Zim Integrated Shipping Services
The Israeli shipping company Zim Integrated Shipping Services Ltd., shortly ZIM, (Hebrew: צים ). Based in Haifa is one of the 20 largest container shipping companies in the world. It belongs to the Israel Corporation, which in turn is majority owned by the Ofer Brothers Group.
History
Foundation
ZIM was through immigration organization Jewish Agency, the Histadrut trade union federation and the Palestine Maritime League as ZIM Israel Navigation Company founded in 1945 together. In 1947 they acquired the first passenger ship, the Kedmah. In the formative years of the Israeli state, the fleet of ZIM consisted in the main of converted immigrant ships.
1953-1968
From 1953, the ZIM started to build a larger fleet. In the following 15 years, the ZIM purchased 36 passenger ships, freighters, tankers and bulk carriers, with which numerous passenger and cargo services were opened. Through the triumph of passenger aviation but also ZIM 's scheduled passenger services in the late 1960s accumulated to such high losses that they have been set. The last passenger ship, built in 1961 Moledet, was sold on 28 September 1970.
Conversion and containerization
1969 transferred the Israeli government half of the shares of ZIM to the Israel Corporation, which rebuilt the company into an internationally oriented freight shipping company. For the 25th anniversary in 1970 ZIM operating 77 owned and 70 chartered vessels on 19 liner services, which carried 4.3 million tons of cargo annually. This year, the shipping company began to align themselves with the appointment of six new container vessels, new containers and land equipment on the technological shift of global cargo traffic. Two years later, the company opened the ZIM Container Service ( ZCS) of Israel joins in a 100-day service to ports in the Far East, Asia, America and Europe. In addition, crude oil tankers were employed for the transportation of oil from Iran to Israel.
Extension
From 1990 to 1997 Zim expanded its fleet from, among others, with 15 new container ships to allow weekly departures to its line of services. From 1997, we focused in the face of a weak economy shipping on optimizing and expansion of the current operation. So the fleet in those years were added a further 13 new 5,000 - TEU container ships.
In 1999, the Ofer Brothers Group acquired a majority share of the Israel Corporation. In 2004, the Israel Corporation acquired the remaining shares of ZIM by the Israeli government. After 13 new container ships have been integrated into the fleet and more ordered. The company now offers more than shipping out to other transportation services and logistics solutions.
Name, flag and chimney
The name " ZIM " proposed by Israel's first Minister of Transport, David Remez and is based on a passage of the Old Testament, where the Hebrew word "Zim " for " large boats " is. The name was chosen because it matched with the goal of the company to build a large merchant fleet.
The office of the shipping company flag is based on a 1896 started by Theodor Herzl design of a future National flag of a State of Israel. Herzl's draft set seven centrally golden stars on white constitute grounds The two horizontal blue stripes of the national flag were later attached to the draft later. The chimney painting of the ZIM ships takes the color of the flag office again.