The WW group was founded on 1 October 1861 in Tønsberg. The company's first vessel was the barque "Mathilde" in 1886. Halfdan Wilhelmsen was forward thinking and realised that steamboats were the future, therefore in 1887 he bought the vessel "Talabot." It was only after they bought "Talabot" that the company started making profits. Thence, all their ships have been named, started with the letter "T", often leading to the same name given repeatedly to different ships over time. For example, there have been at least four ships named "Talabot" ranging from tankers to ro-ro vessels.