Danish shipping giant Maersk and alliance partner Hapag-Lloyd will resume sailing through the Suez Canal instead of going around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope.
Maersk announced on Monday that it will recommence its Suez Canal services as part of its Gemini network, in collaboration with Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd. Specifically, this involves a structural change to one of the Gemini services, the AE15 service.
Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd will resume sailings through Suez Canal for one of their Gemini services.
The AE15 service will sail via the trans-Suez route instead of transiting via the Cape of Good Hope, Maersk said in a customer advisory.
The first sailing will be the Majestic Maersk.
The decision was made jointly with its German partner Hapag-Lloyd “following thorough assessments of the security situation in the Red Sea area,” a statement said, adding that this move “marks a step towards a gradual return to the trans-Suez corridor.”
This means that for AE15, that connects Asia, the Mediterranean and Europe, will have the rotation: Qingdao – Kwangyang – Ningbo – Tanjung Pelepas – Port Said – Damietta – Colombo – Singapore.
The Suez Canal is a vital maritime corridor between East and West and a key driver of global supply chains.
The Canal was abandoned by most shippers after attacks in the Red Sea by Yemen’s Houthis. That forced them to take the much longer trip around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, but shipping companies are now considering a return to the Red Sea route.
Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd would continue to monitor the security situation in the Middle East region very closely, Maersk said, adding that any alteration to services within the Gemini Cooperation will remain dependent on the ongoing stability in the Red Sea area and the absence of any escalation in conflicts in the region.
“The safety of the crew, the vessels, and customers’ cargo remains the highest priority. Should the security situation deteriorate, which may necessitate reverting individual sailings or the wider structural change of the service back to the Cape of Good Hope route, we have contingency plans in place,” the company said in a statement.
This decision reflects a strategic shift away from previously favored routes around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope.
The Danish shipping group said it will inform its customers when they are ready to make further changes to the Gemini network.
