In another milestone along its sensational growth path, Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) has become the first container carrier in the world to operate 1,000 ships, according to Asian container shipping consultancy Linerlytica.

The delivery this month of the 11,480 teu MSC Migsan from China’s Zhoushan Changhong shipyard brought about the four-digit world-first for container shipping. 

Privately held MSC, the world’s largest containerline and a huge name in the cruise market, revealed yesterday that its founder, Gianluigi Aponte, has handed over his business empire to his son and daughter, Diego and Alexa.

“Passing ownership to my children is not only a reflection of their dedication and achievements, but also a continuation of our family’s centuries-long maritime heritage,” Aponte said.

Originally from Naples, Aponte, now 85, founded MSC in 1970, surpassing mighty Maersk five years ago to become the world’s largest liner. MSC’s fleet is now 57% larger than Maersk’s, its nearest rival. 

MSC’s 7.3m teu strong fleet today is nearly equivalent to the combined fleets of Hapag-Lloyd, Ocean Network Express, Evergreen and HMM. 

“What is remarkable about MSC’s achievement is the uncanny timing of its growth since 2020 that coincided with the biggest bull run that the container shipping market has ever seen. And it was done almost entirely through organic growth without any large scale acquisitions,” Hua Joo Tan, co-founder of Linerlytica, told Splash today.

Aponte’s family is among the top 50 on the Forbes billionaires index and regularly polled as the richest in Switzerland.