The publication emphasize the company's confident climb to the upper rungs of the liner ladder as fascinating to watch, although frustrating for rivals who cannot penetrate the secrecy which surrounds its plans. " What is plain for all to see is the steady growth in it's operational network, as new regions are opened up and new links added between markets. A major step towards the goal of global coverage was the introduction two years ago of a transpacific service, and there are few parts of the globe that are not now visited by MSC vessels."

MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, S.A. of Geneva, Switzerland, is a privately owned shipping line, founded in 1970 by it´s present leadership Captain Gianluigi Aponte, defined by Lloyd´s Loading List as not just a figurehead, but a hands-on leader whose hard work, dedication and mastery of all areas of containerline operation are legendary.

MSC has grown rapidly to become one of the leading global shipping lines of the world. During recent years MSC's fleet has grown significantly operating as of late 2.000 the number of 140 vessels of which 85 owned, being positioned as the 4th largest carrier in respect of the container slot capacity and the rank of the 2nd largest carrier in respect of the number of vessels operated.

In order to improve and control the quality of its various operations, MSC has established its own agencies all over the world run by an extremely dedicated and professional staff. MSC has also invested in crew training, shipyards, container workshops, ship planning centers and dangerous cargo management centers, which control the proper stowage of hazardous cargo worldwide through a very sophisticated MSC computer system. 350 dedicated local offices supported by an MSC staff worldwide of over 19,000 professionals.

10 new post-panamax vessels have been commissioned for delivery to begin in July 2001, each with a DW of 70,350 tons, Length : 304 meters, Speed : 24.8 knots, Container Capacity : 6,730 TEUs. Same will be deployed in the Europe / Far East route.

MSC operates a container fleet of over 420,000 TEU containers which include 20 foot and 40 foot drybox units, reefers, open tops, flat racks, collapsible and high cube containers.

This type of awards are not new for the Swiss based company who previous year was also nominated as the Shipping Line of the Year by the specialized maritime publication Containerisation International