MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company

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MSC logo

Names:
--- "Aponte Shipping Company S.A." (1970)
--- "Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A." (MSC)

Category: Transportation

Subcategory: Shipping

Founded: 1970 - Naples, Italy

Founder / First president: Gianluigi Aponte

Features: Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) was founded as Aponte Shipping Company by Gianluigi Aponte, a young Italian seaman and former bank teller, who purchased his first ship, Patricia, in 1970. He acquired an even bigger vessel in 1971 which he named after his wife, Rafaela. The carrier, Ilse, was bought in 1973. These three cargo ships represented the pioneering beginnings of the shipping line, which initially started operating between Mediterranean and East Africa via Cape Town. Headquartered for eight years in Brussels, Belgium, and finally in Geneva, Switzerland, MSC has remained a family business despite its incredible growth. In 1988 MSC entered cruise business, purchasing the iconic liner Monterey.

Interesting facts: In 1971, the carrier's first vessel, the Patricia, loaded about 120 camels and 150 oxen in Mogadishu, Somalia, for delivery to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.

Property: Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A.

Official website: http://www.msc.com

MSC "Patricia", the first ship of the company, photographed passing Portishead inbound for Avonmouth on May 27, 1970. German vessel, general cargo built in Papenburg 1955 under the name Korbach, purchased by Mediterranean Shipping Co. in 1970, demolished in Pakistan 1986.

MSC "Rafaela", the second ship of the company. German vessel, general cargo built in Lübeck 1951 under the name Magdeburg, purchased by Mediterranean Shipping Co. in early 1971, demolished in Belgium 1978.

MSC "Ilse", the third ship of the company. German vessel, general cargo built in Kiel 1952 under the name Pazifik, purchased by Mediterranean Shipping Co. in late 1972, demolished in Bangladesh 1982.

Captain Gianluigi Aponte (Sant'Agnello, Naples, Italy - June 27, 1940), founder, owner and first president of MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company. On October 2, 2014, he has retired from the position of CEO and president in favour of his son, Diego Aponte.

MSC "Meraviglia". When it debuted in June 2017, it was the 4th largest cruise ship in the world.