First there was big tonnage and now there is big merger. These are the solutions being sought by liner operators facing big trouble.

The question is will a larger, grander CMA CGM — tied up with Neptune Orient Lines (NOL) — bring relief for these two companies or amplify a problem?

And will others in the container sector follow suit as they see themselves left behind by the new big three of Maersk Line, Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) and this East-West marriage between Singapore and France?

There was a day when the new generation of giant boxships were seen as the way to cut costs and circumvent slowing trade growth.

But