The foundation for ESL Shipping was laid in the summer of 1949, when Polttoaine Osuuskunta, a predecessor of today’s Aspo Plc, purchased its first vessel, Arkadia, for a part-owning company called Laivanisännistöyhtiö Arkadia. Polttoaine Osuuskunta was a cooperative originally founded by housing companies in Helsinki with the task of purchasing coal and coke required for the central heating of apartment buildings.
As Polttoaine Osuuskunta imported substantial amounts of coal and coke, it felt that operating its own ship would make financial sense. Acquisition of Arkadia was successful, and in 1950, second vessel was acquired and shipping operations were transferred to a new subsidiary called Etelä-Suomen Laiva Oy. Soon, the company was able to offer sea transports to other companies, too.
Our longest customer relationships date back to our earliest years in the business. These partnerships were bolstered in the 1960s with the signing of numerous longer-term freight agreements. At that time, the energy industry was already one of our major customers and we also transported raw materials for the steel industry. We grew with our customers and the Baltic Sea became our established home market.
The first vessel of the company, 1911-built Arkadia.
Kaisaniemi was the second vessel in the fleet, acquired in 1951.
Tanker Aspo was a short-lived experiment and stayed in the fleet only from 1972 to 1974. Owned by Polttoaine Osuuskunta, the vessel was managed by Etelä-Suomen Laiva.
The first newbuilding of the company, Eira, was delivered in 1971.
Kontula was delivered in 1980 and served the company until 2009.
Hesperia lightering cargo of bulker APJ Karan, which hit the lighthouse in the Sea of Åland and suffered severe damages.
Initially operating with second hand vessels, the first newbuildings were ordered in the 1970's, of which the first was 1971-built Eira. In 1980, the shipping company took delivery of the largest vessel in its history, m/s Kontula. The shipping company's tonnage increases to 100,000 dwt.
On 21 December 1994, the company name was changed to more internationalised ESL Shipping, where letters ESL paid tribute to the original name and the abbreviation the company was already well known. In 1994, the company carried around 5.5 million tons of cargo, of which 80 per cent was coal.
In 2002, the shipping company acquired Travans, a pusher transportation company mainly transporting limestone. It operated with two pushers and two barges in the Baltic Sea area. It was well aligned with company's strategy to reduce it's dependence of the coal trade, which represented almost 70% of the transport volume in 2001.
In late 2003, ESL Shipping's operations took a significant step, when ESL Shipping and Rautaruukki signed a contract of the raw material transportation for Rautaruukki's steel mills. Rautaruukki was not a new client to ESL Shipping as it had already earlier transported cargoes to its mills in Raahe and Koverhar.
As a part of the agreement, ESL Shipping purchased two pushers and five 13,500 dwt barges from Rautaruukki for 23 MEUR. The shipping volume of the contract was estimated to be 5-6 million tons annually increasing the turnover of the company by 20 MEUR. Consisting mainly of iron ore pellets and limestone, contract significantly reduced company's dependance on steam coal trade.
ESL Shipping 60TH anniversary movie
Kumpula and Arkadia with 56,000 dwt were the largest vessels ever in the fleet.
Viikki and Haaga
Electramar is the first in the series of 12 plug-in hybrid vessels for subsidiary AtoB@C Shipping.
New business segment and new vessels
The company expanded to coaster trade in 2017, when four time-chartered 3,000 dwt vessels were added to the fleet. Smaller vessels became another significant business segment in 2018, when ESL Shipping acquired Swedish AtoB@C Shipping, shipping company oprating around 30 vessels in 4,000-5,000 dwt segment carrying various steel and forest industry products.
In the same autumn, the company took delivery of Viikki and Haaga, the eco-smart bulk carriers specifically designed for ESL Shipping's needs. New vessels, powered by LNG, reduced CO2-emissions up to 50% compared to previous generation of vessels.
With almost 30% of European short sea tonnage being over 30 years old, there is a pressing need to modernise the tonnage. To meet this challenge, AtoB@C Shipping is currently building twelve 5,350 dwt plug-in hybrid vessels that are the most efficient and environmentally friendly vessels in the world in their size class. Read the latest updates of our new building project here.
