MSC may soon overtake Maersk to stay at the top of the liner rankings

MSC has been very active in recent weeks in the secondhand tonnage market, and it is widely believed that it is on the cusp of a major order for a 23,000 teu class series.

Analysts at Copenhagen-based Sea-Intelligence said in a Sunday report that MSC could soon overtake Maersk as the world’s largest shipping line.

Currently, Maersk is 6% larger than MSC in terms of fleet size, and with a known number of orders, this number will gradually shrink to 4%, according to Sea-Intelligence, while Alphaliner data (see below) shows that in terms of global market share there is currently only 0.9% difference between the two carriers, both part of the 2M alliance.

Losing the number 1 spot in the rankings, which it has had for a quarter of a century, will have some mental impact in Copenhagen

“In absolute terms, it also means that if MSC goes ahead and orders just a single new series of ultra-large vessels for the Asia-Europe trade, and Maersk continues their current strategy of not ordering more large tonnage, then we will see MSC overtake Maersk on fleet size”, Sea-Intelligence noted.

Maersk’s senior management has repeatedly stressed that this year, the Danish carrier will not soon order orders to build new ships.

Sea-Intelligence said Maersk is pursuing a strategy that focuses on profit rather than scale.

Analysts commented: “But ‘losing’ the #1 ranking spot, which the carrier has had for a quarter of a century, would still likely have some emotional impact in Copenhagen.”

MSC became the world’s second largest carrier in 2004, and since then, it has continued to top the global rankings with Maersk.

Over the past few weeks, MSC has been very active in adding used ships to its fleet, most of which were previously leased on the route. If all agreements are confirmed, the MSC-owned fleet will reach 204 ships.

Soren Toft, a former COO of Maersk, will begin as CEO at MSC this month.