MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has just shattered a ceiling in global logistics, becoming the first carrier in history to operate a fleet with a combined capacity of over 7 million TEU.
This monumental milestone was reportedly crossed this week with the delivery of two new 16,000 TEU “Neo-Panamax” vessels, the MSC Salerno and MSC Grace.
To understand the sheer scale of this fleet, consider this…
* MSC now controls approximately 21.2% of the entire global container shipping capacity.
* The gap between rank #1 and #2 is now a gulf. MSC’s 7M TEU fleet is roughly 2.4 million TEU larger than its closest rival, Maersk (at ~4.6M TEU).
* According to industry analysts, MSC’s active fleet is now larger than the combined fleets of Maersk (Rank 2) and Hapag-Lloyd (Rank 5).
It took MSC only 15 months to add its last one million TEU, growing from 6M to 7M.
The foundation for this dominance was laid during the pandemic boom starting in 2020, where MSC famously acquired an estimated 400 second-hand vessels, absorbing market capacity while others hesitated.
And, as mentioned above, the final push to 7M TEU has been driven by a massive, ongoing newbuild program, with a steady stream of large, efficient “Neo-Panamax” and “Megamax” ships entering service.
📸 Hans Rosenkranz
