Top 5 Biggest Shipping Companies

We describe the five largest companies in the world providing maritime transportation services, along with their features and history. We explain the shipping information of the top 5 shipping companies in the world and how you can track their containers on ShipsGo.

1. Mediterranean Shipping Company ( MSC )

Mediterranean Shipping Company, founded in 1970 by Gianluigi Aponte, is an international shipping and solution provider company headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. It has more than 70000 employees. MSC is one of the leading companies in the sector, with a fleet of more than 700 container ships. With a TEU capacity of approximately 3 million, its contribution to container trade is significant.

• TEU: 4,668,226
• Vessel: 725
• Founded: 1972
• Headquarters: Geneva

2. A.P. Moller – Maersk

The A.P. Moller-Maersk Group, founded in 1904, is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is one of the world’s largest supply and container ship operators. The company has subsidiaries, including Maersk Line, APM Terminals, and Maersk Container Industries. It also has subsidiaries in the energy sector. In 130 countries, Maersk transports approximately 675 billion dollars of cargo annually.

• TEU: 4,207,492
• Vessel: 698
• Founded: 1904
• Headquarters: Copenhagen

3. CMA CGM Group

CMA CGM Group, long named ‘Maritime Freighting Company – General Maritime Company,’ is a shipping company that provides international services. It serves more than 420 of the 521 commercial ports in the world. It has a fleet of 593 ships and operates over 200 shipping lines. Its headquarters are in France.

• TEU: 3,391,706
• Vessel: 593
• Founded: 1978
• Headquarters: Marseille

4. China Ocean Shipping ( COSCO )

China Ocean Shipping is a freight and logistics company to the state of the People’s Republic of China with an ownership of more than 1394 vessels. Side service is available as ‘COSCO Shipping, OOCL, Shanghai Pan Asia Shipping, and NewGolden Sea.’

According to the official website of COSCO Shipping, the company has 437 dry bulk vessels, 228 tanker fleet vessels, and 175 cargo fleet vessels.

• TEU: 2,866,465
• Vessel: 1394
• Founded: 1961
• Headquarters: Beijing

5. Hapag-Lloyd

Hapag-LLoyd company is a company based in Germany. It has headquarters worldwide in Piscataway, Hamburg, Valparaiso, and Singapore. It has made a great contribution to world trade by serving in wide geographies. There are 251 active container ships. (As of December 31, 2022)

• TEU: 1,795,177
• Vessel: 251
• Founded: 1970
• Headquarters: Hamburg