MSC, the Empire of the Aponte: after the cargo and the cruises aimed at the large terminal business
The entrepreneur Sorrentino created MSC with his wife Rafaela. Now in the company there are children and the son -in -law. The group has become the first freight operator in the world and the third in the cruiseist in 50 years. And now focuses on the ports
A private fleet of across Nine hundred cargo ships and twenty -five cruisefrom the small ferries operating in the Gulf of Naples to the larger ones of Gnvto the gigantic class holders of the class Celestino Maresca400 meters long and capable of carrying each 24 thousand containersup to the brand new World Americathe cruise ship called on April 5 in Miami, Florida and cost more than a billion euros. The commander Gianluigi Aponte, 85 years old in June, from Sant’Agnello, on the Sorrento coast, knows the seas of the world like no other.
From the Gulf of Naples
His MSC, born in Naples in the seventies with a merchant one taken in Nolo who dirty with the African coasts and became adult in Geneva, with the only partners and his wife Rafaela, daughter of a Swiss bankeris today the First cargo operator in the world, the third in the cruiseist market. An Italian pride, even if the seat is in Switzerland, because many strategic offices remain in the peninsula. A leadership undisputed on the seas all over the world: 609 owned shipshighlights a report by the specialized operator Alphaliner, to which they are added 291 hulls linked by contracts for use of various types. Overall, the Aponte fleet will soon reach a thousand, because MSC has already signed orders, to various construction sites, for 132 New ships. In the cargo sector only, the overall transport capacity is calculated in 6.47 million teu, or Twenty-Foot equivalent Unitwhat does it mean Unit equivalent to twenty feeta standard measure used in the maritime transport and logistics sector. AP Moller-Maersk, second in the maritime transport ranking, has almost one million less.
Unique reality
From that cargo that focused Africa, Aponte has been able to create a unique and constantly becoming reality. With a single center of gravity, one’s family. The wife is a member, the children are present in all the decisive joints: Alexa all the games of finance follows and in particular the cruise sector, with attention and competence, too Diego He is to direct the father of his father, president of the group and of Til, one of the first world terminal operators. With them Pierfrancesco VagoAlexa’s husband, who plays a strategic role and has the great merit of having conceived and guided the decisive enlargement of the business to the cruise sector at the beginning of the new century. Until then, the MSC cruises were an Ancillate divisionborn almost by chance, for that sense of commonality and belonging that had led Aponte to detect the famous by bankruptcy Achille Laurothe cruise ship that brought the name of the commander that he had so much admired as the owner and mayor of Naples, Sorrentino just as Aponte. On the command bridge there is only room for these five people. The others are managers, like Soren Toftat the head of the whole cargo sector, or references of direct confidence of the commander: for Italy, for example, Franco Ronzithe cousin with whom he grew up, president of Marinvest e Franco Zuccarinodriving MSC Italia, who has been working with Aponte for 50 years.
Climbing proof
MSC is climbing proof. The capital is firmly in the hands of the familythe bag is not even an option. The group has sailed all the seas by leveraging only on their strength and does not intend to change course now. There would be no reason. Solidity is out of the question, even if financial communication is reduced to a minimum. 2022 was a particularly brilliant year, which MSC closed – according to unofficial and never confirmed data but not denied – with A turnover of 86.4 billion euros and 36.2 billion of net profit, practically one hundred million per day. Before then, no communication and even afterwards. But it is the order of magnitude it detects.
Hulls, trains, planes
Now the group, which is diversifying in cruises to the point that Since the beginning of the century he has launched a ship a yearalso opening up to the luxury segment with Explora Journeys, look at the ports, to the terminals. In Miamithe main cruise airport of America, has invested over 400 million euros in a project carried out by Fincantieri and inaugurated at the beginning of the month. A business card made of elegance, technology and Italian styleas they want to be the same cruise ships. But the project is much more ambitious. Through til, Aponte is buying 43 stops all over the world by the Chinese of Hutchison. It is alongside Blackrock’s funds (10%) and a Singapore fund (20%), but checks the large majority of capital (70%). He is also setting foot in Panama, checking the two stopovers on the Pacific and Atlantic, with Blackrock this time in the majority (51%) and MSC at 49 percent. Logistics, the MSC group is convinced of it, will be the business of the future. For this they have been invested 200 million in Gioia Taurowhere the great cargo arrive and the ships leave for Genoa and Trieste and the trains for Verona, on a chilled line dedicated toagrifood Italian. Yes, trains: MSC also controls 50% of Italohigh -speed operator in Italy and in accordance with intermodality has also joined a fleet of Seven Cargo planes which also operate from Malpensa towards 20 destinations in Europe, the United States and Asia. The name remains, now anachronistic: MSC is for Mediterranean Shipping Company. There are those who would like to change it with WSC, World Shipping Companycloser to reality.
