Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Container shipping entered 2026 with accelerating fleet growth, a stubborn Suez Canal recovery gap, and record capacity on the world’s busiest trade corridor, according to vessel tracking and liner fleet data for February 2026.
The five trends identified during the month collectively signal an industry reshaping its fleet technology, its ownership structures, and its routing strategies simultaneously, with consequences for carriers, shippers, and port operators across all major East–West and regional corridors.
MSC Widens Its Lead as the World’s Largest Carrier
MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company extended its dominance in February, with its fleet capacity surpassing 7.2 million twenty-foot equivalent units, equivalent to approximately 21.4 percent of the entire global container ship fleet.
The Geneva-based group now operates 980 vessels in active service, of which 727 ships totaling 4.55 million TEU are owned outright and 253 ships accounting for 2.65 million TEU are chartered. A further 2.18 million TEU remains on order, one of the highest orderbook-to-fleet ratios among the top ten carriers.
Despite this scale, MSC’s fleet is among the oldest operated by any major carrier, with an average vessel age approaching 17 years. This contrasts sharply with Evergreen, which runs the youngest fleet among the top 20 carriers at an average age of 9.3 years across nearly 240 ships totaling close to 2 million TEU. Wan Hai Lines ranks second at 9.4 years and HMM third at 9.6 years, having recently crossed the 1 million TEU capacity milestone.
Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd, CMA CGM, and COSCO Group all operate fleets averaging between 13 and 15 years old, reflecting a mix of acquisition strategies that blend newbuilds with second-hand purchases.
LNG Fleet Expands as Yang Ming Enters Alternative Fuel Market
The LNG-powered container vessel fleet recorded new additions in February, including a milestone entry for Yang Ming.
The Taiwanese carrier took delivery of the YM WILLPOWER, a 15,600 TEU LNG dual-fuel vessel built by Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan, South Korea. The ship is the first LNG-capable vessel Yang Ming has ever operated, and is the first of five Neo-Panamax units ordered in 2023. The remaining four vessels are scheduled for delivery through 2026 and into early 2027.
Separately, New Times Shipyard in China delivered the 11,400 TEU MSC BOSTON to MSC, the penultimate vessel in a ten-ship LNG dual-fuel series. The final unit of the series, MSC SABRINA, is expected to follow shortly.
MSC now operates close to 90 LNG-equipped vessels, accounting for more than one third of all such ships active worldwide. CMA CGM ranks second with 76 LNG-capable units.
Suez Canal Transit Numbers Hit Decade Low in January
Container ship transits through the Suez Canal fell to their lowest January level in a decade, with only 150 crossings recorded in January 2026, a year-on-year decline of 16.7 percent.
Both December 2025 and January 2026 registered traffic volumes below the levels of the previous year, and early February data suggests the year-on-year decline may extend into a fifth consecutive month.
The sharpest drop is concentrated among smaller vessels below 4,000 TEU, which recorded 33.8 percent fewer transits year-on-year in January. Mid-sized ships between 4,000 and 7,500 TEU held relatively steady, while vessels in the 7,500 to 18,000 TEU range have cautiously returned to the route since mid-2025.
The largest container ships above 18,000 TEU crossed the Suez Canal for the first time in more than twenty months during December 2025, with another passage observed in January. Despite these signals, full normalization of canal flows has not yet occurred, keeping long-haul diversions via the Cape of Good Hope active for many operators.
Far East–Europe Corridor Hits Record Deployed Capacity
Deployed capacity on the Far East–Europe corridor surpassed 521,000 TEU per week for three consecutive weeks in February 2026, reaching the highest level ever recorded on the route.
The OCEAN Alliance holds the largest share of capacity on the corridor at 32.4 percent, followed by the Gemini Cooperation between Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd at 24 percent. MSC, which operates the trade lane independently outside any alliance structure, controls 21.3 percent of deployed capacity. The Premier Alliance of ONE, HMM, and Yang Ming accounts for 16.7 percent, with non-alliance operators covering the remaining 5.6 percent.
The record deployment reflects both the continued importance of the Far East–Europe corridor and the degree to which alliance structures shape how capacity is distributed across the industry’s main East–West routes.
Source: axsmarine
