Ethiopian Shipping Lines

The Ethiopian Shipping and Logistics Services Enterprise (ESLSE), known commercially as the Ethiopian Shipping Lines is the national cargo shipping company of Ethiopia. Established in 1964, it is noteworthy as it has continued to operate despite Ethiopia having become a landlocked country in 1993; its main base is now the Port of Djibouti.

History

Ethiopia regained a coastline on the Red Sea when Eritrea was federated with Ethiopia in 1952. However, it was not until 1965 that the Ethiopian Shipping Lines was established as a joint venture with the American company Towers Perrin. A Dutch company was contracted to manage the line along the lines of the then-ongoing arrangement with TWA to manage the flag carrier airline Ethiopian Airlines.

Operations commenced in 1966 with three ships called Queen of Sheba, Lion of Judah and Lalibela. The line quickly faced serious challenges when the Suez Canal was closed in 1967. When Suez Canal was closed, the vessels had to go all around the Cape. The size of the vessels were not appropriate for such long voyages, and the line ran into a loss. Since then, the ESL has focused mainly on the designated line of import and export, so as to promote foreign trade. It has generally been profitable.[1]

References
  1. "Ethiopian Shipping Lines: Interview with Mr. Ambachew Abraha, General Manager". World Investment News. 26 July 1999. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.