THE CENTRE of gravity in containership ordering has shifted. Since the start of 2026, carriers have directed most newbuilding investment towards feeder and mid-sized vessels, seeking to renew ageing regional fleets, secure capacity and strengthen increasingly important hub-and-spoke networks.

But that is not the same thing as abandoning the economics of scale.

If anything, the recent surge in orders for smaller ships underlines how enduring the industry’s commitment to large vessels remains. Carriers are filling a glaring gap in the fleet after years in which investment was heavily concentrated at the top end of the size spectrum. The ordering focus may have moved down the ladder, but the megaship era shows little sign of ending.

Even after two years of slower ordering, the largest vessels still dominate the industry’s future fleet. The global containership orderbook stands at almost 15m teu, with the overwhelming majority of capacity concentrated in ships above 10,000 teu. MSC continues to build an unprecedented fleet of 20,000+ teu vessels. Cosco is expanding its megamax fleet. Yang Ming is renewing its neo-panamax segment. Meanwhile, Maersk, long the notable holdout from the 24,000 teu race, is reportedly preparing to order its largest ships yet.

That last development may be the clearest signal that size still matters.

For years, Maersk pursued a strategy centred on logistics integration rather than fleet expansion, allowing rivals to outgrow it. MSC is now more than 50% larger by fleet capacity and other big carriers continue to close the gap. If Maersk is now willing to embrace 24,000 teu vessels, it suggests the competitive logic of scale has become impossible to ignore.

The economics remain compelling. Larger ships spread fuel, crewing and capital costs across more containers. Rising fuel prices and ever-growing carbon compliance costs only reinforce those advantages. As environmental regulation tightens, scale economies become more valuable rather than less.

The more interesting question is no longer whether carriers still believe in bigger ships. Their orderbooks suggest they do. The real question is whether the industry is approaching another leap in vessel size.

Concepts for containerships exceeding 27,000 teu are already being discussed. Alphaliner argues that changing economics could justify another round of upsizing, while the replacement cycle for the first generation of ultra large containerships is drawing closer. Maersk, whose flagship vessels are considerably smaller than those of some rivals, may be a logical candidate to lead that transition.

Ports, safety concerns and infrastructure constraints remain significant obstacles. Yet those same objections accompanied every previous generation of ultra large containerships.

The boom in feeder ordering reflects a market correcting an imbalance, not retreating from scale. The strategic direction of container shipping remains unchanged. The industry’s biggest players continue to believe that larger fleets, larger networks and larger ships generate competitive advantage. The debate is no longer whether size matters. It is how much bigger carriers are prepared to go.

Richard Meade
Editor-in-chief, Lloyd’s List

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