Cruise Line Financier

One of the many small Norwegian shipowners is Anders Wilhelmsen & Co. founded in 1939. By the mid 1960s the family company was operating a small fleet of modest sized tankers and bulk-carriers, when it astounded the Norwegian shipping community by ordering in Japan, a tanker that was a giant for the times. The ship was ordered in 1965 by Arne Wilhelmsen on a $9.5 million fixed price contract, although no term charter was arranged, at a time when spot tanker rates were depressed. During the build period he refused offers to buy the ship from Wilhelmsen’s at a modest profit. Selling during construction was a common Norwegian shipowner’s activity during periods of inflation.
The tanker, 132,000 dwt Wilstar, was delivered in October 1967 and offered on the spot market at the height of frenzy caused by the closure of the Suez Canal. The ship secured some of the most lucrative tanker voyage charters ever recorded, generating vast profits for Wilhelmsen.
After taking the big gamble of building Wilstar, it was remarkable that Wilhelmsen did not join the rush to build the next generation of VLCCs. Instead the company invested its profits into a series of diversifications. Not all of these ventures worked, but they avoided the international shipping crises of 1973. One activity that was very successful however, was their cautious entry into the cruise business, by taking a third interest in a new company that the partners decided to name Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. That company is now the second largest cruise group in the world.