An Israeli billionaire who served in the Royal Navy during the Second World War has given £20 million to build a new wing at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich.

The gift from Sammy Ofer, an 86-year-old shipping magnate, is thought to be the biggest single donation by an individual to any cultural institution in the UK. It will help finance a new £35 million extension at the Greenwich site, on the Thames in southeast London, that will include a large exhibition hall and an archive centre.

Mr Ofer was born in Romania in 1922 but emigrated to the British mandate of Palestine with his family as a young child. He enlisted with the Royal Navy during the War, serving in the Mediterranean, and then went to serve in the Israeli Sea Corps during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.

He then became a shipping agent, buying his first ship in 1950, and now owns, with his brother Juli, one of the world's biggest private shipping companies as well as other diversified interests. Forbes magazine puts his family's wealth at $3.9 billion, making him the 226th richest man in the world.

Mr Ofer's business empire includes Zim, one of the largest container shipping companies in the world, and Zodiac Maritime Agencies, a London-based ship management company.

He also owns a 16.5 per cent stake - valued at $1 billion - in Royal Caribbean, the world’s second largest cruise line.

Officials at the National Maritime Museum were keen to stress Mr Ofer's links with Britain and the City of London - around 90 of the vessels he controls fly the Red Ensign.

Lord Sterling, Chairman of the National Maritime Museum said, “I would like to extend our deepest thanks to Sammy Ofer for his extraordinary generosity. Sammy is a man who has been key to the global maritime industry for many years and who, through his close relations with the London shipping community and the City of London, has formed an admiration and respect for the long maritime history of this country.

"We are profoundly indebted to him for making such a farsighted donation of his own personal wealth and in expressing such confidence in the future of the world’s foremost maritime museum.”

The new wing, at the museum's World Heritage-listed site at Greenwich, will include a 800 square metre exhiibition hall, an archive centre, new learning spaces, plus a restaurant, cafe and shop. It will be opened by the time of the 2012 Olympics, when Greenwich will host nine sports, including badminton and basketball.

The museum said that the extension would enable it "to make a quantum leap in illustrating how Britain’s relationship with the sea has fundamentally shaped histories, cultures, economies, and identities across the globe".

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