20th century 1940s ZIM was founded on June 7, 1945, as the ZIM Palestine Navigation Company Ltd (Hebrew: צים חברת השיט הארץ-ישראלית בע״מ), by the
Jewish Agency, the Israel Maritime League and the
Histadrut (General Federation of Laborers in the Land of Israel). After the State of Israel was established in 1948, the company was renamed ZIM Israel Navigation Company Ltd. During its first years, its main task was transporting hundreds of thousands of immigrants to the emerging state. Another ship purchased with reparations money was the SS Theodor Herzl. The company took delivery of its first new vessels, the 9800 ton passenger-cargo liners SS
Israel and SS
Zion - later known as , in 1955 and 1956, respectively. 1957 saw the delivery of two more new ocean liners, the 10,000 ton sister ships SS
Jerusalem and SS
Theodor Herzl, followed by the more modest, 7,800 ton SS
Moledet in 1961, which featured an all-Tourist Class layout, targeted principally to American tourists looking for affordable transportation to the
Holy Land. ZIM was invited in 1957 by the Government of
Ghana to assist the setting up and management of a national shipping line. Black Star Line was formed with a 40% participation by ZIM and principally operated cargo services from
West Africa. A similar joint venture - Burma Five Star Line - was made with the
Burmese Government in 1959. Due to rising airline competition and the market failure of the expensive new
Shalom, passenger services were gradually phased out between 1966 and 1969, as ZIM refocused on cargo shipping.
Jerusalem was chartered out to British-based P&O Cruises in 1966 to become their
Miami, then sold entirely in 1968. The sisters
Israel and
Zion were both sold in 1966, while the expensive, new
Shalom was retired and sold in 1967.
Theodor Herzl and
Moledet completed ZIM's final transatlantic passenger sailings during 1969 and were sold off, marking the end of the company's passenger division. During the 1960s, ZIM started to turn its focus to cargo ships, and obtained several special-purpose vessels, including refrigerated ships and oil tankers. ZIM transported crude oil from
Iran to Israel and oil byproducts from Israel to Europe.
1970s In the 1970s, ZIM expanded into the
container shipping business. ZIM ordered six such ships, and gradually made this its main line of business.
1980s In 1981, one of the company's ships,
Mezada, was lost at sea. ZIM went through a lull in maritime shipping at the beginning of the 1980s.
1990s ZIM built 15 more ships in
Germany in the 1990s. At this time, the ownership of ZIM was divided between the Israeli government and
Israel Corporation.
21st century 2000s In 2004, the
Israel Corporation (which is controlled by the
Ofer Brothers Group) purchased 49% of ZIM's shares held by the Israeli government, becoming the sole owner of the company. as being undervalued and becoming just another
flag of convenience company. In 2007, ZIM sold its maritime logistics and forwarding services subsidiary NewLog to UTi Worldwide. In 2008, ZIM planned to launch an initial public offering and selling 25% of its shares on the
Hong Kong Stock Exchange, but due to the onset of the global economic crisis it was called off. In 2009, ZIM required a cash injection of $450 million by the Ofer family and
debt restructuring following the world's container shipping downturn.
2010s In 2010, ZIM regained profitability and in early 2011 ZIM renewed its plans for a flotation on the
Hong Kong Stock Exchange, but again had to postpone it due to the economic downturn and the drop in container shipping rates. In 2014, unloading of a ZIM ship at the
Port of Oakland was delayed by anti-Israel protesters.
Longshoremen declined to load the ship out of safety concerns, taking no position on the underlying dispute, but unloaded the ship after their safety was assured. Other protests in
Los Angeles and
Tacoma, Washington failed to stop the unloading of cargo from ZIM ships. A second demonstration bypassed Oakland for Los Angeles when longshoremen, not participating in the protest, refused to unload the ship after being physically threatened and their vehicles blocked when they tried to report for work. Protesters' claim they impacted ZIM's shipping schedule was denied by the company, and the local
Jewish Community Council denounced the "hateful" rhetoric of the demonstrators. In July 2014, by which time the company was almost wholly owned by Israel Corporation, ZIM was restructured with 68% of the group's shares owned by its creditors and bondholders, and 32% retained by Israel Corporation, and starting early 2015 by
Kenon Holdings, a spin-off company of Israel Corporation. In mid-to-late 2015, plans to revive an
initial public offering were implemented. ZIM debuted on the
New York Stock Exchange in January 2021, with the backing of
Citigroup,
Goldman Sachs, and
Barclays.
2020s In March 2021, ZIM reported the biggest profit in its 75-year history. In December 2023 the Malaysian Government rescinded its permit for ZIM to use their ports, responding to "Israel's actions that ignore basic humanitarian principles and violate international law" in the
Gaza war. The company experienced two chartered vessel incidents in September 2025. First, on September 9, about 75 containers fell from
boxship Mississippi at
Pier G of the
Port of Long Beach. Two weeks later, another ship,
MV Colorado, suffered a fire, as it embarked on a Pacific crossing, en route to the
Port of Los Angeles, and was diverted to
Busan,
South Korea. Since going public in 2021, ZIM's valuation has been volatile, a condition exasperated by the repercussions of the Gaza war and underlying market conditions. In December 2025, the board confirmed that it was considering options up to and including the sale of ZIM, initiating a flurry of purchase speculation, particularly from
Hapag-Lloyd. The potential sale of the company was complicated by the Israeli government's share in ZIM, and the company's national security importance to Israel. A potential purchase by Hapag-Lloyd has been the subject of particular consternation in Israel, due to the interests of Arab states in Hapag. In February 2026, Hapag-Lloyd signed a deal to purchase ZIM for $4.2 billion. Under the agreement, Hapag-Lloyd was to sell ZIM’s Israeli operations to the FIMI private equity fund. Following the announcement of the acquisition, employees of ZIM Integrated Shipping Services launched strike actions that disrupted port operations, including the suspension of some loading and unloading activities. As of March 2026, the deal has not gone through. It is still awaiting approval by the Israeli Government Companies Authority.
Maersk has offered a deal to purchase ZIM should the Hapag-Lloyd purchase fall through. ==Operational statistics==