Shipping
is an extremely vital industry that most people are not aware of. Have
you ever wondered how exotic fruits from Asia can end up still fresh and
juicy in Europe or North America? The shipping industry plays a huge
part in all these by helping us achieve the goals of globalization and
making this world look like just one small town.
The industry is also a billion dollar business. Here now is a list of the top 10 largest shipping companies in the world.
10. Orient Overseas Container Line
Orient
Overseas Container Line is a shipping container and logistics service
company based in Hong Kong. It has 280 offices in 55 countries and
provides 78 services in international trading markets. The company was
established in 1969 and has a fleet of more than 270 ships with
different capacities and capabilities. Its ships range from 2,500
twenty-foot equivalent units, or TEU, to 13,000 TEU. It also owns some
ice class vehicles that can be used for extreme weather conditions. It
is a member of the Grand Alliance that includes Hapag Lloyd and Nippon
Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha.
9. Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd.
Mitsui
O.S.K. Lines, Ltd., or MOL, is a transport company based in Tokyo but
whose main line of business is international shipping. The company was
established in 1884. It was formed as a result of the merger between
Mitsui Steamship Co., Ltd. and Osaka Shosen Kaisha, or OSK. Its fleet
includes bulk carriers, car carriers, cruise carriers, ferries, LNG
carriers, tankers and container ships.
8. Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha
Nippon
Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha, or NYK, is a member of the Mitsubishi Group of
companies. It is based in Tokyo in Japan and is one of the largest
shipping companies in the world. It can trace its roots all the way back
to 1870 when the Tosa clan established the Tsukumo Shokai Shipping
Company. It has the distinction of operating the first passenger line
service in the country, which it did in 1875 as Mitsubishi Shokai. It
currently operates 776 major ocean vessels, apart from its fleet of
planes, trucks and trains.
7. Hanjin Shipping Co. Ltd.
Hanjin
Shipping Co. Ltd. is a shipping company founded in 1949 and based in
South Korea. It has a fleet of more than 200 ships, including
containerships, bulk carriers and LNG carriers. It ships more than four
million TEU containers every year, with more than half of them at 2.3
million being handled in the terminal in Busan. The company makes use of
Gantry cranes and operates around 60 liner and tramp trade services all
over the world.
6. Hapag Lloyd
Hapag
Lloyd is a transportation company based in Germany that was founded in
1970. It can trace its roots to the middle part of the 19th
century, however, as the company is a result of the merger between the
Hamburg Amerikanische Paketfahrt Aktien Gessellschaft, or Hapag that
dates back to 1847, and Norddeutscher Lloyd, which was established in
1856. The company also purchased CP Ships, a Canadian liner, in 2005.
The company currently has 147 vessels.
5. China Ocean Shipping Container Line
China
Ocean Shipping Container Line, or COSCO, is a provider of shipping and
logistics services based in China. The company was established in 1961.
Its main lines of businesses are freight forwarding, shipbuilding, ship
repairing, and operation of terminals. It is the largest liner carrier
and dry bulk carrier in China, and one of the largest dry bulk shipping
operators in the world. It has more than 300 subsidiaries and owns and
operates around 550 ships. Its total carrying capacity is 30 million
metric tons deadweight.
4. Evergreen Marine Corporation
Evergreen
Marine Corporation is a shipping company founded in 1968 and based in
Taiwan. It has over 150 ships that call on 240 ports around the world in
around 80 countries. Its ships are easily distinguishable by the color
green and the word Evergreen painted prominently on the side of the
ships. The company also owns another company in Taiwan called Uniglory
Marine Corp., and has subsidiaries in the United Kingdom called
Evergreen UK Ltd. and Italy called Italia Marittima S.p.A.
3. CMA CGM S.A.
CMA
CGM S.A. is a transportation container and shipping company based in
Marseilles in France, with a North American headquarter in Norfolk in
Virginia. It traces its roots to 1851 with the founding of Messageries
Maritimes, or MM, which merged with a company called Compagnie Generale
Maritime, or CGM. CGM was a state company that was privatized in 1996
and sold to Compagnie Maritime d’Affretement, or CMA. As CMA CGM, it
went on to buy the Australian National Lines and Delmas of France. The
company now has 200 routes operating in 400 ports in around 150
different countries.
2. Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A.
The
Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A. is a shipping line based in Geneva
in Switzerland. Established in 1970, the company has a presence in all
the major ports around the world, though its most important port is the
one in Antwerp in Belgium. It currently operates 474 vessels with a
total combined capacity of 2.3 million TEU. It has vessels with a
capacity of 13,800 TEU, including the MSC Beatrice and the MSC Emanuela,
the latter of which is considered to be one of the largest container
ships in the world. It has been named as Shipping Line of the Year six
times in a span of 11 years starting from 1996.
1. A.P. Moller – Maersk Group
A.P.
Moller – Maersk Group is a conglomerate based in Copenhagen in Denmark
that was established in 1904. It is considered as the largest container
ship operator and supply vessel operator in the world. The company has
held that distinction since 1996. It operates 600 vessels with 3.8
million TEU. It also owns the ship Emma Maersk, considered as the
largest container ship in the world. The company has a presence in 135
countries around the world.
