Wilson Sons () is a Brazilian

shipping company A shipping line or shipping company is a company whose line of business is ownership and operation of ships. Shipping companies provide a method of distinguishing ships by different kinds of cargo: # Bulk cargo is a type of special cargo that is ...

headquartered in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. The firm was set up in

Salvador Salvador, meaning "salvation" (or "saviour") in Catalan, Spanish, and Portuguese may refer to: * Salvador (name) Arts, entertainment, and media Music *Salvador (band), a Christian band that plays both English and Spanish music ** ''Salvador'' ( ...

in 1837 by two

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

brothers, Edward and Fleetwood Pellew Wilson. The firm is one of the oldest private enterprises in Brazil. It was later run by Edward's son, Edward Pellew Wilson Jr. Wilson Sons were responsible for construction and provision of supplies and equipment for the Great Western and Count d'Eu Railroads in Brazil. The group built the first

dry dock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...

in Brazil, on the Ilha de Mocangue Pequeno Island, inaugurated in 1869 by Emperor Dom Pedro II. The company has developed an extensive national network and provides a comprehensive set of services related to domestic and international trade, as well as to the oil and gas industry. Its principal operating activities are divided into the following lines of business: port terminals, towage, logistics,

shipping agency A shipping agency, shipping agent, or ship agency is the term used to refer to the appointed companies that handle operational and procedural (legal) requirements for a commercial vessel's call at a port for the purposes of cargo handling (loadin ...

, offshore, and

shipyards A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Compared to shipyards, which are sometimes more involved ...

. The company's majority shareholder, Ocean Wilsons, filed with Brazil's

Securities Commission A securities commission, securities regulator or capital market authority is a government department or agency responsible for financial regulation of securities products within a particular country. Its powers and responsibilities vary greatly ...

to sell a 56.47% interest in the company to MSC in October 2024. The transaction was approved by the Brazilian

Administrative Council for Economic Defense The Administrative Council for Economic Defense (in Portuguese, ''Conselho Administrativo de Defesa Econômica'', often referred to as Cade or CADE) is Brazil's national competition regulator and an agency of the government of Brazil. Its state ...

(CADE) and the National Water Transport Agency (ANTAQ) and concluded on june 2025, SAS Shipping Services, a

wholly-owned subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company, or daughter company is a company completely or partially owned or controlled by another company, called the parent company or holding company, which has legal and financial control over the subsidiary company. Unl ...

of MSC now owns 68.39% of the company.

References

External links

Wilson, Sons web site
(English language) {{Authority control Brazilian brands Companies based in Rio de Janeiro (state) Companies based in Rio de Janeiro (city) Companies established in 1837 Companies listed on B3 (stock exchange) Defence companies of Brazil Engineering companies of Brazil Manufacturing companies of Brazil Manufacturing companies established in 1837 Multinational_companies_headquartered_in_Brazil Military history of Brazil Shipbuilding companies of Brazil Shipping companies of Brazil Vehicle manufacturing companies established in the 19th century