{"id":99899,"date":"2026-10-23T10:36:44","date_gmt":"2026-10-23T10:36:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cargoholidays.com\/biggest-shipping-companies-in-the-world"},"modified":"2026-10-23T10:36:47","modified_gmt":"2026-10-23T10:36:47","slug":"biggest-shipping-companies-in-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cargoholidays.com\/de\/biggest-shipping-companies-in-the-world","title":{"rendered":"The Biggest Shipping Companies in the World: Top 10 Container Lines (2026)"},"content":{"rendered":"<head><script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\n    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n    \"@graph\": [\n        {\n            \"@type\": \"BlogPosting\",\n            \"headline\": \"The Biggest Shipping Companies in the World: Top 10 Container Lines (2026)\",\n            \"description\": \"The biggest shipping companies in the world in 2026: MSC, Maersk, CMA CGM, COSCO, Hapag-Lloyd and more ranked by fleet capacity, and which take passengers.\",\n            \"mainEntityOfPage\": \"https:\\\/\\\/cargoholidays.com\\\/biggest-shipping-companies-in-the-world\",\n            \"image\": \"https:\\\/\\\/cargoholidays.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/biggest-shipping-companies-in-the-world-cargoholidays-1024x576.jpg\",\n            \"datePublished\": \"2026-10-23\",\n            \"dateModified\": \"2026-10-23\",\n            \"inLanguage\": \"en-GB\",\n            \"author\": {\n                \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n                \"name\": \"CargoHolidays\"\n            },\n            \"publisher\": {\n                \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n                \"name\": \"CargoHolidays\",\n                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/cargoholidays.com\"\n            }\n        },\n        {\n            \"@type\": \"FAQPage\",\n            \"mainEntity\": [\n                {\n                    \"@type\": \"Question\",\n                    \"name\": \"What is the biggest shipping company in the world?\",\n                    \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n                        \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n                        \"text\": \"MSC (Mediterranean Shipping Company) is the largest, with about 6.5 million TEU of capacity in 2026.\"\n                    }\n                },\n                {\n                    \"@type\": \"Question\",\n                    \"name\": \"Is Maersk still the biggest shipping company?\",\n                    \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n                        \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n                        \"text\": \"No. Maersk was overtaken by MSC in 2022 and is now second.\"\n                    }\n                },\n                {\n                    \"@type\": \"Question\",\n                    \"name\": \"How much of the world's shipping do the top 10 control?\",\n                    \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n                        \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n                        \"text\": \"About 85% of global container capacity.\"\n                    }\n                },\n                {\n                    \"@type\": \"Question\",\n                    \"name\": \"What is a TEU?\",\n                    \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n                        \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n                        \"text\": \"A twenty-foot equivalent unit, the standard measure of container ship capacity.\"\n                    }\n                },\n                {\n                    \"@type\": \"Question\",\n                    \"name\": \"Can I travel as a passenger on a container ship?\",\n                    \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n                        \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n                        \"text\": \"Yes, on some routes. Lines such as CMA CGM offer passenger cabins on selected ships.\"\n                    }\n                }\n            ]\n        }\n    ]\n}<\/script>\n<\/head><div class=\"ch-post\"><p class=\"ch-updated\">Last updated: 23 October 2026<\/p><p><strong>Almost everything you buy has travelled on a container ship, and most of those ships belong to just ten companies.<\/strong> These giants move the world&rsquo;s trade, and some of them also carry a small number of passengers on their cargo ships. Here are the biggest shipping companies in the world in 2026, ranked by fleet capacity.