According to the latest data from Alphaliner, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has become the first liner company globally to operate a fleet exceeding 900 vessels.

With the delivery of the 16,000 TEU LNG-powered container ship "MSC GERMANY" by China's Yangzijiang Shipbuilding to MSC, the company has officially achieved this unprecedented milestone. "MSC GERMANY" is the fifth of 12 sister ships that MSC ordered from a Chinese shipyard in October 2022.

Alphaliner's statistics include vessels under MSC, as well as smaller container shipping brands under MSC founder Gianluigi Aponte, such as Medlog, Log-In Logistica, and WEC Lines.

As per Zhongjin's understanding, MSC's fleet currently consists of 609 owned vessels and 291 chartered vessels. The total capacity of the fleet has now risen to approximately 6.47 million TEU, significantly ahead of its closest competitor Maersk by almost 1 million TEU.

In the future, MSC's fleet size is expected to surpass the 1,000-vessel mark, with as many as 132 vessels currently confirmed as being on order.

Captain Gianluigi Aponte is a "loyal" shipowner, and his family has long reinvested profits back into the business, a model that has accelerated during the pandemic era.

In 1970, Captain Gianluigi Aponte founded MSC in Naples, Italy, initially operating just two ships on the Mediterranean to Somalia route. In the late 1980s, MSC began significant expansion, expanding its market to North America and Australia, and relocating its headquarters to Geneva. In January 2007, MSC's capacity reached the milestone of 1 million TEU for the first time, surpassing 3 million TEU a decade later, reaching 4 million TEU in July 2021, surpassing Maersk in January 2022, hitting 5 million TEU in May 2023, and officially exceeding 6 million TEU in July 2024.