The original SeaLand was founded by the late Malcom McLean, an American trucking entrepreneur, who revolutionized the shipping industry by packing goods in uniform containers that could be transported quickly and seamlessly between modes of transportation. This process offered companies significant time and cost savings that facilitated distribution and expanded international trade. On April 26, 1956, McLean introduced the World's first container ship,, which sailed from Newark, New Jersey to Houston, Texas with 58 aluminum trailers on its deck. In April 1960 the company name was changed from Pan-Atlantic Steamship Corporation to Sea-Land Service, Inc., an international shipping company. From 1967 to 1973, SeaLand became notable for delivering 1,200 containers a month to the Indochina peninsula during the Vietnam War, resulting in $450 million in revenues from the U.S. Defense Department. From 1960 to 1999, SeaLand was owned by R.J. Reynolds Co., CSX Corporation and others.
Recent history
In March 1999, CSX separated SeaLand into three entities: an international shipping company, a domestic shipping company, and a terminal operator. In December 1999, Maersk Line’s parent company A.P. Moller – Maersk acquired the international container shipping business and the SeaLand name. In 2000, Maersk Line changed its commercial name globally to "Maersk SeaLand" as a result of SeaLand’s acquisition the previous year. In 2003, the Carlisle Group bought the domestic shipping line from CSX and changed the name to Horizon Lines. In 2006, the commercial name SeaLand ceased to exist when, the then known as "Maersk SeaLand," changed its name to "Maersk Line" after the purchase of Royal P&O Nedlloyd. In January 2014, due to the strong brand recognition throughout the intra-Americas region, the Maersk Group announced the revival of the SeaLand brand as a specialized intra-regional carrier, taking over the existing Maersk Line network for intra-Americas trade starting January 2015. In January 2015, SeaLand started operations as the standalone carrier of the Americas for Maersk Group.
Management
In 2014 Craig Mygatt was named CEO of SeaLand. Others joining the former Maersk Line veteran on the executive management team include: