Diego Aponte News

Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) on Monday held a naming ceremony for its new ultra large containership MSC Nicola Mastro in Intaly's Port of Trieste.The 400-meter-long 24,116 TEU newbuild was built by China State Shipbuilding Corporation's Jiangnan Shipyard as part of MSC's new record-breaking Celestino Maresca class, among the world's largest containerships. "At MSC, we continue to modernize our fleet and are investing in the most fuel-efficient vessels by design. The MSC Nicola Mastro is one of those vessels…

Swiss-headquartered shipping giant MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company SA continues to expand with an agreement to acquire towage provider Rimorchiatori Mediterranei.The company announced Sunday a deal through its wholly owned subsidiary SAS Shipping Agencies Services Sàrl to acquire 100% of the share capital of Rimorchiatori Mediterranei S.p.A. from Rimorchiatori Riuniti and a fund managed by DWS’s Infrastructure Investment business.Completion remains subject to the receipt of approvals…

Sixty-five years after Aristotle Onassis founded Greece's Olympic Airways, another shipping entrepreneur is planning to take to the skies - this time in Italy, where Gianluigi Aponte's MSC has its sights on the successor company to Alitalia.The 81-year-old, known as "the captain" after building his shipping empire from a single vessel, is hoping to forge an air freight and passenger business to dovetail with MSC's sea cargo and cruise operations.But there are big challenges.Alitalia stumbled for years…

Soren Toft started his new role as CEO at MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company on December 2, 2020, reporting to Diego Aponte, MSC Group President, and Gianluigi Aponte, Founder and MSC Group Chairman.Toft will oversees MSC’s global cargo businesses including ocean liner and logistics. He will also be a member of the board of directors of Terminal Investment Ltd (TiL), the terminals business which is majority-owned by MSC.Soren Toft joins MSC from Maersk, where he served as COO since 2013 and later as a Member of the Executive Board.“With his 25 years of experience in leadership roles at Maersk…

In an open letter posted on the MSC website, MSC Group President & CEO Diego Aponte offered public comment and perspective on the COVID-19 situation for MSC's cargo business. “The spread of COVID-19 has created a public health issue unprecedented in our lifetimes, triggering an unexpected shock for societies and economies,” said Aponte.Calling the industry “as an essential cog for global trade” Aponte’s recognizes his company’s role in helping to keep products moving while taking…

Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), the world’s second-biggest container shipping line, has decided not to use the Arctic as a new short cut between northern Europe and Asia and will instead focus on improving environmental performance on existing global trade routes.In declaring the northern sea route out of bounds, MSC follows CMA CGM and Hapag-Lloyd that have similarly eschewed the commercial benefits of an Asia-North Europe option that is 30 percent shorter than the southern route via the Suez Canal.The Northern Sea Route lies entirely in Arctic waters and has been trialed by other shipping lines seeking to take advantage of melting ice from global warming.“As a responsible company with a longstanding nautical heritage and passion for the sea…

MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, the world's second-largest shipping line in terms of container vessel capacity, SA announced that it is increasing its majority stake in the container terminal operator Terminal Investment Ltd (TiL) to 60%, following a deal with Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) and other co-investors.MSC also welcomes a new partner to the shareholding of TiL after Global Investment Corporation (GIP), a Singaporean Sovereign Wealth Fund, acquired a 10% stake in TiL from GIP and other existing co-investors.New York-based GIP, a leading global, independent infrastructure fund manager, remains a significant shareholder.TiL…

Abu Dhabi Ports subsidiary Maqta Gateway said that it is to carry out its first testing of international blockchain solution Silsal with a maritime operator in partnership with MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, a global leader in shipping and logistics.Silsal provides a seamless and secure link between stakeholders across the trade community using the electronic ledger system.As a major carrier, MSC will provide vital information and feedback on the international pilot project, which will test the capabilities of the technology to exchange, identify, and acknowledge cargo documents and certificates between Abu Dhabi Ports and other ports.Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi…

The container shipping and logistics giant MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company is increasingly introducing smart container solutions for customers at many locations around the world, using IoT solutions developed by its partner TRAXENS.MSC is committed to equipping 50,000 dry cargo containers in the coming months to meet the growing demand from shippers for TRAXENS solutions, said a press release from the company."MSC’s partnership with TRAXENS will enhance supply chain management for shippers through unprecedented visibility of dry cargo flow from door-to-door, adding efficiency, safety and predictability," it said.TRAXENS provides shippers with an Internet-connected device to permanently fix on dry cargo containers.

