A.P. Moller - Maersk was established on 16 April 1904, in the midst of the second industrial revolution, in a little town called Svendborg on the Danish island of Funen.

A.P. Møller, the driver of the Steamship Company Svendborg, had started out in tramp shipping, where vessels operate on the spot market without fixed schedules or port calls. Keen to expand the fleet beyond its modest three vessels, A.P. Møller was met with resistance from some of the company’s board members, so he struck out on his own.

Founding the Steamship Company of 1912, he secured himself operational independence and paved the way for the rapid expansion of the company over the coming years.