Joanna James
The most important modes of cargo transportation by sea is container shipping. The global trade continues to operate cordially due to its non-competitive nature. While there is no major cartel in the cargo shipping industry, listed here are the largest container shipping companies in the world.
We've all seen those containers with the Maersk logo, travelling across the world. And the company is no stranger, even outside of the freight industry. The Maersk Shipping Line is a Danish company and part of the AP Moller – Maersk Company. Maersk broke into the international shipping business, way back in 1904. Today the shipping company is lauded for its huge fleet of cargo ships. The company boasts a fleet of 711 container ships so far. Able to handle a capacity of 40,87,480 TEU (twenty foot equivalent units) Maersk shipping line extends its service across the world, the recently opened global container terminal at the Colombo Port in Sri Lanka welcomes this top international shipping line. The main hub, connecting the east-west shipping route, Colombo Harbour's container cargo is efficiently manned by South Asia Gateway Terminals (SAGT) making the port a global hub for efficiency.
MSC is a Swiss cargo company operating worldwide. It spread up in 1970 and now boasts a fleet of container ships amounting to 524. MSC's TEU capacity is estimated to be 3,308,955. And is rated as one of the worlds most widespread cargo shipping lines.
Another leading international shipping company, COSCO is recognised across the globe and offers an extensive reach. The company now operates across 40 countries, with rapid growth rates predicted for the future. The container carrying capacity of this global company is 2,79,2448 TEU. The present fleet at COSCO is estimated to be around 461 container ships.
Established in 1978, CMA-CGM is Frances no 1 international shipping line. The company was formed by merging several shipping companies. The mastermind behind the merging project was Jacques Saade, also the head of the company. CMA-CGM has spread its roots across 150 countries and operates for now with a fleet of 505 ships.
An outstanding leader amongst global shipping companies, Hapag Lloyd is a proud product of Germany. Set up in 1970 the company was born as a result of the Hamburg-American Line and Lloyd, a North Germany firm, being merged. There are 231 ships in the company's fleet. Hapag Lloyd operates with a capacity of 16,44,565 TEU.
This rather young container shipping company was set up in 2017. A result of merging three top shipping lines. ONE is fast becoming a top contender amongst shipping giants. NYK, MOL and 'K'-Line all three spread shipping companies, were combined to form the International Ocean Network Express. The global company aims to reinforce services within the Asian, African and Latin American continents. Operating with 217 container ships, ONE has the capacity of 15,21,702 TEU.
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