MSC Group became the first container liner in history to operate a fleet of 900 ships. Gianluigi Aponte’s company has 609 owned ships and 291 chartered ships. MSC reached the 900-ship mark with the delivery of the 16,000-tonne MSC Germany from Yangzijiang Shipbuilding in China.
MSC
The count includes the ships of shipping giant MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, as well as Aponte’s smaller container shipping brands Medlog, Log-In Logistica and WEC Lines.
With 132 ships on order, MSC could approach the 1,000-ship mark in the coming years.
The company said its fleet has a total capacity of 6.47 million teu, almost 1 million more than second-ranked AP Moller-Maersk. In the container sector, MSC controls 20.3% of the market.
Owned 790 ships
Clarksons’ Shipping Intelligence Network database lists MSC as the world’s second-largest shipowner across all shipping lines by number of ships, behind only China Cosco Shipping.
The MSC group is estimated to have 790 owned ships, including its cruise fleet, which is the world’s third-largest in this sector.
From captain to world’s richest man Aponte, a former captain, started the company in 1970 in Brussels with a cargo ship, the Patricia, Tradewinds reports.
In recent years, its fleet has grown through a second-hand ship buying campaign and a newbuilding program, with chartered capacity accounting for a small share of its growth.
According to Forbes, Aponte and his wife Rafaela Aponte-Diamant, who owns 50% of MSC, are ranked 43rd and 44th on the list of the richest people in the world with a net worth of $35.8 billion each.
