ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the evolution of maritime networks since the end of the Second World War in a geo-historical perspective. From the 1960s, maritime space internationalized through trade growth, reorientation following the dismantling of colonial empires and the emergence of new commercial powers and maritime nations, and technical innovation, namely containerization. Since 1945, the maritime networks of liner shipping companies have profoundly changed. It is possible to interpret their evolution as a direct adaptation to the world's new geo-economical configurations. Compagnie Maritime d'Affretement- Compagnie Generale Maritime (CMA-CGM) company has reached a global dimension by expanding not only its transport capacity but also the geographic coverage of the markets it offers to shippers. This company's roots go back to the Compagnie Generale Transatlantique (CGT), founded in 1861 by the Pereire brothers. In 1996, CGM was privatized, acquired by the CMA, which gave birth to the CMA-CGM group.
