MSC registers vessels in MAR

MSC - the Mediterrenean Shipping Company, the second largest shipping company in the world and whose passenger ships often call Madeira's port, has recently registered two vessels in MAR under the Portuguese flag.

MSC Isabel and MSC Jenny are the names of the two container vessels of MSC now registered in MAR. Five other vessels of the MSC fleet are scheduled to register until the end of the year.

S.D.M. underlines that "MSC's decision is the result of the efforts and common work of the Regional Government of Madeira, SDM and its partners in taking the necessary measures to enhance the attractiveness of the Register".

"Furthermore, MSC reinforces the substantial growth that MAR has experienced in the last few years, both in quantity and quality of the vessels registered".

MAR is presently the fourth largest international register of the EU in number of vessels and the third in tonnage and the expectation is that this position will be consolidated in the near future.

It is worthwhile to note that the largest shipping company in the world, Maersk, also has several vessels registered and operating under the Portuguese flag in MAR.

MAR's recent data

According to S.D.M.'s data, by the end of the first semester of 2015, a total of 377 vessels was registered in MAR, 52 more than the total number registered in December 2014, a result which represents an extremely positive development for this sector of the International Business Centre of Madeira.

Other relevant data confirm MAR's positive performance. For instance, since June 2014, the gross tonnage of commercial vessels almost doubled from 3.488.005GT to 6.487.866GT in June 2015, representing a clear increase in the size of new vessels registered.

In addition, the decrease of the average age of the commercial vessels registered in MAR from 13.82 years to 11.96 years in late July, underlines the strong effort made to improve MAR’s quality standards as one of the fundamental conditions for its international credibility.

The increase in the number of vessels and quality of the fleet, as well as the growth of the gross tonnage and the decrease of the average age are also a reflection of MAR’s potential to foster the number of vessels under the Portuguese flag and confirms the success of the strategy followed by S.D.M. with regard to the development and promotion of the Madeira International Shipping Register, with the objective of turning MAR into one of the leading ship registers in Europe.