The origin of Compagnie Maritime Belge (Belgische Scheepvaartmaatschappij), in short CMB, initially called Compagnie Belge Maritime du Congo (CBMC), dates back to 1895. At the instance of the Belgian King Leopold II, British interests established CBMC in order to provide a regular shipping service to Congo. On February 6, 1895 the passenger liner Léopoldville (I) was the first ship to leave Antwerp under Belgian flag. Belgian shareholders headed by the Banque d’Outremer, later absorbed by the Société Générale de Belgique, took control in 1911. Until 1930, activities were limited to a shipping service to Congo, carrying passengers, cargo and mail.
In 1930 CBMC absorbed the Belgian shipowner Lloyd Royal Belge. The company name was changed into CMB (LR) and the first additional lines to North and South America and the Far East were started. In the Second World War CMB lost three quarters of its fleet in acts of war. The after-war colonial boom boosted CMB’s activities, enabling the company to diversify its business by means of investments in shipping related areas.
In 1960 CMB took over the Belgian shipowner Armement Deppe, specialised in the route to Central and South America. The Congo shipping service became less dominant but CMB was still exclusively a liner shipowner. This changed in 1962 when CMB entered the dry bulk trade. As the container emerged and replaced bales and pallets, CMB re-organised its liner trades. Gradually container vessels took over all traditional liner trade routes.
The bulk trade division prospered and in 1975 CMB took a minority share in the tramping company Bocimar, absorbed completely in 1982. In 1988 the cargo handling division was strengthened considerably when CMB bought Hessenatie, the largest general cargo and container handling company in Antwerp.
In July 1991 CMB’s majority shareholder, Société Générale de Belgique, sold its stake to the holding company Almabo and its shipping company Exmar.
Today CMB, still run from Antwerp, is an international maritime group, quoted on Euronext. The group is no longer involved in liner, gas and crude oil shipping, but its vessels carry dry bulk (Bocimar).