Top 10 largest shipping companies in the world

Updated : 2 March 2021

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Ship technology lists the 10 biggest shipping companies based on their total twenty-foot equipment (TEU) capacity in 2021. We have provided a brief profile for each shipping line. The following rankings are based on alphraliner's data as at 16 Fabruary 2021. 

   

 1. A.P. MOLLER - MAERSK GROUP 

• TEU - 4,122,565   

• Ships - 712

• Founded - 1904

• HQ - Copenhagen, Denmark

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• A.P.Moller-Maersk Group is the largest integrated shipping company with a total capacity of 4.1m TEU. It operates a fleet 708 vessels including 307 own container vessels and 401 chartered container vessels as of Fabruary 2021.

• The has several core subsidiaries including Maersk line, APM Terminal and Maersk container industries that provide transport and logistic services. The subsidiaries serve the energy sector like Maersk supply services, Maersk drilling, Maersk oil and Maersk tankers.

• Maersk ships birth every 13 minutes.

    2. MEDITERRANEAN SHIPPING  

     Company ( MSC)

• TEU - 3,869,196

•  Ships - 584

• Founded - 1970

• HQ - Geneva, Switzerland

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• MSC is an Italian shipping company headquartered in Geneva. It was founded in 1970 and grown from a single vessel ( M/V Patricia) to a multinational corporation.

• The core of the company's fleet are container ships and cruise liners ( MSC Cruises).

• MSC's services include overland transportation logistics, and the company has a growing portfolio of port terminal investments.

• MSC's fleet of more than 500 container vessel and a capacity of approximately 3 million TEU. MSC facilitates international trade between the world's major economies and emerging markets.

              3.CHINA COSCO

  • TEU - 3,034,380

  • Ships - 504

  • Founded - 1961

  • HQ - Beijing, China

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• China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO group) is a government-owned shipping and logistics supplier company of the China.

• COSCO's subsidiaries include COSCO shipping company Ltd, OOCL, Shanghai Pan Asia Shipping and New Golden Sea and Coheung.

• COSCO Group owned more than 360 dry bulk vessels and 10,000 ships.

• The COSCO fleet stops at more than a thousand ports around the world.

• The company is taking advantage of low prices and maintaining freight rates.

             4. CMA CGM GROUP

• TEU - 2,996,967 

• Ships - 558

• Founded - 1978

• HQ - Marseille, France

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• the French company CMA CGM Group is the successful merger of Compagnie Maritime d'Affritement (CMA) and Compagnie General Maritime (CGM).

• The company maintaining freight delivery.

• CMA CGM Group serves more than 420 of th world's 521 commercial ports, and its fleet of 510 vessels operates of more than 200 shipping lines.

• The largest ship in the company is the CMA CGM George Foster.

     

                    5. HAPAG-LLOYD 

• TEU - 1,744,541     

• Ships - 245

• Founded - 1970

• HQ - Hamburg, Germany

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• German company Hapag-Lloyd emerged in 1970 through the association of two Maritime companies Hamburg-America Line (HAPAG) and North German Lloyd.

• The company serves 128 countries through 399 offices.

• The HAPAG-LLOYD fleet stops at 600 ports on all continents to provide fast and reliable international trade connections.   

  6. ONE ( OCEAN NETWORK EXPRESS) 

• TEU - 1,607,007

• Ships - 224

• Founded - 2017

• HQ - Singapore

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• ONE is a joint venture between container divisions of three great Japanese shipping companies : Nippon Yusen Kaisa ( NYK) and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) and K Line.

• ONE has a sizable fleet that consists of 240 container vessels and 31 container ships. 

• ONE has more than 14,000 reefer containers. 

• ONS's global headquarters are in Singapore and it has a holding office in Tokyo, Japan.

             7. EVERGREEN LINE 

• TEU - 1,310,435 

• Ships - 198

• Founded - 1968

• HQ - Taoyuan city, Taiwan

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• Taiwan headquartered company which began its operations on the 1st of the September 1968 with single vessel called Central Trust.

• The present Evergreen Line consists of the four companies merged in 2007 : Evergreen Marine corp. (Taiwan) Ltd., Italia Marittima S.P.A., Evergreen Marine (UK) Ltd. and Evergreen Marine (Hong Kong) Ltd making Evergreen Line one of the top shipping companies in the world.

       8. HYUNDAI MERCHANT MARINE 

• TEU - 729,395    

• Ships - 78

• Founded - 1976

• HQ - Seoud,  South Korea

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• HMM is an international shipping company with a fleet that consists of more than 130 vessels and covers 50 sea routes to more than 100 ports around the world. 

• In addition to a shipping fleet, HMM also has an international network of terminals, railroad, trucks and offices to provide integrated and efficient logistics services.

9. YANG MING MARINE TRANSPORT CORPORATION 

• TEU - 627,267 

• Ships - 89

• Founded - 1972.  

• HQ - Taiwan

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• The company's subsidiaries including Kuang Ming Shipping Corporation, Jing Ming Transport Corporation, and Yes Logistics Corporation.

• Yang Ming's fleet consists of 101 vessels and has an operating capacity of 7.74 million dead weight tonnage.

• The fleet covers more than 70 nations over 170 service points.

• The company also has a logistics unit and container terminals in Taiwan, Belgium, the Netherlands and the United States.

  

  10. ZIM INTEGRATED SHIPPING SERVICES

• TEU - 400,624.     • Ships - 92

• Founded - 1945.   • HQ - Haifa, Israel

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• Zim Integrated shipping Services is Israel's largest shipping company and a prominent international carrier.

• Zim has 173 offices and representatives around the world.

• The company consists of 80 vessels and serves 180 ports of call throughout the world.

• Zim's services include dry and reefer cargo shipping as well as inland transport.