Mediterranean Shipping Company  Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A. (MSC) is a Swiss-Italian international shipping line. The company operates in all major ports of the world. It is the world's second-largest shipping line in terms of container vessel capacity. As of the end of December 2014, MSC was operating 471 container vessels with an intake capacity of . It has a division called MSC Cruises that focuses on holiday cruises. MSC was founded in Naples in 1970 as a private company by seafaring captain Gianluigi Aponte when he bought his first ship, "Patricia", followed by "Rafaela", with which Aponte began a shipping line operating between the Mediterranean and Somalia. The line subsequently expanded through the purchase of second-hand cargo ships. By 1977, the company operated services to northern Europe, Africa and the Indian Ocean. The expansion continued through the 1980s; by the end of the decade, MSC operated ships to North America and Australia. In 1989, MSC purchased the cruise ship operator Lauro Lines, renamed to Mediterranean Shipping Cruises (MSC Cruises) in 1995, and subsequently increased the cruising business. In 1994, the line ordered its first newly constructed ships, which were delivered beginning in 1996 with "MSC Alexa." They were built by Italian shipbuilder, Fincantieri. As of October 2014, Diego Aponte (son of MSC founder Gianluigi Aponte) was named president and chief executive of MSC, taking over from his father who was named group executive chairman. Gianluigi Aponte would continue to oversee all group related activities as well as supporting Diego in shaping the future of MSC. As one of the world's leading container shipping lines with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, MSC operates 480 offices across 155 countries worldwide with over 24,000 employees. MSC's shipping line sails on more than 200 trade routes, calling at over 315 ports. MSC operates vessels with a capacity of up to , including (as of 2019) the world's two largest container ships, MSC Gülsün and MSC Samar. The company remains independent and wholly owned by the Aponte family under the leadership of Diego Aponte who was appointed President and CEO by his father and company founder Gian Luigi in October 2014. In May 2014, MSC cruises closed a deal to order two new vessels from the Italian shipbuilding company Fincantieri in a 2.1 billion euro order. In August 2014, MSC ordered a new cruiseship worth up to €3bn ($4.13bn) from STX France.