Mediterranean Shipping Company has reached a fresh industry milestone, expanding its total containership capacity beyond 7.2 million TEU to reinforce its standing as the world’s largest ocean carrier, according to Alphaliner. The Geneva-based line now commands a 21.4% share of global container fleet capacity.

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MSC’s operating fleet has climbed to 980 vessels, edging closer to the symbolic 1,000-ship threshold. Of these, 727 ships—equivalent to 4.55 million TEU—are owned, while 253 vessels totaling 2.65 million TEU are chartered. The carrier also holds an orderbook of 2.18 million TEU, ranking fourth among the top 10 liners in terms of orderbook-to-fleet ratio.

The latest expansion underscores MSC’s rapid rise since it overtook A.P. Moller-Maersk in January 2022 to become the industry’s largest carrier. At the time, Alphaliner data showed MSC controlling capacity of 4,284,728 TEU—just 1,888 TEU ahead of Maersk—with each line holding roughly 17% market share.

Since then, MSC has steadily widened the lead. In 2024, it became the first container line to surpass the 20% global market share mark, eclipsing the previous record set by Maersk in 2018 at 19.4%.

The shift marked the end of Maersk’s decades-long dominance. The Danish carrier, which entered containerized shipping in 1975, built its reputation on industry-leading vessel sizes and innovation. More recently, it has focused investment on ships capable of operating on carbon-neutral fuels as part of its decarbonization push.

While MSC leads in total capacity, Maersk retains an advantage in ownership structure. About 65% of MSC’s capacity is chartered tonnage, compared with roughly 42% for Maersk.

MSC has been led since 2020 by CEO Soren Toft, who previously held senior leadership roles at Maersk before making a high-profile move to the Swiss-Italian carrier.

The container shipping sector has transformed dramatically since the pandemic era, when surging consumer demand overwhelmed vessel supply and drove ocean freight rates sharply higher—rising 81% in 2021, according to the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index.