Abu Dhabi Ports has signed a 30-year concession agreement with Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) to build a new container terminal at its Khalifa Port.Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has spent billions developing the port, which opened in 2012, as part of ongoing efforts to diversify its oil-rich economy.Khalifa Port is on a man-made island roughly half-way between the centres of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and about 60 kilometres (37 miles) south from Dubai’s huge Jebel Ali port.Construction of the new terminal will include deepening berths to make Khalifa Port capable o

The shipowning group Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has appointed Ammar Kanaan as Chief Executive Officer of its cargo container terminals arm Terminal Investment Limited (TiL). TIL directly manages or crosses 53 container terminals in ports of five continents. As the founder and Chairman of International Port Management, Ammar Kanaan brings a wealth of expertise and 30 years’ experience in the transport and port sectors. He has built companies focused on port management, transport engineering and transport consulting and also led the development and operations of MSC’s joint venture terminal in King Abdullah Port, Saudi Arabia. He holds a Master in Science in Transportation degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A. (MSC), a leading global transportation company, confirmed a pledge to combat illegal wildlife trafficking by signing the Buckingham Palace Declaration at a ceremony in London with HRH Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge. “As a responsible, sustainable company, MSC is proud to be a signatory to the Buckingham Palace Declaration. We play an active role in the crackdown on the illicit trade of wildlife and we will work with conservation organisations and governments to dismantle the connections between buyers and sellers,” said Diego Aponte, President and CEO of MSC. The Buckingham Palace Declaration is an initiative of United for Wildlife…

MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company has reached an agreement to back French start-up TRAXENS, a developer of cargo logistics solutions and creator of a container monitoring and coordination system. Founded in 2012 and already backed by CMA CGM, TRAXENS will now also receive capital investment from MSC, with both container shippers also represented on the Board of Directors. With a combined fleet of 4.5 million units, CMA CGM and MSC transport approximately 25 percent of the world’s shipping containers.

Adani Group turns its flagship port and India’s biggest commercial port at Mundra in Gujarat into a regional transhipment hub by partnering with Terminal Investment Ltd SA, the container terminal operating company majority owned by Geneva-based Mediterranean Shipping Co. SA (MSC), the world’s second biggest container shipping line. Adani Ports & SEZ Ltd (APSEZL), part of the Adani Group, said it will expand its existing terminal International Container Terminal Private Limited (AICTPL) at Mundra port to develop it into a transshipment hub. AICTPL is a 50:50 joint venture with Terminal Investment Ltd. "The expansion is being carried out to create a transhipment hub for the Middle East, South Asia and India.

Adani Ports & SEZ Ltd (APSEZL), part of the Adani Group, today said it will expand its existing terminal Adani International Container Terminal Private Limited (AICTPL) at its flagship Mundra port. AICTPL is a 50:50 JV with Terminal Investment Ltd, an arm of Swiss-based Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A, the second largest shipping liner in the world. The expansion is being carried out to create a transhipment hub for the Middle East, South Asia and India. Upon completion, AICTPL will emerge as India’s largest container terminal with a total quay length of 1,460 meters and cargo handling capacity of 3.1 million TEUs. It will be equipped with 15 super post panamax quay cranes, capable of handling 18,000 TEU container vessels at the terminal.

MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A has resumed vessel operations to Iran, after services were suspended in 2012 in response to trade sanctions. From April 2014, to maintain services to customers, MSC partially resumed operations by utilizing a third party feeder service which allowed cargo to be transshipped in Jebel Ali. On December 31, 2015, MSC’s 9,400 TEU vessel MSC Domitille called at the southern Iran port of Shahid Rajei (Bandar Abbas), marking the beginning of regular calls for MSC and paving the way for resuming business with Iran. MSC Domitille discharged 599 TEUs of cargo, or 300 containers of foodstuffs as well as agricultural commodities.

