Two container lines Cosco and Maersk in particular stand to reap the fruits of the new, major free-trade agreement, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which was established last month.

The trade agreement, which covers a volume bigger than both the EU and NAFTA in the US, is backed up by ten ASEAN countries as well as China, South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, and as such it holds enormous potential. A combined 30 percent of global trade is contained within it, according to Alphaliner, which has been analyzing which shipping companies hold the best cards when it comes to trade within Asia and the Pacific.