The ‘MSC Fie X’ moored for the first time at the quay of the MSC PSA European Terminal (MPET) in the Deurganck dock on Friday 12 April 2024. The container ship was named after the 14-year-old daughter of general export manager at MSC Belgium Kathleen Keuleers. Mother and daughter travelled together to the Port of Antwerp to visit the ship and its crew.
The Swiss shipping company MSC usually gives its largest ships maiden names to family members of employees. Fie, the daughter of export manager Kathleen Keuleers, lent her name to the newest addition, the ‘MSC Fie X’, in December 2021. It is an honour for a ship in the MSC fleet to be named after the daughter of an employee from MSC’s Antwerp division.
It was recently announced that MSC wasextending its existing Mediterranean service‘Levante Express’ to Egypt and Turkey to Saudi Arabia. That service will now be combined with another weekly service, the ‘Red Sea Express Service’, from Turkey to the Red Sea. To strengthen the ‘Levante Express’, MSC added the additional ships ‘MSC Fie X’ and ‘MSC Yukta X’ of 9,600 teu each to that liner service’s fleet and both ships also call at Antwerp.
Mediterranean
This is unique, as the ‘MSC Fie X’ has never before sailed commercially in northern Europe. “The ‘MSC Fie X’ has already sailed a lot of waters in Asia, Africa and America. Therefore, we have not yet had the chance to spot the ship. When we heard the news that the ‘MSC Fie X’ was coming to Antwerp, we were surprised and very excited,” says Keuleers. “That the ‘MSC Fie X’ will now be deployed in the Mediterranean is also extra special for me, as when I started as a customer service officer in the import department at MSC in 1995, I always took care of that region. Throughout my career, my core business has always been in the Mediterranean.”
Cherished tradition
To mark the unique occasion, MSC organised an event where the Keuleers family – mother, father and daughter – stepped on board, met the captain and officially signed a portrait photograph of Fie. The official handing over of the portrait – which will be part of the ship’s interior – is a tradition cherished within MSC. “It was the first time my daughter boarded a container ship. The enthusiasm of the captain and his crew was tremendous,” she says. “We were warmly welcomed and we handed over the portrait photo to the captain. That was quite an emotional moment. We are very honoured to have been chosen out of 70,000 workers worldwide to assign Fie’s name to a new ship. That gives us goosebumps.”
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Curious
“The crew was very curious about Fie and about our mother-daughter relationship,” she continues. “The crew also took the opportunity to clarify exactly how the name ‘Fie’ should be pronounced. There was some disagreement about that,” she laughs. “By referring to the name ‘Sofie’ and paying a ‘fee’ as a mnemonic, it soon became clear to them.”
The family was given a comprehensive tour on board. “Most people visiting a ship are mainly curious to see the bridge or engine room up close. Fie was especially curious about the staterooms and where the captain slept,” she says. “She was surprised by how big his sleeping cabin is and kindly pointed out to him to still make his bed,” she laughs. “She was also curious about where crew members put their shoes when they enter a cabin. From the bridge, she was able to witness the loading and unloading operations and was impressed by how smoothly that complex puzzle was made. It was a unique and very enjoyable experience that we will never forget,” she concludes.
