Tracking Docket World trade has been booming and it has been expanding like never before. We bring the biggest shipping companies in the world that have been partners in the growth of trade worldwide. Nations with a coastline have exploited their geographical advantage to the hilt building shipping hubs that have boosted trade tremendously. The top shipping companies that rule the world’s sea routes today are mentioned below.
Here is a list of the World’s biggest shipping companies in 2020 explained with an infographic:
| Rank | Company | Establishment Date | Headquarter | Teu (Container) | Ships | Contact Number |
| 1 | APM-Maersk | 1904 | Denmark | 4,057,344 | 677 | +1800-419-9121 |
| 2 | Mediterranean Shg Co | 1970 | Switzerland | 3,816,278 | 575 | +41 61 555 6555 |
| 3 | COSCO Group | 1961 | China | 2,976,108 | 487 | +124-2251781 |
| 4 | CMA CGM Group | 1978 | France | 2,824,214 | 532 | 1800 532 1100 |
| 5 | Hapag-Lloyd | 1970 | Germany | 1,724,838 | 240 | +49 40 3001-0 |
| 6 | ONE (Ocean Network Express) | 2017 | Japan | 1,545,602 | 210 | +63-2-8271-1000 |
| 7 | Evergreen Line | 1968 | Taiwan | 1,268,361 | 196 | +886-02-25057766 |
| 8 | HMM Co Ltd | 1976 | South Korea | 651,884 | 69 | +82-61-798-4500 |
| 9 | Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp. | 1972 | Taiwan | 608,072 | 91 | +1-281-295-9160 |
| 10 | PIL (Pacific Int. Line) | 1967 | Singapore | 342,405 | 107 | +65 62265779 |
| 11 | Zim | 1945 | Israel | 306,783 | 65 | +97248652000 |
| 12 | Wan Hai Lines | 1965 | Taiwan | 285,070 | 105 | +886-2-25677961 |
| 13 | Zhonggu Logistics Corp. | 2003 | China | 168,581 | 115 | 0439-6182999 |
| 14 | KMTC | 1990 | South Korea | 162,276 | 68 | +82 2 3116114 |
| 15 | IRISL Group | 1979 | Iran | 152,419 | 48 | +98-21 -26100369-370 |
| 16 | Antong Holdings (QASC) | 1998 | China | 142,980 | 112 | +31 72 514 7400 |
| 17 | SITC | 1984 | Hong Kong | 125,693 | 86 | +86-22-24109788-137 |
| 18 | X-Press Feeders Group | 1972 | Singapore | 105,211 | 72 | +65 6223 9033 |
| 19 | UniFeeder | 1977 | Denmark | 100,813 | 63 | +45 88 83 00 00 |
| 20 | TS Lines | 2000 | Hong Kong | 97,831 | 44 | +852 3413 2000 |
| 21 | Sinokor Merchant Marine | 1989 | South Korea | 84,866 | 66 | +82-2-774-8483 |
| 22 | Global Feeder Shipping LLC | 1992 | United Arab Emirates | 63,617 | 20 | +971 4 – 210 51 05 |
| 23 | Matson | 1882 | United States | 61,833 | 28 | +1-800-462-8766 |
| 24 | Arkas Line / EMES | 1996 | Turkey | 60,104 | 34 | +39 0108390012 |
| 25 | SM Line Corp. | 2016 | South Korea | 59,841 | 12 | +1-480-588-3200 |
| 26 | Sinotrans | 2002 | China | 59,821 | 36 | +86-10-52296666 |
| 27 | RCL (Regional Container L.) | 1979 | Thailand | 51,894 | 28 | +66 2 296 1096 |
| 28 | Salam Pacific Indonesia Lines | 1970 | Indonesia | 48,572 | 48 | +62 31 3533989 |
| 29 | Swire Shipping | 1872 | Hong Kong | 47,979 | 28 | +679- 331 5444 |
| 30 | Grimaldi (Napoli) | 1947 | Italy | 43,944 | 40 | 081 496 777 |
| 31 | Sea Lead Shipping | 2017 | Dubai | 39,941 | 13 | +65-86499781, +65-62874010, +65-62020356 |
| 32 | Transworld Group | 1977 | Dubai | 38,930 | 19 | +971 4 803 5400 |
| 33 | Emirates Shipping Line | 2006 | Dubai | 38,777 | 7 | +971 4 383 0200 |
| 34 | Tanto Intim Line | 1971 | Jakarta | 37,093 | 56 | +62 21 80678000 |
| 35 | Ningbo Ocean Shg Co | 1992 | Zhejiang | 35,588 | 44 | N/A |
| 36 | Meratus | 1957 | Java, Indonesia | 34,917 | 49 | +62 31 2931000 |
| 37 | NileDutch | 1982 | Haifa | 34,765 | 11 | +31 10 281 8283 |
| 38 | Seaboard Marine | 1983 | Medley | 33,452 | 20 | +1 305-863-4444 |
| 39 | Great White Fleet | 1907 | Annapolis, Maryland | 30,412 | 13 | +21402-5029 |
| 40 | Samudera | 1964 | Singapore | 29,512 | 25 | +65-6532-3688 |
| 41 | Linea Messina | 1921 | Genoa | 29,305 | 12 | +39 010 53961 |
| 42 | Shanghai Jin Jiang Shipping | 1983 | Shanghai | 28,779 | 34 | +86 21 6390 2200 |
| 43 | Namsung Shipping | 1953 | Seoul | 26,971 | 25 | +82-2-722-8800 |
| 44 | Dalian Trawind Marine Co | 2005 | Dalian | 26,399 | 10 | +81-3-5253-8639 |
| 45 | Interasia Line | 1967 | Taiwan | 24,043 | 12 | +886-2-25672833 |
| 46 | Temas Line | 2012 | Jakarta | 23,109 | 32 | +62 21 4302388 |
| 47 | MACS | 1984 | New York | 20,710 | 11 | +1-800-588-0070 |
| 48 | Crowley Liner Services | 1954 | Jacksonville | 18,766 | 16 | +1-800-276-9539 |
| 49 | Far Shipping | 2002 | Singapore | 18,065 | 10 | +65 6339 8866 |
| 50 | Shipping Corp. of India | 1950 | Mumbai | 17,882 | 5 | +91-22 2202 6666 |
Now, let’s have a look to the 10 biggest shipping companies in the world:
Table of Contents
APM-Maersk
