Gianluigi Aponte started out with a second-hand freighter; today, he is in charge of around 870 ships at MSC. However, his very first newbuild, “Alexa”, is now being scrapped.
In 1970, Gianluigi Aponte became a shipowner when he bought the “Patricia” for a loan of US$200,000. The first ship was followed by others and the empire slowly grew. One of the secrets of success: Aponte buys tonnage cleverly and transports cheaply, then from the mid-1980s in container shipping.
It was not until 1996, after the fleet had grown to 60 ships, that he commissioned the first newbuild. The “Alexa” is named after his daughter and has a capacity of 3,300 TEU. Built in Italy by Fincantieri. Then came the “Rafaela”, named after his wife.
After almost three decades, “Alexa” comes to an end
At 28 years old, the “Alexa” was one of the oldest ships in the MSC fleet and probably in the world. But now she has had her day and has been sent to the scrapping beach in Alang, India.
In addition to the current 870 ships with a total capacity of 6.2 million TEU, it has ordered no fewer than 132 newbuildings with almost 2 million TEU, which will be delivered in the coming years.
However, the Aponte company is also still keen on used ships. Since August 2020, 370 ships have been purchased on the second-hand market. One reason: following the separation from Maersk and the imminent end of the “2M” alliance, MSC is largely continuing on its own and needs a critical mass to do so.
