SIMIC

Alphaliner data shows there's just 10,817 slots - essentially a single neopanamax purchase - separating the two at the top of the liner league tables, notes Singapore's Splash 247.

Data from rival liner data provider Linerlytica shows that MSC has actually just passed its Danish rival. According to Linerlytica, MSC took the top spot on November 24 when the Susan Maersk boxship became the MSC Fie.

MSC has been on a dramatic expansion charge since August 2020, hoovering up an unprecedented 125 secondhand ships over the past 16 months as well as signing for more container newbuilds than any other carrier in the world.

Both carriers now command a 16.9 per cent market share, according to data compiled by Alphaliner. If MSC's orderbook is included, then its fleet already surpasses that of its 2M alliance partner by a considerable distance.

MSC is tipped to have just signed a letter of intent with South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) for the construction of six LNG-powered 15,000-TEU ships worth a total of US$1 billion adding to its record-breaking one million-TEU orderbook.

The big gap between MSC and Maersk's fleet make-up is in the difference between owned and chartered fleets with Maersk owning far more of its tonnage while MSC still relies on charterers for most of theirs.

Maersk has been the world's largest container line since the mid-1990s. In recent years it has repeatedly stated its intention be a logistics integrator with a fleet no larger than 4.4 million TEU.

Soren Toft, former Maersk COO recently marked his first year as MSC's chief executive.

Analysts at Sea-Intelligence noted that the biggest shifts have been lower down the order, with most of the global carriers staying in their current line-up.