Mediterranean Shipping Company
 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (March 2012) |
 | |
| Industry | Shipping |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1970 |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Gianluigi Aponte, CEO |
| Services | Freight transportation |
| Subsidiaries | MSC Cruises |
| Website | www.mscgva.ch |
Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A. (MSC) is the world's largest shipping line in terms of container vessel capacity.[1] MSC operates 463 vessels and has a capacity of 2,092,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU).[2] The Geneva-based[3] company operates in all major ports of the world.[4] MSC's most important port is Antwerp in Belgium.
History
MSC was founded in 1970 as a private company by Gianluigi Aponte when he bought his first ship, Patricia, followed by Rafaela, with which Aponte began a shipping line operating between the Mediterranean and Somalia. The line subsequently expanded through the purchase of second-hand cargo ships. By 1977, the company operated services to northern Europe, Africa and the Indian Ocean. The expansion continued through the 1980s; by the end of the decade, MSC operated ships to North America and Australia.[4]
In 1989, MSC purchased the cruise ship operator Lauro Lines, renamed to Mediterranean Shipping Cruises (MSC Cruises) in 1995, and subsequently increased the cruising business.[4]
In 1994, the line ordered its first newly constructed ships, which were delivered beginning in 1996 with MSC Alexa. They were built by Italian shipbuilder, Fincantieri.[4]
The company today
MSC serves 270 ports worldwide on the six continents. 350 local offices, employing a total of 29,000 people, provide an agency network representation. Vessels with up to a capacity of 13,800 TEU, including one of the largest container ships, MSC Emanuela and her sistership MSC Beatrice. The company remains independent and wholly owned by its president Aponte and his family.
The growth of MSC is fully organic, and not through Mergers and Acquisition.
The line was named shipping line of the year in 2007 for the sixth time in eleven years by Lloyds Loading List, which is an achievement not matched by any other shipping line. The line has just also placed orders for eleven new vessels that will be able to carry up to 15,000 TEUs each, which are some of the largest container vessels in the world.
MSC India's new headquarters building "MSC House" was inaugurated by Diego Aponte in 2008.
Cyprus being the hub of container shipping market, MSC Cyprus new headquarters was inaugrated on 8 April 2009 by Mr. Diego Aponte.
Interlink Transport Technologies Inc. in Warren, New Jersey is a subdivision serving some of the company's IT needs.
Accidents and incidents
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MSC Napoli
MSC Napoli operated by MSC under charter from its owner, had to be abandoned in the English Channel due to European storm Kyrill in January 2007.
MSC Chitra
The container ship MSC Chitra collided with another vessel on 8 August 2010 in Jawaharlal Nehru Port causing the spillage of approximately 300 containers into the port waters. Jawaharlal Nehru Port and the adjacent Mumbai Port were closed for several days until the containers could be cleared and no longer present any danger to shipping.[5]
MSC Elena
In 2006, MSC was levied a US$10 million fine, and placed on five years probation, after being found guilty in a "magic pipe" case involving MSC Elena in which more than 40 tons of sludge and oil-contaminated bilge waste was intentionally discharged over a five-month period in 2004.[6]
MV Rena
The container ship MV Rena, owned by Costamare and chartered by MSC, ran aground on the Astrolabe Reef, near Tauranga, New Zealand On Wednesday, 5 October 2011, at 02.20am (Tuesday 4, 13.20 UTC) with a speed of 17 knots (20 mph.) MSC denies it was responsible for the vessels navigation.[7]
Notable ships
References
- ^ http://www.lloydslistdcn.com.au/archive/2011/03-march/weekly-edition-10-march/msc-overtakes-maersk-in-box-league-for-now
- ^ About Us Mediterranean Shipping Company. Retrieved on 22 December 2011.
- ^ "Contact." Mediterranean Shipping Company. Retrieved on 22 September 2011. "40, Avenue Eugène-Pittard - CH-1206, Geneva - Switzerland"
- ^ a b c d "The history of MSC Mediterranean Shipping Co. SA". Swiss Deep-sea Shipping. Retrieved 10 August 2010.
- ^ Siddharth Philip (11 August 2010). "Mumbai Port Partially Re-Opens as Work Clearing Shed Containers Continues". Retrieved 13 December 2010.
- ^ "Magic pipe incident draws huge fine". AllBusiness Marine Log. Sunday, 1 January 2006. Retrieved 13 December 2010.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "http://www.lloydslistdcn.com.au/archive/2011/03-march/weekly-edition-10-march/msc-overtakes-maersk-in-box-league-for-now". News M/V Rena. Retrieved 12 October 2011.
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MSC Amsterdam
External links
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