Veson Nautical has published its annual rankings of the top 10 shipowning nations with landlocked Switzerland noticeably climbing the ranks. 

Switzerland entered the top 10 list last year, in ninth spot, largely down to the Aponte family’s Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC), the world’s largest containerline and a giant brand in cruise shipping. 

Switzerland now ranks sixth on Veson Nautical’s list. The total value of the Swiss fleet now stands at $83bn, up 22% from last year, which is largely due to the continued buying spree of MSC, who have added a further 58 secondhand vessels plus an additional 36 orders to its existing orderbook over the past 12 months, according to Veson data.

Gianluigi Aponte’s Geneva-based MSC has been on a historic fleet expansion in the 2020s, hoovering up more than 450 secondhand boxships, and ordering more than 3m teu of newbuilds, pushing MSC to the top spot in the global liner leagues, and making the Apontes – who originally hail from Italy – by some distance the richest family in Switzerland.

Originally from Naples, Aponte, now 85, founded MSC in 1970. His family is among the top 50 on the Forbes billionaires index. 

Elsewhere, China stays in the number one position, Japan is second, and Greece takes bronze on the Veson list. Taiwan enters the top 10, displacing Norway.