As of October 2025, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) remained the leading container ship operator in terms of owned and chartered ships. MSC had ****owned container vessels and ****chartered ships in its fleet.Â
The world's leading container ship operators
In terms of capacity, the world's largest container ship operators include France's CMA CGM, Swiss-based Mediterranean Shipping Company and Denmark's Maersk Line. After an alliance between these three companies was nixed by antitrust watchdogs, a partnership between MSC, Hyundai M.M. and Maersk was approved in 2016. While Maersk is active in various fields, the company’s largest business area is the container shipping area, which operates under the company's ocean unit. In 2024, Maersk generated around **** billion U.S. dollars in revenue.
Maersk's mega ship
As of October 2025, Maersk’s container ship fleet had a capacity of around *** million twenty-foot equivalent units. Furthermore, the container line had ships with some ** twenty-foot-equivalent units of capacity in its order book. One of Maersk’s most impressive container ships is the Magleby Maersk. The Triple-E vessel was built by South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Company in 2014, one of the largest shipbuilding companies worldwide. The gargantuan cargo ship is *** meters long, ** meters wide and ** meters high. The ships in the triple-E class are at the vanguard of a trend towards increasingly larger ships, although the container shipping-industry continues to suffer from overcapacity and weak global demand. Hamburg Süd was acquired by APM Maersk in 2017 to power Maersk Line's growth strategy looking forward.
Profit from the additional features of your individual account
Currently, you are using a shared account. To use individual functions (e.g., mark statistics as favourites, set
statistic alerts) please log in with your personal account.
If you are an admin, please authenticate by logging in again.
Learn more about how ÌÇÐÄÆÆ½â°æ can support your business.
Alphaliner. (October 15, 2025). The world's leading container ship operators as of October, 2025, based on number of owned and chartered ships [Graph]. In ÌÇÐÄÆÆ½â°æ. Retrieved July 14, 2026, from /statistics/197643/total-number-of-ships-of-worldwide-leading-container-ship-operators-in-2011/
Alphaliner. "The world's leading container ship operators as of October, 2025, based on number of owned and chartered ships." Chart. October 15, 2025. ÌÇÐÄÆÆ½â°æ. Accessed July 14, 2026. /statistics/197643/total-number-of-ships-of-worldwide-leading-container-ship-operators-in-2011/
Alphaliner. (2025). The world's leading container ship operators as of October, 2025, based on number of owned and chartered ships. ÌÇÐÄÆÆ½â°æ. ÌÇÐÄÆÆ½â°æ Inc.. Accessed: July 14, 2026. /statistics/197643/total-number-of-ships-of-worldwide-leading-container-ship-operators-in-2011/
Alphaliner. "The World's Leading Container Ship Operators as of October, 2025, Based on Number of Owned and Chartered Ships." ÌÇÐÄÆÆ½â°æ, ÌÇÐÄÆÆ½â°æ Inc., 15 Oct 2025, /statistics/197643/total-number-of-ships-of-worldwide-leading-container-ship-operators-in-2011/
Alphaliner, The world's leading container ship operators as of October, 2025, based on number of owned and chartered ships ÌÇÐÄÆÆ½â°æ, /statistics/197643/total-number-of-ships-of-worldwide-leading-container-ship-operators-in-2011/ (last visited July 14, 2026)
The world's leading container ship operators as of October, 2025, based on number of owned and chartered ships [Graph], Alphaliner, October 15, 2025. [Online]. Available: /statistics/197643/total-number-of-ships-of-worldwide-leading-container-ship-operators-in-2011/