Five Seamaster class vessels are put into service. Like the Master Mariners, they will also be converted into containerships in 1973.

APL launches three C-8 class vessels, which will be converted to containerships in 1978.

The President Wilson completes her last round-the-world voyage. Her retirement marks the end of the trans-Pacific passenger service that APL and its forebears have offered since 1867.

Four new Pacesetter class vessels, including the President Jefferson, are built between 1973 and 1974. They are the first fully containerized ships launched by APL.

W. Bruce Seaton becomes president and chief operation officer of APL in August. Seaton recruits specialists from all surface transportation modes to take the concept of containerization a step further.

Seaton's interdisciplinary team begins work intermodalism, a concept based on the seamless transfer of containerized shipments between the three modes of surface transportation - ship, train, and truck.

Development of a U.S. intermodal network monitored by a sophisticated electronic tracking system results in record profits for APL. The company's transportation specialists continue to refine the intermodal concept.

Between 1980 and 1982, APL takes delivery on a total of five C-9 class vessels, all of which are containerships. Three of the vessels use diesel fuel, which enables the company to realize significant cost savings.

Seaton's team develops "stacktrain" technology, an innovation that doubles train capacity by stacking containers, two high, on specially designed railcars. The final piece of the intermodal equation, the stacktrain results in the precise integration of domestic and international shipments.

APL pioneers container-tracing technology that gives customers direct access to shipment information, thus eliminating labor- and paper-intensive processes.

APL takes delivery on the first class of containerships too large to transit the Panama Canal. Known as "post-Panamax" ships, the C-10s carry nearly 30% more cargo than the C-9s. Other carriers soon adopt the design.

The President Truman, a C-10 vessel, outside the Golden Gate bridge.

APL introduces the first 53-foot container for U.S. domestic use and inaugurates stacktrain service to Mexico and Canada.

The Exxon Valdez runs aground in Prince William Sound, Alaska. In the aftermath of the worst oil spill in U.S. history, tankers are required to have double hulls.

Expanding on its extensive Asia network, APL opens additional offices in Shanghai, Tianjin, and Dalian, China.

Along with MOL, OOCL, and Nedlloyd, APL enters into a Global Alliance agreement. The company also begins serving Europe and Latin America, and is the first global carrier to create a Web site.

The next generation of post-Panamax ships nears completion. The six new C-11s are larger and more efficient than the C-10s.

APL enters into the New World Alliance agreement, which enables the company to offer even more comprehensive coverage of the world's markets to its customers.

APL introduces HomePort^®, the container shipping industry's first customizable Web portal. With HomePort, customers can conduct a variety of transactions electronically with a shipping company. HomePort represents a significant step forward for the industry in convenience and ease of doing business.

BL Print becomes APL's newest electronic advance. For the first time in the history of the industry, customers can use the Internet to print bills of lading at remote locations such as their bank and freight forwarder. The new service allows shippers to be paid faster for their goods and eliminates burdensome paperwork and recurring costs for delivering paper documents via air express.

At its terminal at the Port of Los Angeles, APL becomes the first shipping company to install a real-time container locating system using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology. The system speeds delivery service for truckers calling to pick up containers for customers.

APL and APL Logistics team with US longhaul trucker Con-way to introduce OceanGuaranteed^SM, the shipping industry's first date-definite delivery service for less-than-containerload (LCL) shipments. The new service offers a low-cost alternative to airfreight for time-sensitive LCL cargo.