Insight Focus
Shipping alliances restructured significantly in February 2025. The Ocean Alliance now leads with the largest fleet and strongest orderbooks, while MSC maintains the second-largest capacity while operating independently. The Gemini Cooperation emerges as a new powerhouse with a hub-focused network as the Premier Alliance remains much smaller, offering targeted direct-port services through February 2030.
Since February 2025, the container shipping industry has undergone significant restructuring among the major ocean carrier alliances.
Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd have formed a new partnership known as the Gemini Cooperation, marking a major realignment in global carrier synergies. Meanwhile, Ocean Network Express (ONE), Yang Ming, and HMM—the remaining members of the former THE Alliance—have continued their collaboration under the new name Premium Alliance, while the Ocean Alliance, comprising CMA CGM, Evergreen, COSCO, and its subsidiary OOCL, has remained unchanged.
At the same time, MSC, the world’s largest ocean carrier in terms of TEU capacity, has opted to operate independently, pursuing a standalone strategy that has drawn considerable attention across the industry.
As a result, the new alliances, as well as MSC, are now defining the rules of global shipping.
While the box carriers do not deploy their entire vessel fleets within their respective alliance services, it is worth examining the total TEU capacities of each alliance, as this provides a broader picture of the market dynamics and the potential strength of each partnership.
Source: Alphaliner
Ocean Alliance Dominates with Largest Fleet and Orders
The Ocean Alliance is now the most dominant container alliance, with a total capacity of over 9.5 million TEUs. Both CMA CGM and COSCO, the most powerful members of the partnership, have strong orderbooks and are expected to receive around 3 million TEUs combined in the coming months and years.
In particular, CMA CGM has commissioned around 130 new buildings totalling over 1.7 million TEUs, COSCO is set to receive more than 80 vessels with a combined capacity of approximately 1.2 million TEUs, while Evergreen’s orderbook includes over 40 box ships with a total capacity of about 660,000 TEUs. The vast fleet, along with their established network—since the Ocean Alliance has been active since 2017—positions it well to retain a leading role in the market.
Source: Alphaliner
MSC Expands Capacity Despite Going Solo
Although operating independently, MSC has developed its fleet to a level that makes it the second-largest shipping player, with container ships capable of moving more than 7 million TEUs.
MSC’s strong fleet has been the backbone of its strategic decision to remain independent, allowing the company to be flexible and offer over 1,500 direct port combinations, providing clients with a wide range of choices. It is also important to note that MSC has by far the strongest orderbook among its competitors, expecting to receive more than 2.1 million TEUs in the near future.
Gemini Cooperation Backed by Hub-Focused Network
Gemini is emerging as a new powerhouse in the industry, following the decision of Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd to join forces and form an alliance with a combined capacity of over 7 million TEUs.
The Gemini Cooperation is supported by Maersk’s extensive port and terminal network, operated through Maersk’s subsidiary APM Terminals, and has chosen a hub-focused network approach in contrast to MSC’s direct-connection strategy.
Both Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd have relatively smaller orderbooks compared to the other major container lines, with approximately 810,000 and 390,000 TEUs respectively.
Source: Alphaliner
Smaller Premier Alliance Set to Operate Through 2030
ONE, HMM and Yang Ming have decided to continue their collaboration, forming a shipping group – the Premier Alliance – with a combined capacity of around 3.8 million TEUs—significantly smaller compared to their competitors in terms of total capacity.
This tripartite alliance provides end-to-end direct port container services to customers across both the Transpacific and Asia–Europe trades, with their agreement set to last until February 2030.
The combined orderbook of the three companies barely exceeds 1 million TEUs with ONE leading the pack having ordered more than 50 vessels featuring an overall container capacity of over 630,000 TEUs, while HMM and Yang Ming have ordered 16 and 18 ships with around 190,000 and 240,000 TEUs respectively.
Source: Alphaliner
