Europe here is the whole continent, EU member or not: from Iceland and Portugal to Ukraine, with the UK, Norway and Switzerland. Our list of shipping companies in Europe holds companies in 47 of its countries.
List of Shipping Companies in Europe
Shipping companies carry passengers, containers and bulk cargo by sea on ferries, freighters and tankers. We list 29,723 shipping companies in Europe, most of them in the Netherlands (18%) and Norway (13%). One list for the whole territory, with the register number of each country. Download it as a database or pull it through our Company Data API.
29,723 companies indexed · Data counted on 27 October 2026
Companies29,723
Countries47
Largest countryThe Netherlands
Employees1-4
Revenue$100K-$500K
Email25%
Phone40%
Website28%
CEO name74%
Live sample of shipping companies in Europe
Below you see a live sample of the 29,723 shipping companies, sorted by number of employees. Filter on country, size, revenue, legal form or founding year, or search a company by name.
Juisea Shipping B.V.Juisea Shipping B.V.
| Company Name | Country | City | Address 1 | State/Province | Postal Code | Website | Founding Year | Yearly Revenue in U.S. Dollars | Employees Total | Business Legal Type - Description | Number of Companies in Group | Company Registration Number | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Juisea Shipping B.V. | Netherlands | Rotterdam | Fascinatio Boulevard 264 | Zuid-holland | 3065 WB | N/A | 2021 | $7,113,568,536 | 13,424 | Corporation | 127 | 84757914 |
| 2 | Arjuna Shipping B.V. | Netherlands | Pijnacker | Prismastraat 4 | Zuid-holland | 2631 RT | *****.nl | 2017 | $1,183,012,439 | 9,401 | Corporation | 214 | 69527377 |
| 3 | Kika Shipping B.V. | Netherlands | Pijnacker | Prismastraat 4 | Zuid-holland | 2631 RT | N/A | 2017 | $1,183,012,439 | 9,401 | Corporation | 214 | 69527385 |
| 4 | Foster Shipping B.V. | Netherlands | Pijnacker | Prismastraat 4 | Zuid-holland | 2631 RT | *****.nl | 2017 | $1,183,012,439 | 9,401 | Corporation | 214 | 69527415 |
| 5 | Semeru Shipping B.V. | Netherlands | Pijnacker | Prismastraat 4 | Zuid-holland | 2631 RT | *****.nl | 2017 | $1,183,012,439 | 9,401 | Corporation | 214 | 69527326 |
| 6 | Scenery Shipping B.V. | Netherlands | Pijnacker | Prismastraat 4 | Zuid-holland | 2631 RT | *****.nl | 2017 | $1,183,012,439 | 9,401 | Corporation | 214 | 69527334 |
| 7 | Tongariro Shipping B.V. | Netherlands | Pijnacker | Prismastraat 4 | Zuid-holland | 2631 RT | *****.nl | 2017 | $1,183,012,439 | 9,401 | Corporation | 214 | 69527342 |
| 8 | Agung Shipping B.V. | Netherlands | Pijnacker | Prismastraat 4 | Zuid-holland | 2631 RT | *****.nl | 2017 | $1,183,012,439 | 9,401 | Corporation | 214 | 69527350 |
| 9 | Alutan Shipping B.V. | Netherlands | Pijnacker | Prismastraat 4 | Zuid-holland | 2631 RT | *****.nl | 2017 | $1,183,012,439 | 9,401 | Corporation | 214 | 69527369 |
| 10 | Erebus Shipping B.V. | Netherlands | Pijnacker | Prismastraat 4 | Zuid-holland | 2631 RT | *****.nl | 2017 | $1,183,012,439 | 9,401 | Corporation | 214 | 69527393 |
| 11 | Taranaki Shipping B.V. | Netherlands | Pijnacker | Prismastraat 4 | Zuid-holland | 2631 RT | *****.nl | 2017 | $1,183,012,439 | 9,401 | Corporation | 214 | 69527407 |
| 12 | Katla Shipping B.V. | Netherlands | Pijnacker | Prismastraat 4 | Zuid-holland | 2631 RT | *****.nl | 2017 | $1,183,012,439 | 9,401 | Corporation | 214 | 69527423 |
