On the evening of Monday 4 April, in the magnificent setting of London’s Guildhall, HRH The Princess Anne, Pricess Royal presented MSC Group owner and president Mr Gianluigi Aponte with the Seatrade Personality 2011 Award for his remarkable achievements in international shipping over the last 40 years.

The award was presented on the occasion of the 23rd Seatrade Awards Ceremony Dinner. Attended by 350 leading figures from the maritime industry, this spectacular annual event celebrates outstanding contributions to safe, efficient and environmentally friendly shipping.

Seatrade Chairman Chris Hayman introduced the award by saying: “It is not often that a private shipowner starts a company from scratch and without outside investment is able to build it up into one of the leading forces in the shipping world, and even less so when that happens in not just one shipping sector but several.”

Born in Sorrento, Italy, Gianluigi Aponte began his career as a captain in the family company, which operated a fleet of sailing boats on the Mediterranean. After a few years in banking, in 1970 he set up the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) with the purchase of a single ship. Under his leadership, MSC has since grown to become the second-largest container ship operator in the world, employing more than 40,000 people and operating a fleet of 441 cargo vessels serving 306 ports across five continents.

Mr Aponte has overseen similar growth in the group’s cruise business since its modest entry into the industry in 1988. MSC Cruises is now the world’s fourth-largest cruise company, boasting an ultra-modern fleet of 11 cruises ships and market-leading positions in the Mediterranean, South Africa and Brazil.

Despite its spectacular growth over the last 40 years, MSC remains a family-owned business, and its founder remains dedicated to the company and to his family.