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Container lines are increasingly deploying larger vessels on intra-Europe routes, with the number of ships above 8,000 teu operating in the Mediterranean rising by 78% year on year, according to Alphaliner.
The analyst said the fleet of vessels above 8,000 teu trading in the region had increased from nine ships a year ago to 16 today, despite the average vessel size in the Mediterranean remaining just 1,870 teu.
MSC continues to lead the trend, operating nine of the 16 large vessels, up from six of nine a year ago. Recent additions include the 9,411 teu MSC Giselle, 9,408 teu MSC Elma, the 9,403 teu sister ships MSC Lagos X and MSC Nairobi X, and the 9,288 teu MSC Brittany.
The growing presence of larger tonnage reflects carriers’ efforts to improve economies of scale on longer intra-European routes, particularly between northern Europe and the Mediterranean.
According to Alphaliner, 14 of the 16 vessels above 8,000 teu are deployed on North Europe-Mediterranean services, where voyage lengths make larger ships more economically viable than on shorter regional trades.
The title of largest vessel operating on an intra-European route has also changed hands. Maersk’s 9,962 teu Maersk Sirac has overtaken MSC’s former record-holder MSC Aby (9,640 teu), which has since been redeployed to the Asia-North America trade.
Currently operating as an extra loader in the Mediterranean, the Maersk Sirac is due to join Maersk’s new Egypt-Turkey E8 service alongside the 8,850 teu Maersk Le Bu.
Once deployed, the service will become the largest intra-Mediterranean shuttle by weekly capacity, significantly exceeding CMA CGM’s Med-Black Sea-Morocco BSMAR service, which operates vessels of between 4,300 teu and 4,600 teu.
The move comes amid a broader fleet reshuffle by Gemini Cooperation partners Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd.
After launching the Far East-Mediterranean-Red Sea AE19/SE4 service in March, Maersk has begun upgrading its Far East-Egypt AE15/SE3 loop with larger vessels. The service had previously deployed 14 ships ranging from 11,900 teu to 15,000 teu.
“In early June, a fleet replacement programme has started whereby Maersk is redeploying fourteen identical ‘Triple E’ ships of 19,076 teu to the Far East – East Med loop,” Alphaliner said.
The Triple E vessels are being transferred from the Far East-North Europe AE5/NE4 service and will replace smaller ships on the Egypt route. Meanwhile, most vessels previously deployed on the AE15/SE3 service will be shifted to the Far East-UK-Scandinavia AE3/NE3 loop.
“Once all fleet switches are completed, the fleet of this loop will include 14 x vessels in the 13,100-15,000 teu size range, deployed by both alliance partners. This will reduce the average weekly capacity of the service from 19,100 to 13,500 teu (minus 5,600 teu),” Alphaliner added.
The changes underline how carriers are continuing to cascade larger tonnage into regional and near-sea markets as newbuild deliveries and network restructurings reshape global container trades.
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