The Gemini partners Hapag-Lloyd and A.P. Moller-Maersk have now confirmed that there is no specific timing to change the Gemini East-West network to sailing through the Red Sea.

The decision hinges on security conditions, as the safety of crew, vessels, and cargo remains paramount.

Danish shipping giant Maersk said on Wednesday it had no specific timeline for when it would resume sailings through the Red Sea for its Gemini network with Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd.

In response to “recent media coverage about the resumption of Gemini sailings through Suez / the Red Sea and the timing of such,” the Gemini partners Hapag-Lloyd and A.P. Moller-Maersk stated that Gemini’s “ambition has always been to return to a Suez-based East-West network once security conditions in the region permit,” but stressed that “the safety of crew, vessels and cargo remains our top priority,” and that they “currently have no specific timing to change the Gemini East-West network to sailing through the Red Sea.”

The companies recalled that at the launch of the Gemini Cooperation in February 2025, A.P. Moller-Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd introduced a Cape of Good Hope network due to the on-going disruptions in the Red Sea.

In a joint statement released on Wednesday, the partners said that “Gemini’s ambition has always been to return to a Suez-based East-West network once security conditions in the region permit. However, as the safety of crew, vessels and cargo remains our top priority, we currently have no specific timing to change the Gemini East-West network to sailing through the Red Sea.”

Considering the Gaza ceasefire progress, the partners are closely monitoring the developments in the region, and they are “continuously conducting detailed security assessments.”

They added that once “security conditions warrant it, and in keeping with the Gemini trademark of industry-leading schedule reliability,” Hapag-Lloyd and A.P. Moller-Maersk, “will carefully coordinate with our respective customers and important stakeholders to ensure an orderly transfer to a Suez-based network with minimal disruption to our customer´s supply chains.”

The Gemini partners Hapag-Lloyd and A.P. Moller-Maersk rejected yesterday with a joint statement that they have a “specific timeline” for Red Sea sailings.

To remind, Suez Canal Authority (SCA) chairman and managing director Ossama Rabiee announced on Tuesday that liner giant A.P. Moller-Maersk will start routing its container vessels back through the Suez Canal in December as a first step toward a full return, following bilateral discussions that led to the signing of a new strategic partnership agreement.

“The Suez Canal Authority and A.P. Moller-Maersk Group have announced in a joint press release the commencement of the return of vessels affiliated to the Group to transiting through the Suez Canal as of early next December as a precursor to the full-capacity return,” the SCA said in its release on November 25.

The SCA chairman told a press conference that the coming period will witness intensive discussions with all shipping lines to review and adjust sailing schedules and the timing of vessels resuming transit through the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandab Strait.

Rabiee noted the advanced discussions held with French liner company CMA CGM, which resulted in a resolution to fully resume transit through the Suez Canal and Bab el-Mandab Strait in December.

CMA CGM has yet to confirm large-scale return, although it has been sending some ships through the region.