ABOUT US

CCNI was established in 1930, when two companies based in Punta Arenas, Chile, decided to create Compañía Chilena de Navegación Interoceánica in Valparaíso, in order to provide maritime services between South Atlantic and South Pacific ports through the Strait of Magellan.
On March 31, 1930, Supreme Decree No. 1.684 was published in the Official Gazette, stipulating the legal status of Compañía Chilena de Navegación Interoceánica S.A., signed by His Excellency the President of the Republic, Mr. Carlos Ibáñez del Campo. The initial fleet was made up by the steamships “Valparaíso”, “Santiago” and “Atacama”, which, altogether, totaled 11,676 registered tons. Up to the early 1950s, the Company focused its attention on American countries and, in 1953, it offered a regular service to the North American Pacific, which started in Chile and served ports in Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Central America, Mexico, United States and Canada. In 1946, the Company started an important fleet renovation plan, purchasing four C1-MA-V1 type vessels in the United States that had been used during World War II. These were CCNI’s first diesel propulsion vessels, because until then, the fleet had been steam propelled. In 1946, Edificio Interoceánica was built in the port of Valparaíso, where the Company’s offices are still located. In 1961, CCNI purchased Agencias Universales S.A., AGUNSA, to provide general agency and port services to vessels.
Then, in 1972, the Chilean Economic Development Agency (CORFO), a state entity, purchased 92.9% of CCNI stock. In 1973, CCNI started operating Asian routes, with a regular service between Chile and Japan, which was subsequently extended to Australia and New Zealand. The following year, the Company again bet for this region, including routes to South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan. In 1997, it started carrying automobiles from Japan. The 1980s featured the opening of new services. The Andes Express Service started in 1981, the first full container service, for which CCNI became partners with two Japanese shipping companies. “Servicios de Transportes Integrados Ltda.” (SITRANS) was also constituted, which built the first container terminal in Chile. In 1982, the first full container service was launched from Chile to Europe, with transshipment at the port of New York. In 1983, CORFO sold 50% of its CCNI stock, equivalent to 46% of the stock issued by the Company. Later, in 1985, it sold the remaining 54% of its stock. Another landmark was the purchase of the Pure Car Carrier “Andino” in 1986, the first vessel of its kind among Chilean shipping companies, assigned to serve the traffic from the East to the South Pacific coasts.
2005, when the Company celebrated its 75 years, was exceptional for CCNI, a new regional office was established in Hamburg, Germany, two new offices in China, in the cities of Ningbo, Qingdao, and offices in South Korea, one of a commercial nature in Seoul, and an operational one in Busan. Also, and as part of a renovation plan to provide better quality service, the reefer container fleet was renewed, as well as a large part of the dry cargo container fleet. Services between the Southwest of America and Asia were also redesigned, being CCNI the only company to offer two weekly departures in this route, with greater capacity vessels, between 2,500 and 3,100 TEUs, which made it possible to reduce transit times.
Together with the German shipowner Peter Döhle Schiffahrts, it was agreed to purchase three 3,100 TEU vessels, with an approximate investment for CCNI amounting to USD 70 million. The vessels, assigned to carry cargo in Asia, were satisfactorily received in 2006 and christened “CCNI Antillanca”, “CCNI Arica” and “CCNI Antofagasta”.
In 2006, the plans designed for changes in services connecting Asian markets with North, Central and South America were implemented. This allowed CCNI to provide the best weekly service, with two direct slings in this market. The Mediterranean service was also redesigned, replacing conbulker vessels by B170 type, improving frequency, transit times and capacity for cargo in dry and reefer containers. This allowed CCNI to increase its annual carriage capacity by 23%. As a regional operator, between 2007 and 2008 the Company’s strategy was to focus on the best and most efficient traffic plans in which it participates, with regularity in the itineraries and minimum transit times, making it possible to substantially improve the quality of its service. In this respect, a process to improve traffic was implemented during those years, which brought major changes to Gulf Express Services (GEX), North China Chennai Services (NCCS) and KCI (Korea to China-India Service), subsequently named Central China - India Service (CCI). The capacity of the Mediterranean (MedAndes) and Condor Services was also increased. Some elements of the Company’s fleet were renewed in 2008 and 2009. Specifically, six 2,500 TEU vessels were replaced by six 3,800 TEU vessels, and a car carrier vessel was received, the PCTC “Andino”, which, coincidentally, has the same name as CCNI’s first car carrier vessel. In the Condor Service, the five conbulker vessels were replaced by 7 B-170 type vessels, which contributed to improving the frequency of this service and reducing transit times between the West Coast of South America and Northern Europe. Also, more than 400 state-of-the-art reefer containers were incorporated.