The company was founded 1 September 1968 by the chairman of the company, billionaire Dr. Yung-Fa Chang. Services began with a single cargo vessel named Central Trust, which operated a go-anywhere service.[5] A second vessel was added in 1969, and used on Middle East services.[5] Additional vessels were acquired through the 1970s, and routes to East Asia and Central America were added.[5] Service to the U.S. began in 1974, with the establishment of Evergreen Marine Corporation (New York) Ltd.[5]In 1981, the parent company changed its name to Evergreen International S.A. (EIS), as the company increased its global expansion efforts.[5] Evergreen Marine began its first around-the-world shipping services in 1984. This service is bi-directional, covering both westbound and eastbound routings.Since then, Evergreen Marine has expanded to include other shipping companies such as the Uniglory Marine Corp. (Taiwan) in 1984, the Hatsu Marine Ltd. (U.K.) in 2002, and the Italian shipping company Italia Marittima (previously Lloyd Triestino, and founded as sterreichischer Lloyd in 1835) in 1993. Uniglory was made a division of the company in 1999.[5] Evergreen Marine has also become a partner of EVA Airways, founded in 1989, and Uni Air, founded in 1998.In 2002, Evergreen Marine operated 61 container vessels, with a total fleet size totaling 130 vessels with 400, 000 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units).[5] By 2008, Evergreen Marine operated 178 container vessels.[6] In 2009, the company announced plans to build 100 additional vessels, in anticipation of a global economic recovery by 2012.[6]