Ethiopian Shipping Lines

Last updated
Ethiopian Shipping Lines
Company type Subsidiary
Industry Transport
Founded21 March 1964;61 years ago (1964-03-21)
Headquarters Addis Ababa; Port of Djibouti
Area served
 Red Sea, Mediterranean, Far East, the Gulf states and Indian Subcontinent
Key people
Roba Megersa (CEO)
Mekonen Abera (General Manager)
ServicesSea freight
Cross trade
Port and terminal services
Warehousing
Container terminal services
Multimodal transport
Stevedore and shore-handling
Human resources development and training
Revenue57 billion birr (2024)
46.8 billion birr [1]  (2024)
Owner Ethiopian Investment Holdings
Website www.eslse.et

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 has continued to operate despite Ethiopia having become a landlocked country in 1993; its main base is now the Port of Djibouti and Berbera in Somaliland. Ethiopian Shipping and Logistics Services Enterprise is a subsidiary of Ethiopian Investment Holdings (EIH), the sovereign wealth fund of Ethiopia. [2] [3]

Contents

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. Until Suez Canal was opened again, the vessels had to go all around the Cape. The size of the ships was not appropriate for such long voyages, and the company ran into a loss. Since then, the ESL has focused mainly on domestic import and export, to promote foreign trade. It has generally been profitable. [4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "In the first half of the fiscal year, Ethiopian Shipping and Logistics (ESL) reported a profit of 9.3 billion birr". Capital News.
  2. ↑ "Ethiopia set to reenter global stock market after over a century". Capital Newspaper. 2025-01-29. Retrieved 2025-06-11.
  3. ↑ Thomas, David (2025-02-27). "Ethiopia's new stock exchange targets 90 listings in first decade". African Business. Retrieved 2025-06-11.
  4. ↑ "Ethiopian Shipping Lines: Interview with Mr. Ambachew Abraha, General Manager". World Investment News. 26 July 1999. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
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