The biggest container ship in the world, the MSC Maya, made its maiden call at Southampton on Tuesday 15 December. The 395.4m vessel, which can carry a world-leading 19,224 containers, is just the latest giant container vessel to call at the port in recent weeks. As well as being the biggest, the vessel, which is named after Maya Aponte the four-year-old daughter of MSC President and CEO Diego Aponte, uses cutting-edge technology to make it one of the greenest vessels on the sea. She is the first of the four Oscar class vessels to call at the port’s container terminal. Her visit is just another record-breaking call for SCT5, the £110m new 500m berth at the container terminal, operated by DP World Southampton and opened by Olympic sailing legend Sir Ben Ainslie in March 2014.

MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company’s largest container ship ever built, the MSC Oscar, makes her maiden call at Port of Wilhelmshaven today. Since its inauguration in January at Daewoo’s Shipbuilding and Maritime Engineering (DSME) Shipyard in South Korea, record-breaking MSC Oscar represents the first in its class and will be followed by additional vessels in the same class during 2015-2016. In true MSC family tradition the vessel was named after Oscar, the son of Diego Aponte, MSC’s President and CEO. The 45,300 ton steel MSC Oscar, which cost US$140 mio to build, is 395 metres long, 59 metres wide with a draught of 16 metres. The…

The first international container ships began arriving in Iran this week after the nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers, yet many ship owners remain wary of resuming business until sanctions are removed - still some months away. Iran had depended on foreign ships for much of its imports, but has relied more on land routes and its own commercial fleet, particularly since 2012, as layers of sanctions led to an exodus of Western shipping firms, leading to supply disruptions. In one of the first signs of change, the world's third largest container shipping group, France's CMA CGM, said on Monday it would restart services to Iran in early August.

The Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines and the country’s leading ports operator, the Tidewater Middle East Maritime Company, have been removed from the US list of companies designated for sanctions and assets freeze, reports Press TV. International shipping lines are already stepping up port calls to Iran as the country’s massive maritime trade sector is emerging from the sanctions. U.S. sanctions barred IRISL fleet of about 170 vessels from sailing in international waters. They also prohibited international shipping companies from calling on Iranian ports. Iranian Transport Minister Abbas Akhoundi, however, said earlier this month that ships from eight major international transportation companies had started to dock at Iran’s southern ports. Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A.

Mediterranean Shipping Co’s latest vessel MSC Oscar, the world's largest boxship, has entered the Panama Registry. The Panama Maritime Authority (AMP) has announced that the Merchant Marine Department has inscribed in the Panama Registry the MSC Oscar. The AMP says this is a reflection of the effort made by the present administration, to attract newly built vessels. The ship has a length of 394 meters and its other generalities are: IMO No. 9703291; construction year 2014; Gross Registered Tonnage: 192,237.00; Net Register Tonnage: 111.432.00. The MSC Oscar's nominal capacity of 19,224 teu makes it the largest containership afloat. The ship is just slightly larger than China Shipping’s CSCL Globe, which was officially declared at 19,100 teu.

MSC Oliver was inaugurated at the DSME shipyard in Busan, South Korea, just two months after the delivery of MSC OSCAR. This week, it was the turn of Oscar’s cousin, Oliver, to break the traditional bottle of champagne against the ship, in the presence of his father Pierfrancesco Vago, Executive Chairman of  MSC Cruises, representing both the Aponte family and MSC Group. MSC Oliver is the second of a total of twenty mega-vessels which are scheduled for delivery by the end of the year. Traditionally, MSC container ships are named after female relatives of company employees. To date, there are just five exceptions: MSC Aniello, MSC Don Giovanni, MSC Diego, MSC Oscar and now, MSC Oliver.

DNV GL welcomed the world’s largest containership, MSC Oscar, into class. Delivered in January by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) in Geoje, South Korea, the 19,224 TEU vessel has already entered service on the line’s new East-West service. The newest ship for MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company has set a size benchmark for containerships in terms of capacity, and has also been designed with a number of efficiency enhancing features; for example, the engine has been…