CMA CGM overtakes Maersk in container shipping rankings

CMA CGM container ship (Photo: CMA CGM / Phaata)

CMA CGM, the shipping company with the fastest ship procurement pace this year, has officially made history.

As of this week, Marseille-based CMA CGM has overtaken rival Maersk to take second place in the container shipping rankings when counting the number of ships on order.

According to the latest data from Alphaliner, CMA CGM's total fleet capacity - including ships under construction - has reached 5.42 million TEUs, about 140,000 TEUs more than Maersk. However, Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) still leads by a wide margin, with a total capacity of 8.47 million TEUs, larger than the combined current capacity of CMA CGM and Maersk.

In addition to being the largest buyer of used containerships in the first months of 2025, CMA CGM is also actively ordering new vessels. Splash reports that CMA CGM recently placed an order for a series of containerships in China, including 12 18,000 TEU LNG dual-fuel vessels at CSSC Jiangnan shipyard. This is the company's second order this year, following a $2.6 billion contract for 12 18,000 TEU LNG vessels at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (South Korea).

CMA CGM's history dates back to 1978, when Jacques Saadé founded the Maritime Transport Company (CMA) to operate intra-Mediterranean routes. In 1996, Saadé merged CMA with Compagnie Générale Maritime (CGM), creating the world’s 12th largest shipping company at the time. Saadé, who was born in Beirut in 1937, expanded the company by acquiring several well-known shipping brands such as Australian National Line (ANL), American President Lines (APL) and Cheng Lie Navigation. After his death in 2018, his son, Rodolphe Saadé, took over and pushed to expand logistics in addition to ship purchases.

Meanwhile, Maersk has maintained its strategy of operating with a fleet size of 4 million to 4.4 million TEUs – a policy initiated by former CEO Soren Skou and succeeded by Vincent Clerc. It was this strategy that led MSC to overtake Maersk to become the world's largest shipping line in early 2021.

In addition to the race between the big three, the Alphaliner rankings also recorded notable changes at the bottom. When including the number of ships on order, Evergreen (Taiwan, China) has just surpassed Japan's Ocean Network Express (ONE) to take sixth place, while Wan Hai - also from Taiwan - entered the top 10, replacing Yang Ming.

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Source: Phaata.com (According to Splash247)

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