The size of MSC fleet exceeded 900 vessels
According to the latest Alphaliner data, Mediterranean Shipping (MSC) has become the first liner company in the world to exceed the 900 fleet size in operation.
The company officially reached this unprecedented milestone with the delivery by China Yangzijiang Shipbuilding of the 16,000TEU LNG-powered container ship MSC GERMANY, the fifth of 12 sister ships that MSC ordered from the Chinese shipyard in October 2022.
Alphaliner's count includes ships owned by MSC, as well as the smaller container shipping brands Medlog, Log-In Logistica and WEC Lines, owned by MSC founder Gianluigi Aponte.
According to statistics, MSC's current fleet consists of 609 owned vessels and 291 chartered vessels. The capacity of the entire fleet has climbed to about 6.47 million TEU, well ahead of its nearest rival Maersk by nearly 1 million TEU.
In the future, MSC's fleet size is expected to further exceed the 1,000 mark, and currently holds 132 ships with confirmed construction orders.
Captain Gianluigi Aponte is a "loyal" shipowner whose family has long ploughed proceeds back into the business, a pattern that has accelerated in the era of the pandemic.
Founded in 1970 by Captain Gianluigi Aponte in Naples, Italy, MSC initially operated the Mediterranean to Somalia route with only two vessels. In the late 1980s, MSC began to expand into North America and Australia, and moved its headquarters to Geneva. In January 2007, MSC reached 1 million TEU for the first time, 10 years later its capacity exceeded 3 million TEU, reached 4 million TEU in July 2021, surpassed Maersk in January 2022, reached 5 million TEU in May 2023, and officially exceeded 6 million TEU in July 2024.
