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As it approaches its 125th anniversary, Hong Kong-based Wallem has a lot to celebrate.

Wallem Fleet Officers' Meeting 2026 in Manila

(Article originally published in July/Aug 2026 edition.)

The company that started it all is on a roll. Founded in 1903 by an enterprising Norwegian whose name it still bears, Wallem is not only the world's oldest ship management company but one of the most successful as well.

Under CEO John Rowley, who took the helm in January 2024, the privately held ship management firm has enjoyed two years of strong growth while expanding its service offerings and maintaining its traditional focus on crew and asset safety, quality of service and transparent, enduring client relationships.

"The challenge now is to make sure the safety and quality keep up with the growth," he says, "and that the growth doesn't outpace our ability to maintain our safety, quality and service levels."

A nice problem to have, and one ideally suited to Rowley's talents. A former British paratrooper and seasoned corporate executive, he has the leadership skills to handle pretty much any situation. And in an increasingly complicated and dangerous maritime world, that could come in handy.

BACK STORY

In 1903 a Norwegian shipbroker named Haakon Wallem started a shipping company in Shanghai, which he aptly named Wallem. Two years later he bought his first ship, the SS Oscar II, a 4,750-dwt sail-steamer built in 1893. By 1908 the company was managing two sister ships in the coal trade along the Chinese coast, making Wallem the first third-party ship manager in the world.

In 1925, he moved the company to Hong Kong, where it's been headquartered for the last 100+ years.

With roots deep in China, the company today has expansive operations throughout the Asia-Pacific and European regions. One of its longest-standing partners is COSCO, the Chinese shipping giant and the world's largest shipowner, with whom it has two joint ventures to serve the market in China. One is for ship management operations and the other for ship agency services.

Wallem was, in fact, the first foreign shipping company in China with rights to recruit, train and deploy Chinese mariners worldwide. It has key crewing offices strategically located in Shanghai, Shenzhen and Qingdao. Qingdao is also one of its five global fleet operations centers – the others being Hong Kong, Singapore, Hamburg and Cyprus.

All told, the company operates in 18 countries and employs about 7,000 mariners and another 600 shore-based personnel in 13 offices around the world. It has state-of-the-art training centers in India and the Philippines, where 70 percent of its seafarers come from. Another 10 percent come from China. Additional training capabilities are located in Indonesia and Ukraine.

Wallem's reputation is so high in these countries that it often gets first choice in recruiting new crew. People really want to work for this company.

GLOBAL REACH

Today, of course, the company's reach extends well beyond China and Asia with major clients in Greece, the U.K., Denmark, Norway, Cyprus and Latin America. One of its biggest clients is based in Argentina. So on top of its solid foundation in China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia and Japan, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam, it has a rapidly growing base in the rest of the world.

Its portfolio of services has similarly expanded to meet the evolving needs of its clients.

In addition to ship agency and ship management, Wallem offers related services such as Commercial Management, which includes functions like brokering, advisory and post-fixture services.

One of the more recent product additions is Wallem Vessel IT Services or VITS, a comprehensive suite of IT security and management solutions designed to simplify vessel operations. In an era where vessels have become floating data centers and managing all the bells and whistles has reached a critical point, VITS provides full visibility and control, helping ensure operations remain secure, compliant and efficient.

"A lot of it is geared toward cybersecurity to keep the vessel safe from cyberattacks," Rowley notes, "and it's becoming more and more necessary. Otherwise, the whole safety and efficiency of the ship can be compromised. We provide 24/7 backup, remote and onboard, with a network of skilled technicians around the world that we can deploy in the event of an emergency."

Another critical offering is Lifeboat Inspection Services, an oft-neglected aspect of vessel operations. Wallem's SeaSafe inspections ensure its clients' lifeboats are maintained properly, fit for service and safe to operate.

As for types of vessels, the company manages all kinds. "We look after oil tankers, product tankers, chemical tankers, LPG carriers, bulk carriers, container ships, car carriers and, of course, a significant number of cruise ships through the agency business," Rowley states. About a third of Wallem's maritime workforce of some 7,000 seafarers is employed on tankers, a third on bulk carriers and a third on other vessels.

The company has developed a special expertise in the operation and maintenance of dual-fuel, LNG-capable vessels as the maritime industry turns its attention to alternative, low- or zero-carbon fuels.

"We've got to help our owners stay ahead of the curve in terms of innovation," Rowley explains, "and what's particularly important right now is to be less carbon-polluting. Eventually that might mean nuclear power, but nuclear power in commercial shipping is a long way away. Right now, LNG-powered ships are a big part of the carbon-reduction picture, so we've got to make sure our crew are trained to handle it, to bunker it and to run LNG-powered ships. We've built up a pool of crew and a pool of ships that are running on LNG, and we're a market leader in this area, especially in the car carrier market."

There will be more innovations to follow, of that you can be sure.

HANDLING CRISES

Alternative fuels are just one of the challenges facing shipowners and ship managers like Wallem. Geopolitical conflicts are another.

When war broke out in the Middle East, Wallem had crew on tankers trapped in the Persian Gulf. Getting them out – or at least ensuring their safety and well-being in the interim – became a priority. Crises like these are becoming more commonplace and unpredictable. You can plan how you respond to them, but you can't plan when or where they'll happen, Rowley observes.

And that further reinforces the need for an experienced ship manager.

Rowley says he learned from his military career that when challenges are thrown at you suddenly, you need to respond "calmly, quickly and decisively." And that's what Wallem did when the Strait of Hormuz shut down.

"First priority is the safety of the crew," he says, "and looking after their welfare. Getting them provisioned with food and whatever they need. Making sure we can get them off the ship if they want to go home and replace them with crew who volunteer to be there. And of course communicating with the ships' owners. Making decisions in coordination and partnership and full transparency with the owners is key, with the first priority always being the safety of the crew and the ship itself."

There will be more "Hormuzes," you can be sure of that. Having an experienced ship manager at the helm can make all the difference.

INTO THE COMMUNITY

It's not all work and crises at Wallem.

The day I interviewed Rowley, he had spent the morning chairing a board meeting at Matilda Hospital, the leading nonprofit hospital in Hong Kong and a long-time recipient of Wallem support.

"I don't run the hospital," he says. "We have an excellent CEO and hospital management who run it, but I oversee it from a governance standpoint. It's part of the heritage linkage to the hospital that goes back 75 years."

Matilda is just one example of Wallem's well-known commitment to the communities where it operates. "Women of Wallem" is another. The initiative refers to the wives and dependents of Wallem's male crew and the support it offers to charitable events for the maritime community in countries like India and the Philippines, where the company sources large numbers of mariners.

"I'd like to have 'Men of Wallem' as well," Rowley says, "which would be the husbands of female crew, but we're not there yet. When we get there – and we're working very hard at it – I'm sure we'll create it."

That's the kind of leader Rowley is, and the kind of company Wallem is.

Jack O'Connell is the magazine's Senior Editor.

The opinions expressed herein are the author's and not necessarily those of The Maritime Executive.