<\/p>Top 10 container shipping companies in 2026<div class=\"ch-table\"><table><thead><tr><th>Rank<\/th><th>Company<\/th><th>Headquarters<\/th><th>Approx. fleet capacity (TEU)<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>1<\/td><td>MSC (Mediterranean Shipping Company)<\/td><td>Geneva, Switzerland<\/td><td>about 6.5 million<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>2<\/td><td>Maersk<\/td><td>Copenhagen, Denmark<\/td><td>about 4.3 million<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>3<\/td><td>CMA CGM<\/td><td>Marseille, France<\/td><td>about 3.8 million<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>4<\/td><td>COSCO Shipping (including OOCL)<\/td><td>Shanghai, China<\/td><td>about 3.3 million<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>5<\/td><td>Hapag-Lloyd<\/td><td>Hamburg, Deutschland<\/td><td>about 2.3 million<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>6<\/td><td>ONE (Ocean Network Express)<\/td><td>Singapore<\/td><td>about 2.0 million<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>7<\/td><td>Evergreen Marine<\/td><td>Taoyuan, Taiwan<\/td><td>about 1.7 million<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>8<\/td><td>HMM<\/td><td>Seoul, South Korea<\/td><td>about 0.9 million<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>9<\/td><td>Yang Ming<\/td><td>Keelung, Taiwan<\/td><td>about 0.7 million<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>10<\/td><td>ZIM<\/td><td>Haifa, Israel<\/td><td>about 0.6 million<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div><p><em>Approximate operating capacity in mid-2026, based on Alphaliner fleet data. A TEU is one twenty-foot equivalent unit, the size of a standard 20ft container. Figures change monthly.<\/em><\/p><p>Together, the top ten control about 85% of global container capacity, and the top four hold more than half.<\/p><figure style=\"margin:1.6em 0\"><img src=\"https:\/\/cargoholidays.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/AdobeStock_299033911-1024x575.jpeg\" alt=\"Aerial view of a container ship\" width=\"1024\" height=\"575\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;border-radius:12px;display:block\" title=\"Aerial view of a container ship\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:.85em;color:#6b7280;margin-top:.45em;text-align:center\">The ten biggest lines control about 85% of the world&rsquo;s container capacity.<\/figcaption><\/figure><h2>The top five at a glance<\/h2><h3>1. MSC<\/h3><p>The world&rsquo;s biggest container line since 2022, family-owned and still growing fast. MSC also runs MSC Cruises, one of the largest cruise lines.<\/p><h3>2. Maersk<\/h3><p>The Danish group was number one for decades. It now focuses on end-to-end logistics as well as ocean shipping, and is investing in methanol-fuelled ships.<\/p><h3>3. CMA CGM<\/h3><p>A French family-owned group that has grown through acquisitions, including APL and CEVA Logistics. It has been one of the fastest-growing carriers in 2026. CMA CGM ships are among the best-known for taking passengers.<\/p><h3>4. COSCO Shipping<\/h3><p>China&rsquo;s state-owned giant, which owns OOCL. It is a member of the Ocean Alliance with CMA CGM and Evergreen.<\/p><h3>5. Hapag-Lloyd<\/h3><p>Germany&rsquo;s largest container line, based in Hamburg. Since 2025 it has partnered with Maersk in the Gemini Cooperation.<\/p><h2>Shipping alliances explained<\/h2><p>Most big lines share ships and routes in alliances or partnerships, which affects the routes and ports you&rsquo;ll see.<\/p><div class=\"ch-table\"><table><thead><tr><th>Alliance or network<\/th><th>Members<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>Gemini Cooperation<\/td><td>Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Ocean Alliance<\/td><td>CMA CGM, COSCO\/OOCL, Evergreen<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Premier Alliance<\/td><td>ONE, HMM, Yang Ming<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Independent<\/td><td>MSC (with some partnerships), ZIM<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div><figure style=\"margin:1.6em 0\"><img src=\"https:\/\/cargoholidays.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Cargo-Ship-Travel-Cargoholidays12-1024x706.jpg\" alt=\"Aerial view of a container ship in port\" width=\"1024\" height=\"706\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;border-radius:12px;display:block\" title=\"Aerial view of a container ship in port\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:.85em;color:#6b7280;margin-top:.45em;text-align:center\">A few container lines still carry a handful of paying passengers.<\/figcaption><\/figure><h2>Which shipping companies take passengers?<\/h2><p>Some of these companies&rsquo; ships carry a small number of paying passengers in officer-style cabins. This is freighter travel. Availability changes often by route and ship, and bookings are usually made through specialist agents.<\/p><ul><li><strong>CMA CGM:<\/strong> well known for passenger cabins on selected routes.<\/li><li><strong>Other lines and ship owners:<\/strong> some German and European owners operate ships under charter that also take passengers.<\/li><li><strong>Grimaldi:<\/strong> an Italian ro-ro line, outside the top ten container lines, that sells passenger cabins on its cargo ships to West Africa and South America.