and associates in the following regions:

1997 Philippines
1998 Indonesia
1999 China
2000 Myanmar & Vietnam
2001 China
2002 Cambodia
2005 India

We also upped our game in the shipping services market when we established dedicated and specialised departments in Port Agency Services, Forwarding, Project Logistics and Offshore Support Services.

2007

2007 was a noteworthy year for us as we opened our 50th office in Asia. This office in Kemaman, Malaysia was primarily established to cater to the needs of our growing number of offshore sector clients.

The handling of a semi-submersible accommodation rig in Kemaman

2007

2009

We celebrated a remarkable 150 years in Asia in 2009. By this stage of our company’s evolution, we had expanded to over 80 offices across 15 countries employing over 1200 staff. This extraordinary feat of longevity was commemorated in a hardback publication entitled “Ben Line” by Graeme Somner.

Buy a copy

2011

In 2011, we signalled our growing involvement in the offshore oil and gas sectors when we opened our 100th office in Labuan next to the Asia Supply Base - a growing oil and gas hub in the South China Sea.

2011

2013

Once again we were extending our reach in the market. We opened 2 offices in Korea (Seoul and Pusan) and 1 in Timor-Leste. This meant that our shipping agencies network included 16 countries comprising of 113 offices covering more than 750 ports in Asia.

2017

As Ben Line had done before, we once more, in the spirit of cooperation, partnered up with Sharaf Shipping Agencies to jointly launch a global shipping services company named WaterFront Maritime Services - Ben Line Agencies was going global.

Ben Line Agencies has developed a wide ranging network of offices and 2017 marks the first expansion outside of Asia, with offices being established in Australia.

2019

In 2019, the company embarked on a rebranding program with the roll out of an updated logo and refreshed look.

2022

2022 saw the expansion of BLA outside our traditional operating home of Asia. Our Vancouver office, covering all North America activity, was established to offer services on an Asia Pacific scale.