| 13 | Mayon Shipping B.V. | Netherlands | Pijnacker | Prismastraat 4 | Zuid-holland | 2631 RT | *****.nl | 2017 | $1,183,012,439 | 9,401 | Corporation | 214 | 69527431 |
| 14 | Hastveda Shipping B.V. | Netherlands | Pijnacker | Prismastraat 4 | Zuid-holland | 2631 RT | *****.nl | 2021 | $1,183,012,439 | 9,401 | Corporation | 214 | 82146233 |
| 15 | Rederiet A. P. Moller A/S | Denmark | København | Esplanaden 50 | Hovedstaden | 1263 | *****.com | 1970 | $86,909 | 5,706 | Corporation | 2015 | 37048119 |
| 16 | Volga-Flot, AO | Russia | Nizhniy Novgorod | 15a Pl. Markina | Nizhegorodskaya Oblast' | 603001 | N/A | 1994 | $175,193,249 | 5,175 | Corporation | 7 | 03144484 |
| 17 | Comarine Compagnie Maritime Du Leman SA En Faillite | Switzerland | Ginevra | C/o Marcotrade Sa | Genève | 1204 | N/A | 1980 | $418,990 | 4,000 | Corporation | N/A | N/A |
| 18 | Maersk B.V. | Netherlands | Rotterdam | Boompjes 40 | Zuid-holland | 3011 XB | *****.com | 2009 | 0 | 3,500 | Corporation | 2015 | 24069941 |
| 19 | Blue Shadow Cruising LTD | Switzerland | Zurich | C/o Jet Aviation Management Ag | Zürich | 8008 | *****.com | 2003 | $314,526 | 3,500 | N/A | N/A | |
| 20 | Norwegian Cruise Line LIMITED | Unitedkingdom | Kensington | Mr John Judd | London | W8 5NN | N/A | 1987 | $278,551,887 | 3,000 | Foreign company | 2 | FC014094 |
| 21 | The Felixstowe Dock And Railway Company | Unitedkingdom | Felixstowe | Tomline House | Suffolk | IP11 3SY | *****.uk | 1875 | $498,164,799 | 2,532 | 1423 | ZC000205 | |
| 22 | Erp, AO | Russia | Krasnoyarsk | 15 Ul. Bograda | Krasnoyarskiy Kray | 660049 | N/A | 1994 | $104,749,181 | 2,259 | Corporation | 7 | 03143668 |
| 23 | Stena Line LIMITED | Unitedkingdom | Ashford | Stena Line Ltd | Kent | TN23 1PP | N/A | 1989 | $780,982,309 | 2,244 | Corporation | 730 | 01402237 |
| 24 | Grimaldi Euromed SPA | Italy | Palermo | Piazza Alberico Gentili 3 | Palermo | 90143 | N/A | 1973 | $2,697,598,065 | 2,153 | Corporation | 131 | IT00278730825 |
| 25 | Cma Cgm | France | Marseille | 4 Boulevard Saade - Quai Arenc | Bouches-du-rhône | 13002 | *****.com | 1956 | $33,949,236,341 | 3,889 | Corporation | 1919 | 56202442200486 |
Showing 25 of 29,723 companies
Request Free SampleWhich countries have the most shipping companies?
Europe here is the whole continent, EU member or not: from Iceland and Portugal to Ukraine, with the UK, Norway and Switzerland. Each country has its own business register and company number. The list carries them all in one file.
Shipping companies per country, 47 countries
- 1The Netherlands5,240 (18%)
- 2Norway3,731 (13%)
- 3Germany2,644 (9%)
- 4Ukraine2,529 (9%)
- 5The UK2,394 (8%)
- 6Italy1,684 (6%)
- 7Russia1,494 (5%)
- 8Belgium1,463 (5%)
- 9France1,260 (4%)
- 10Malta1,084 (4%)
- 11Spain858 (3%)
- 12Belarus857 (3%)
- 13Greece690 (2%)
- 14Poland594 (2%)
- 15Sweden393 (1%)
The Netherlands and Norway together hold 30% of the shipping companies in Europe. The list carries each country's own register number, so you can match it against the local register. The other 32 countries hold 2,808 more.
Largest shipping companies in Europe
The biggest shipping companies in Europe by staff and by revenue, the largest in the Netherlands, the biggest newcomers of 2026 and the oldest. Click a name for the record.
Volga-Flot, AO is the largest shipping company in Europe by headcount. 710 shipping companies employ 50 people or more; 367 employ 100 or more.
