Top 10 Largest Shipping Companies in The World

Until the Wright brothers discovered the airplanes, shipping was the only major form of transport overseas. Since ages, ships have been very helpful, in the beginning to discover new lands, as did Marco Polo, Columbus, Megallen, and Vasco Da Gama, and eventually to trade cargo and many other goods of importance. Although at present, Airways have replaced the seas as a more efficient and quicker form of transport for passengers, heavy cargo and goods are still preferably carried in ships, almost everywhere in the globe. A lot of ships have made transportation of a lot of basic commodities like fuel, machines, engines and farm products, etc quite easy and this is one of the major reasons why people still depend on shipping companies to transport goods in bulk. Most of the coastal countries have made quite a fortune on shipping commodities alone.

Table of Page Contents

• So, here is a list of the top 10 largest shipping companies of the world which are quite a name in the global picture of overseas transportation.
• 10. NIPPON YUSEN KABUSHIKI KAISHA (NYK)
• 9. CSCL
• 8. HANJIN SHIPPING CO. LTD
• 7. AMERICAN PRESIDENT LINES LTD (APL)
• 6. HAPAG-LLOYD
• 5. COSCO
• 4. EVERGREEN MARINE
• 3. CMA CGM S.A.
• 2. MEDITERRANEAN SHIPPING COMPANY (MSC)
• 1. A.P. MOLLER-MAERSK GROUP (APM MAERSK)

So, here is a list of the top 10 largest shipping companies of the world which are quite a name in the global picture of overseas transportation.

10. NIPPON YUSEN KABUSHIKI KAISHA (NYK)

A Japanese carrier and core Mitsubishi company, NYK boasts an annual capacity of 412,859 TEU spread across 155 container ships across the globe. It is one of the major shipping companies of Japan.

9. CSCL

An acronym for China Shipping Container Lines Co. Ltd, CSCL operates 150 ocean vessels across the globe with an annual capacity of 565,567 TEU. Based in Shanghai, China, the company has seen tremendous growth since 1997 when it was founded.

8. HANJIN SHIPPING CO. LTD

Hanjin is Korea’s largest shipping company with an annual capacity of over 579,000 TEU. Founded in 1977, the company has over 200 container ships, LNG and bulk carriers, operating 230 branches in 60 different countries.

7. AMERICAN PRESIDENT LINES LTD (APL)

APL is the seventh-largest shipping company in the world, with a fleet of 153 container vessels and an annual capacity of 600,000 TEU. A wholly owned subsidiary of Neptune Orient Lines (NOL) which is based in Singapore, the company was originally founded in 1848 and was the first to use extra-large shipping containers (45ft containers in 1982, 48ft containers in 1985 and 53ft containers in 1988).

6. HAPAG-LLOYD

Founded in 1970, Hapag-Lloyd is a German shipping company which formed following the merger of Amerikanische Packetfahrt-Actien-Gesellschaft (HAPAG) and Norddeutscher Lloyd (NDL). With over 150 container ships, its fleet has an annual capacity of 632,000 TEU making it the sixth largest shipping company in the world.

5. COSCO

An acronym for China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company, COSCO is a state-owned Chinese carrier with headquarters in Beijing. It has a fleet of 550 maritime vessels which includes 150 container ships with a combined annual capacity of over 700,000 TEU. This is one of the world’s few largest Shipping Companies 2017.

4. EVERGREEN MARINE

With headquarters based in Taoyuan City, Taiwan, Evergreen Marine is the fourth largest shipping company in the world with an annual capacity of over 904,000 TEU. Founded in 1968, its fleet consists of over 150 container ships which call on 240 ports across 80 countries.

3. CMA CGM S.A.

CMA CGM S.A. is a French shipping company which was founded in 1996 following the merger of Compagnie Générale Maritime (CGM) and Compagnie Maritime d’Affrètement (CMA). With a rich history which can be traced back to 1851, CMA CGM S.A. is now the third largest shipping company in the world with an annual capacity now exceeding 1.56 million TEU.

2. MEDITERRANEAN SHIPPING COMPANY (MSC)

MSC is a Geneva based Italian shipping company known across the globe as a container shipping heavyweight and cruise liner operator (MSC Cruises). Founded in 1970, the company has expanded from a single vessel called Patricia, to a 474 strong fleet of container ships, with an annual capacity of 2.3 million TEU.

1. A.P. MOLLER-MAERSK GROUP (APM MAERSK)

Also referred to as Maersk, or Maersk Line, the APM Maersk Group is a Danish business conglomerate and the world’s largest container shipping company. Boasting over 100,000 employees worldwide with offices in 135 countries, the behemothic carrier has an armada of vessels (>600) which includes the world’s third largest container ship (by TEU capacity), the Magleby Maersk. Founded in 1904, Maersk has an annual capacity of 3.8 million TEU.
These were the most important shipping companies of the world whose presence in this world has made shipping quite an easy task, and transportation of course, has been an easy venture overseas.