Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), the world’s largest container shipping operator, has withdrawn all its 19,200 to 24,300 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) megamax vessels from the Asia–North Europe trade, reallocating them to the Asia–Mediterranean and Asia–West Africa trades, Alphaliner reported on February 25.
The decision impacts MSC’s 6.4 million TEU fleet, handling approximately 22 million TEUs annually in 2024, up 8.5% from 2023, per company data.
The shift, effective immediately, removes MSC’s largest vessels—ranging from 19,200 to 24,300 TEU, including the 24,116 TEU MSC Irina and 23,656 TEU MSC Anna—from the Asia–North Europe route, traditionally a high-demand corridor.
MSC’s move follows Red Sea security disruptions in 2024, rerouting 15% of Asia–Europe traffic via the Cape of Good Hope, adding 10-14 days to transit times.
“The withdrawal of megamaxes from Asia–North Europe reflects strategic adjustments to optimize capacity and profitability amid volatile market conditions,” Alphaliner stated in its analysis.
MSC will deploy these megamaxes on the Asia–Mediterranean and Asia–West Africa trades, where larger vessels can handle increased volumes due to rerouting and demand growth. The Asia–Mediterranean route, handling 4.2 million TEUs annually in 2024, up 12.3% from 2023, and the Asia–West Africa trade, with 1.8 million TEUs, up 9.7%, benefit from MSC’s capacity shift.
The move aligns with MSC’s strategy to maintain schedule reliability, with an 87% on-time rate in 2024, up from 82% in 2023, while competitors like Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd face similar pressures, rerouting 20% of their Asia–Europe capacity via the Cape.
MSC’s decision follows a 5% drop in Asia–North Europe spot freight rates to $3,095 per 40ft container in February 2025, and a 20% rate decline since January, driven by oversupply.
Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) is a Swiss-Italian container shipping company, the world’s largest by capacity, headquartered in Geneva, operating a fleet of approximately 6.4 million TEU and managing over 22 million TEUs annually.