History

Captain Ditlev E. TORM and Christian Schmiegelow founded D/S TORM on 14 January 1889. At the time, the two seamen had raised DKK 166 000, but needed to raise an additional DKK 55,000 before they could buy their first ship.

After securing finance from a number of investors, TORM’s first vessel, the S/S Alice, was ordered from Howaldtswerke shipyards in Kiel, Germany – and paid for in cash.
While Captain TORM ran the fledgling company from his family’s apartment in Copenhagen, together with his wife and daughter, Schmiegelow began the task of preparing the S/S Alice for her maiden voyage.
A downturn in the shipping industry meant TORM initially got off to a slow start, however, the situation gradually improved and by 1898 the company had purchased three new ships, and a second-hand steamer.