Five container lines now have more capacity on order than in service
The global containership orderbook has reached 45% of the fleet, its highest ratio since 2009
Five of the operators in Alphaliner's top 100 now have more container capacity on order than they operate today. Vietnam's Hai An Transport leads at 368% of its existing fleet, followed by Regional Container Lines at 157%, Kawa Shipping at 130%, Zhonggu Logistics at 122% and OVP Shipping at 105%. The five were singled out by Lars Jensen of Vespucci Maritime. Tailwind Shipping, the carrier owned by the retailer Lidl, sits just below the line at 97%.
Across the industry, the containership orderbook now equals 45% of the fleet in service, the highest ratio since 2009. There are 1,925 containerships of 15.6 million teu on order, more than double the post-pandemic peak of 7.6 million teu recorded in August 2023.
The largest carriers are ordering at lower ratios but on far larger fleets. COSCO has 52% of its existing capacity on order, MSC and CMA CGM 39% each and Maersk about 35%. The most recent orders include 26 ships of 18,600 teu for Maersk and 12 ships of 24,000 teu for CMA CGM.
The two groups describe different kinds of growth. For a regional operator, a ratio above 100% means the fleet will more than double once the ships are delivered. For the four largest carriers, a ratio of 35% to 52% applies to fleets counted in millions of teu, so the absolute volume of new capacity is far larger even where the percentage is lower.
Sea-Intelligence has warned that the industry "appears to be preparing for a commercial battle" among the "four carriers" and that this could "make it more difficult to maintain capacity discipline."
The Alphaliner top 100 ranks operators by the capacity they deploy and shows each one's firm orderbook alongside its existing fleet, which is the comparison behind the five ratios above 100%.
This story is part of the Maritime Briefing of 25 September 2026.
