Latest Oscar-Class Container Ship Christened

On Saturday September 26, MSC welcomed 500 guests to the new MPET Container Terminal, in the port of Antwerp, to celebrate the christening of MSC Maya.

The fourth Oscar-class container ship of 19,224 TEU is named after Maya Aponte, the four-year-old daughter of Diego Aponte and Ela Aponte. MSC Maya follows the recent deliveries of MSC Oscar, MSC Oliver and MSC Zoe, which are all named after the grandchildren of the company’s founders Gianluigi Aponte and Rafaela Aponte.

The ceremony started with the customary exchange of crests between the ship’s master, Kreso Orsic, and selected guests.

Addressing the guests gathered on the quayside Diego Aponte, MSC’s President and CEO, said that Belgium holds a special place in the hearts of the Aponte family. Aponte explained: “MSC was founded in Belgium in 1970. My parents had a single conventional ship and five thousand U.S. dollars.” Aponte then took a moment to highlight the importance of family “I believe it is through this kind of moment that we can hand down to future generations the passion of the sea and shipping. I truly hope that MSC will be a family story for many generations to come.”

After the speeches, Monseigneur Bonny and Father Van Hoof performed the blessing before little Maya cut the rope to set the huge bottle of champagne on its way. 

The Aponte family and their guests then took a tour of MSC Maya and inaugurated the ship’s bridge with a ribbon cutting. Maya, Oscar and a few of MSC’s senior managers took great delight in sounding the ship’s horn. 

The vessels are equipped with a modern, low fuel consumption diesel engine which has been optimized so that fuel consumption can be automatically controlled to take into account both speed and weather conditions, and they have a broad optimal speed range for enhanced operational flexibility. They have a double hull structure that provides additional strength and resistance for heavy cargo loads in all weather conditions.