Maersk was set up on 16 April 1904 by A.P. Moller and his father Peter Maersk Moller with the purchase of a second-hand steamer. The company has had a storied journey of tremendous growth and today it serves even more than 120 countries with a vast network spread through 343 ports. It employs more than 80,000 people who are committed to providing a fast and dependable connection to every corner of the globe.
Mediterranean Shipping Co
MSC as it’s commonly called was founded in Naples in 1970 by Gianluigi Aponte. In terms of container vessel capacity the company has today established itself as the world’s second-largest shipping company operating in all the major ports spread across the world. It operates close to 500 container vessels and also has a division focusing exclusively on holiday cruises called MSC Cruises. Today the company operates out of 480 offices spread across 155 countries.
COSCO Shipping
COSCO Shipping was formed with the merging of COSCO and China Shipping in January 2016. Marine transportation and stevedoring are the company’s main areas of business. It has its headquarters in Shanghai and today COSCO’s shipping vessel fleet is among the world’s largest. It has a fleet of as many as 1310 vessels that have a capacity of 105.92 million DWT. The company is also involved in chartering, shipbuilding and real estate development.
CMA CGM Group
A French company involved in transporting containers and shipping, CMA CGM has successfully emerged as a leading shipping company with a worldwide presence. It operates on as many as 200 shipping routes and serves 420 ports spread across 150 countries in every corner of the world. Headquartered in Marseille, CMA CGM is the fourth largest shipping company in the world. It employs as many as 29,000 people worldwide and has a fleet of 445 vessels.
Hapag-Lloyd
In terms of vessel capacity, Hapag-Lloyd is the fifth largest container carrier in the world. It is a German company and it was formed in 1970 after Hamburg-American Line and North German Lloyd were merged. Hapag-Lloyd is engaged in transporting cargo in containers on major trade routes around the world. In terms of capacity, the company’s fleet of cellular vessels and TEU ownership ranks it at number five globally.
ONE (Ocean Network Express)
Ocean Network’s journey started when it was set up on July 7, 2017 with ‘K’ Line, MOL and NYK being integrated. July 7, 2017 saw the setting up of a holding company in Japan and a business management company in Singapore. The company has grown steadily and operates the sixth largest fleet in the world today. It has a major presence in Hong Kong, UK, USA and Brazil too. The company has plans to expand into ports in Asia, Latin America and Africa.
Evergreen Line
Evergreen Line came into being in 2007 with the merging of Hatsu, Italia Maritima and Evergreen. It has its headquarters in Luzhu District’s Taoyuan City in Taiwan. It operates with a fleet of more than 150 ships and is a part the conglomerate, Evergreen Group. Evergreen serves 240 ports spread across the world covering 80 countries. The company is involved in shipping, ships and containers construction, engineering, port management.
HMM Co Ltd
HMM Co Ltd came into being when Asia Merchant Marine was established on 25th March, 1976. Today, the company is known to operate the largest container vessel in the world, ‘HMM Algeciras’. The company has more than a 100 vessels in its fleet equipped with the latest technology. The company also offers many logistics facilities covering a network of ports that’s spread worldwide.
Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp.
Yang Marine Transport Corporation is a major shipping company with its headquarters in Keelung, Taiwan. After being founded in the year 1972, the company has shown impressive growth and today it operates 101 container ships along with 17 bulk carriers. Yang Ming has more than 170 service points spread across as many as 70 nations worldwide.
PIL (Pacific Int. Line)
Pacific International Lines came into being with its incorporation in Singapore in the year 1967. The world’s oldest billionaire, the Chinese entrepreneur, Chang Yung Chung is the company’s founder. PIL today boasts of a fleet of around 150 vessels. The company has worldwide employee strength of 18,000 and it serves nearly 500 ports covering almost 100 countries spread across the globe.
Conclusion
That brings us to the end of our post on the world’s leading shipping companies. Each of these companies operates with large fleets and has successfully earned international recognition. They have a global presence operating on all major sea routes.
