After the European Commission authorized the acquisition of the Finland-based shipping company Containerships by the French giant CMA CGM, the operation has been carried out successfully, positioning CMA CGM as the leader in container shipping intra-European network.

Founded in 1966, Containerships is a Finnish company specialized in intra–european containerized short-sea shipping, as well as in multimodal logistics solutions.

Together, CMA CGM and Containerships transported 2.2 million TEUs in their intra-European networks last year.

With this acquisition, which echoes the purchase of McAndrews in 2002, CMA CGM continues with its strategy of strengthening its regional networks. Now, with the shared coverage between McAndrews: Great Britain, Poland, Sweden, Ireland, Netherlands, Spain (including the Canary Islands), Portugal and Morocco; and Containerships: Baltic markets, Russia, Northern Europe, North Africa, and Turkey; it positions itself as the leader of this shipping network.

CMA CGM’s bet is on growth, taking into account the recent increase in its stake in Ceva Logistics from 24.99% to 33%, after the rejection of the latter from a takeover bid by DSV.