Few know the "powers that be" behind shipping, but at the beginning of June, a central person in the world shipping, passed on. Below is an article from Cruise Solutions, giving us an glimpse of a shipping empire monarch. A bit more about the Ofer Brothers, and here's another news story about his death.
Born in Galatz, Romania, on February 22, 1922, Sammy Ofer, then known as Samuel Herskovich, immigrated with his family to Palestine in 1924 and settled in Haifa. Starting his career with Haifa-based shipping agency M Dizengoff & Co Ltd, with the outbreak of the Second World War, he enlisted in the Royal Navy and served as a petty officer in a minesweeper based at Alexandria. He later also served as an officer with the Israeli Navy.
The Ofer brothers meanwhile expanded into other areas of shipping, amassing a fleet of well over 200 bulk carriers, tankers and container ships, as well as taking an interest in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd, and in real estate and banking. Sammy’s son Eyal took his father’s position on the board at Royal Caribbean in May 1995 and Sammy’s wife and Eyal’s mother Aviva sponsored Royal Caribbean’s Grandeur of the Seas at Miami in 1996.
In March 2008, Ofer donated £20 million to the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich as part of a £35 million expansion program. [The National Maritime Museum at Greenwich] He also donated £3.3 million to help complete the restoration of the preserved clipper ship Cutty Sark, also at Greenwich. That November, Ofer was made an Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in recognition of his involvement with maritime heritage in the United Kingdom. The Sammy Ofer Wing of the National Maritime Museum is due to open on July 11.Labels: around the world, container, cruise ships, in the media, People, RCI