Mediterranean Shipping Company

The Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC ) is a shipping company based in Geneva. It is currently the second largest container shipping company Maersk Line and after with her daughter MSC Cruises ( MSC Cruises International, based in Naples) in the cruise business active.

History

The history of the MSC can be assigned to each coarse certain stages of development in the first four decades. The first decade was marked by the beginning of the shipping company in tramp shipping, and the construction of the first line services with general cargo ships, which were taken mostly used by Linienenreedereien. During the 1980s, the shipping company presented its fleet largely used on container ships to and got into an additional cruise business. In the 1990s, MSC was operating with a global container shipping line, which as of 1996 for the first time new buildings came into their own. Since 2000, MSC has developed into the second largest container shipping line and next to a large cruise companies.

1970-1980

The company was founded in 1970 by captain Gianluigi Aponte Italian. The first ship of the company Aponte Shipping Company was built in 1955 at the Meyer -Werft Korbach the Hamburg shipping company Hans Kruger. Under the new name Patricia, the ship was used until 1973 in the tramp shipping in the Mediterranean. The following year, Aponte acquired the 1952 -built Magdeburg the Hamburg -America Line, as Rafaela remained in service until 1977. Following the acquisition of Rafaela is the famous company in order to Mediterranean Shipping Company and introduced the still valid funnel markings. In the following years more were used newly acquired ships. After the ride area as a tramper was initially extended to Northern Europe, MSC built in 1972 on the first line services via the Suez Canal to the Middle East and East Africa, and extended these from 1977 through to northern Europe. Meanwhile, the office of the shipping company had been transferred in 1975 to Geneva. With the next expansion in the late 1970s South Africa was added to the route network of the MSC.

1980-1990

At the beginning of the 1980s, MSC acquired several bulk carriers and had it converted to these container ships. In addition, initially there were numerous semi container ships and later more and more container ships to the MSC fleet. From 1985, MSC opened its first transatlantic service and 1989 came the first Australia service ( Wallaby service).

1987 MSC increased with the acquisition of the cruise company Flotta Lauro in the cruise business and renamed the shipping company in order StarLauro.

| === 1990-2000 === In the early 1990s the naming scheme of the ships was converted to registered with the prefix MSC. In 1994, MSC at first South America service, 1996 was the Silk - service to the Far East and the Pacific 1999 service. In the course of the decade, MSC had thus the last remaining necessary gaps in the trade is closed, to be considered a global liner shipping company can.

Until 1995, were acquired by MSC exclusively used container ships. The fleet consisted of a growing number of second-hand container ship types of the first to the third generation of well-known shipping lines such as NYK, Mitsui OSK, Hapag- Lloyd, Maersk u were a was not until 1996 by MSC container ship newbuildings ordered or chartered.

After the Achille Lauro sank StarLauro - end of 1994 after a fire off the Somali coast, named MSC his daughter cruise shipping company Mediterranean Shipping Cruises has to offer.

2000 to today

As of 2002, a second service was opened in the Far East, the dragon service. In the same year services to Canada and an India - Pakistan service were included. The following year, the first cruise ship new building was put into service with the MSC Lirica.

MSC presented in October 2012 with the MSC Anastasia a post -Panamax bulk carriers in service. The approximately 230 -meter-long ship was built at the STX shipyard in Dalian.

MSC today

Under MSC Flag currently underway (May 2011) 448 container ships with a slot capacity of 1,960,000 TEUs ( for comparison: Maersk Line 2,035,164 TEUs). The names of the ships provide information about which was chartered and which belongs to the shipping company. The charter boats are named after cities, countries and continents (eg MSC Busan) while the own ships mainly with female first names are named (eg MSC Denisse ).

The currently largest MSC container ships with a capacity of 13,000 TEU are the ships of MSC Daniela type. They were built from 2009 at Samsung Heavy Industries in South Korea.

The most important central container terminal in the MSC Antwerp, there is of PSA HNN, a 167 -acre MSC Home Terminal operated. MSC serves 270 ports worldwide with 170 lines.

MSC is in Germany over the line agency MSC Germany GmbH (formerly FH Bertling line Agency ) with offices in Bremen, Hamburg, Dusseldorf, Lübeck, Stuttgart, Frankfurt / Main, Berlin and Munich, present and operates in cooperation with Euro gate a dedicated terminal in Bremerhaven (MSC gate).

MSC is the owner of the cruise line MSC Crociere in Geneva and the ferry company Società Navigazione Alta Velocità ( SNAV ) in Naples.

Worldwide, more than 30,000 employees in 390 offices in 146 countries for MSC.

Accidents and incidents

• In 2005, the MSC Al amines caused in the Gulf of Tunis, an oil introduction of 100 to 150 tons of heavy fuel oil.
• 2006 MSC had to pay 10 million U.S. dollars repentance, because in 2004 intentionally more than 40 tons of oil sludge had been discharged into the sea during five months of the MSC Elena.
• The shipping company became known to a wider public than the chartered container ship MSC Napoli from her came on 18 January 2007 in the English Channel as a result of the hurricane Kyrill in distress and to avoid a breakup on the open sea, was deliberately set at Branscombe on reason.
• The container ship MSC Chitra collided on 8 August 2010 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port with another vessel, followed by about 300 containers fell into the harbor waters. As a result of the collision, the ship lost about 800 tonnes of oil. Jawaharlal Nehru Port and the adjacent Mumbai Port were it closed for three days. The MSC Chitra, which had been declared a total loss and should first be scrapped, was, together with those still on board cargo, including dangerous goods, sunk in April 2011 in international waters.
• The chartered by MSC Rena ran on 5 October 2011 on the lying off the coast of New Zealand's North Island Astrolabe Reef, and broke on January 8, 2012 during a storm in two parts, with several hundred containers went overboard. → Main article: Oil spill off New Zealand 2011
• 10 October 2011 MSC was sentenced by an Israeli court to a fine of $ 280,000, because the MSC Pearl had pumped in December 2010 with oil -contaminated ballast water in the port of Haifa.
• On July 14, 2012 broke aboard the MSC Flaminia, which was on the way from the United States to Europe, a fire of. During fire, there was an explosion. The ship was then towed to Europe, but was only able to start in early September JadeWeserPort in Wilhelmshaven as a port of refuge.

Fleet List

The list only contains the new buildings of MSC ( no charter ships or second-hand tonnage ) and does not claim to be complete.

• Hanjin Heavy Industries Company, Busan ( South Korea)
• Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Company, Okpo (South Korea)
• Hyundai Heavy Industries Company, Ulsan / Hyundai Samho, Ulsan ( South Korea)
• Samsung Shipbuilding & Heavy Industries Company, Goeje (South Korea)