MSC Grows Shipping Empire with Second-Hand Vessels

Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has maintained its dominant position in the container shipping industry through an unprecedented buying spree of second-hand vessels, according to maritime analytics firm Alphaliner.

The unprecedented expansion has solidified MSC’s position at the top of Alphaliner’s liner operator rankings, with a fleet of 852 ships representing more than 6 million TEUs and nearly 20% of the liner market share.

MSC first overtook Maersk as the world’s leading liner operator in early 2022. Since then, the Swiss-based container group has continued its industry-leading fleet expansion, widening the gap over second-place Maersk, which is pursuing non-shipping growth as part of its strategy to become an end-to-end logistics provider.

In recent weeks, MSC reportedly acquired two more ships: the 1,440 TEU CAPE FLINT from Germany’s Schoeller Group and the 2,526 TEU JAN RITSCHER from Reederei Gerd Ritscher. The company’s summer acquisitions also included several medium-sized vessels, such as the 5,364 TEU EVER UNITY and five ‘classic panamax’ ships with capacities ranging from 4,173 to 4,713 TEU.

“All in all, MSC has now bought a mind-blowing 383 second-hand container ships in the last four years,” Alphaliner said in its report.

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