Established in 1964, it has continued to operate despite Ethiopia having become a landlocked country in 1993; its main base is now the Port of Djibouti and Berbera in Somaliland.

However, it was not until 1965 that the Ethiopian Shipping Lines was established as a joint venture with the American company Towers Perrin.

Operations commenced in 1966 with three ships called Queen of Sheba, Lion of Judah and Lalibela.

The size of the ships was not appropriate for such long voyages, and the company ran into a loss.

Since then, the ESL has focused mainly on domestic import and export, to promote foreign trade.