History

During this decade, TORM made several innovative decisions to stay at the forefront of the shipping industry.

In 1983, the fleet expanded with a bulk carrier from Mitsui and a product and chemical tanker jointly owned by TORM and Wah Kwong Shipping. TORM placed an order for two product tankers from Odense, where A.P. Møller also had ordered three of the same type of ship.

The two companies entered a close technical collaboration during the building of the ships.

In the mid-1980s, TORM launched a comprehensive fleet expansion and modernisation programme. It was one of the first shipping companies to acquire double-hull product tankers. In 1985, the first double-hull tankers were delivered from Odense. The older tankers were modernised and waste water treatment systems were installed.

An agreement was made with Global Finance and B&W Shipyard to produce an 84,000 tdw product tanker owned by a limited partnership run by TORM.

The company’s shipping activities in the Mediterranean, Middle East and Africa expanded. TORM acquired the USA-West Africa Line, and in 1981 began to ship cement to Kuwait and coal from South Africa to Spain. The same year, the “TORM Rotna” came under fire in the Strait of Hormuz between Oman and Iran but no life was lost.

Erik Behn became a Board member in 1987. The following year, the Danish International Shipping Register (DIS) was established.