2,044 shipping companies in Europe turn over more than $5 million a year; 1,471 more than $10 million. Branches of foreign groups are left out: their records carry the group's turnover.
The Netherlands has the most shipping companies in Europe: 5,240, or 18% of the list. These are its largest by headcount.
1,014 shipping companies were entered in a register in Europe so far in 2026. These are the largest of them by headcount.
44 shipping companies in Europe in our data were founded before 1900.
Most shipping companies in Europe are very small: 82% have 1 to 4 employees, and 63% report under $500K in yearly revenue.
By employee size
| Employees | Share | Companies | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-4 | 22,893 | 82% | |
| 5-9 | 2,249 | 8% | |
| 10-19 | 1,217 | 4% | |
| 20-49 | 923 | 3% | |
| 50-99 | 343 | 1% | |
| 100-199 | 172 | 1% | |
| 200-499 | 118 | 0% | |
| 500+ | 77 | 0% |
By yearly revenue (USD)
| Revenue | Share | Companies | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| < $100K | 7,649 | 29% | |
| $100K-$500K | 9,111 | 34% | |
| $500K-$1M | 4,949 | 19% | |
| $1M-$5M | 2,838 | 11% | |
| $5M-$10M | 573 | 2% | |
| $10M-$50M | 903 | 3% | |
| $50M+ | 568 | 2% |
How many shipping companies started this year?
This year 1,014 new shipping companies registered in Europe, after 1,490 last year.
Founded per year
- 1,5122022
- 1,3612023
- 1,5032024
- 1,4902025
- 1,0142026 so far
Legal forms of shipping companies in Europe
Two in three shipping companies in Europe are corporations.
- Corporations20,221
- Sole traders3,488
- Partnerships2,001
- Foreign companies420
- Cooperatives85
- Non-profit42
- Other or unknown3,466
Which shipping companies are part of a group?
6,187 of the 29,723 shipping companies in Europe (21%) are part of a chain or group: 3,412 head offices or parent companies and 2,775 branches. The other 23,536 (79%) trade from a single location. 38 of the 48 largest shipping companies in Europe by revenue belong to a group.
Chains and single locations
| Location | Share | Companies | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single location | 23,536 | 79% | |
| Head office | 3,412 | 11% | |
| Branch | 2,775 | 9% |
Largest groups in this list
- 2Maersk A/S2,015 in group
- 3Cma Cgm1,919 in group
- 4Chevron International Tankship Limited1,616 in group
- 5Boskalis Offshore Marine Contracting B.V.818 in group
The groups are counted from the 48 largest companies in this list by revenue, not from all 29,723; our API cannot yet filter on group size. The chain count above covers the whole list.
What do shipping companies do?
Shipping companies operate ferries, container ships, bulk carriers and tankers, while agents and brokers arrange cargo and port calls for them. Their customers are passengers, importers, exporters, freight forwarders and energy and commodity traders that move goods by sea.
Our data comes from the business registers of 47 European countries, where shipping companies are classified under SIC codes 4412 (deep sea foreign transportation of freight), 4424 (deep sea domestic transportation of freight) and 4449 (water transportation of freight, not elsewhere classified). In NACE, the European code those registers use, 27,820 of them (94%) sit in classes 50.20 (sea and coastal freight water transport) and 50.40 (inland freight water transport), part of division 50 (water transport).
How to get the data
Every shipping company comes with its register number, address, phone, email, employees, revenue, legal form and founding year.
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Create a free accountQuestions about shipping companies in Europe
Every answer is counted from the data on this page.
Our data holds 29,723 shipping companies in Europe, counted on 27 October 2026.
The Netherlands, with 5,240 shipping companies or 18% of the total, followed by Norway (3,731) and Germany (2,644).
Most shipping companies in Europe are very small: 82% have 1 to 4 employees, and 63% report under $500K in yearly revenue. The largest by employees is Volga-Flot, AO in Nizhniy Novgorod with 5,175 employees.
This year 1,014 new shipping companies registered in Europe, after 1,490 last year.
Yes. Filter the table on this page by country, or open the page of that country, linked from the country ranking. You can also request all 29,723 shipping companies in Europe as one Excel or CSV file.
Get the full list of shipping companies in Europe
All 29,723 companies with register number, address, phone, email, employees, revenue, legal form and founding year. Excel or CSV, delivered within 24 hours.
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