<\/li><\/ul><p>Read more: <a href=\"https:\/\/cargoholidays.com\/de\/how-much-does-a-container-ship-cost\/\">how much does a container ship cost<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/cargoholidays.com\/de\/biggest-ships-in-the-world\/\">biggest ships in the world<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/cargoholidays.com\/de\/freight-ship-types-of-cargo-ships\/\">freight ship types<\/a> und <a href=\"https:\/\/cargoholidays.com\/de\/shipping-container-sizes\/\">shipping container sizes<\/a>.<\/p><h2>Travel on a working cargo ship<\/h2><p>You can see these giants up close as a passenger. Read <a href=\"https:\/\/cargoholidays.com\/de\/leben-auf-einem-containerschiff-auf-dem-atlantik\/\">life on a container ship on the Atlantic<\/a> und <a href=\"https:\/\/cargoholidays.com\/de\/frachtschiff-reisen-uk-nach-usa-frachtreisen\/\">cargo ship travel from the UK to the USA<\/a>.<\/p><h2>H\u00e4ufig gestellte Fragen<\/h2><div class=\"ch-faq\"><h3>What is the biggest shipping company in the world?<\/h3><p>MSC (Mediterranean Shipping Company) is the largest, with about 6.5 million TEU of capacity in 2026.<\/p><h3>Is Maersk still the biggest shipping company?<\/h3><p>No. Maersk was overtaken by MSC in 2022 and is now second.<\/p><h3>How much of the world&rsquo;s shipping do the top 10 control?<\/h3><p>About 85% of global container capacity.<\/p><h3>What is a TEU?<\/h3><p>A twenty-foot equivalent unit, the standard measure of container ship capacity.<\/p><h3>Can I travel as a passenger on a container ship?<\/h3><p>Yes, on some routes. Lines such as CMA CGM offer passenger cabins on selected ships.<\/p><\/div><div class=\"ch-cta\"><strong>Sail on one of the world&rsquo;s biggest ships<\/strong><p>Ask us about passenger cabins on working container ships.<\/p><a class=\"ch-btn\" href=\"https:\/\/cargoholidays.com\/de\/anfrage-fur-eine-frachtschiffreise\/\">Get a voyage quote &rarr;<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n<style>\n.ch-post{font-family:inherit;line-height:1.7;color:#1f2937;max-width:820px;margin:0 auto}\n.ch-post h2{font-size:1.6em;margin:1.8em 0 .6em;color:#0b2545;border-bottom:3px solid #f5a623;padding-bottom:.25em}\n.ch-post h3{font-size:1.15em;margin:1.4em 0 .3em;color:#0b2545}\n.ch-post p{margin:0 0 1em}\n.ch-post ul,.ch-post ol{margin:0 0 1.2em 1.3em}\n.ch-post li{margin:.35em 0}\n.ch-post .ch-updated{font-size:.9em;color:#6b7280;margin-bottom:1.2em}\n.ch-post .ch-table{overflow-x:auto;margin:1.2em 0 1.6em}\n.ch-post table{border-collapse:collapse;width:100%;font-size:.95em}\n.ch-post th{background:#0b2545;color:#fff;text-align:left;padding:.65em .8em}\n.ch-post td{padding:.6em .8em;border-bottom:1px solid #e5e7eb;vertical-align:top}\n.ch-post tr:nth-child(even) td{background:#f6f8fb}\n.ch-post .ch-faq{background:#f6f8fb;border-radius:12px;padding:1em 1.4em;margin:1em 0 2em}\n.ch-post .ch-faq h3{margin-top:1em}\n.ch-post .ch-cta{background:linear-gradient(135deg,#0b2545,#13315c);color:#fff;border-radius:14px;padding:1.6em 1.8em;margin:2.2em 0;text-align:center}\n.ch-post .ch-cta strong{display:block;font-size:1.35em;margin-bottom:.4em;color:#fff}\n.ch-post .ch-cta p{color:#dbe4f0;margin:.2em 0 1.1em}\n.ch-post .ch-btn{display:inline-block;background:#f5a623;color:#0b2545 !important;font-weight:700;text-decoration:none;padding:.8em 1.6em;border-radius:999px}\n.ch-post .ch-btn:hover{background:#ffbb45}\n.ch-post em{color:#4b5563}\n<\/style>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The biggest shipping companies in the world in 2026: MSC, Maersk, CMA CGM, COSCO, Hapag-Lloyd and more ranked by fleet capacity, and which take passengers.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":99898,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"single3.php","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[356,357,118],"tags":[1076,1556,1075,1709,1708],"yst_prominent_words":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cargoholidays.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99899"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cargoholidays.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cargoholidays.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cargoholidays.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cargoholidays.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99899"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cargoholidays.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99899\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":99900,"href":"https:\/\/cargoholidays.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99899\/revisions\/99900"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cargoholidays.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/99898"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cargoholidays.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cargoholidays.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99899"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cargoholidays.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99899"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cargoholidays.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=99899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}