Top-10 container carriers deploy more big ships on Far East – Middle East

Data on the world’s leading container carriers show that average vessel sizes continue to rise on key Far East–Middle East and Far East–North Europe trade lanes.

The ranking of the ten major trade lanes according to average ship size shows the Far East – North Europe route at number one. This is no surprise as 134 of the 298 vessels deployed there last month had a capacity of over 18,000 teu.

The average vessel size on this trade has reached 15,734 teu, but if we look at the top-10 carriers only, the average stands at 18,184 teu. This represents a 5.4% year-on-year increase. The average vessel capacity for the ten largest carriers on the Far East – Mediterranean trade stands at 16,137 teu (+6.9%)

Big ships are increasingly popular on the Far East – Middle East route. The number of ships of more than 15,200 teu has doubled in the past twelve months to 16 units, pushing up the average vessel size for the top-10 carriers to 11,985 teu (+20.6%).

As Alphaliner previously identified, the Asia – West Africa trade is the fastest growing route. The average size grew only 4.5% on this trade lane, but the number of vessels serving the trade rose from 122 units in January 2025 to 164 last month.

Of note, this includes the ships of MSCCargo Far East — East Med ‘Tiger’ service as they offer direct sailings from Abidjan, Lome and Tema to Singapore and China.

Source: Alphaliner