Maersk to resume four more container services through Suez Canal

Danish shipping group Maersk, the world’s second-largest container shipping company, said four additional container services will resume sailing through the Suez Canal, offering another sign of a gradual return to the key global trade route amid the continuing repercussions of the Iran war.

Maersk said in a statement on Monday that it will reroute four container services, AE5, AE11, AE12 and ME2, operated under the Gemini Cooperation network with Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd, through the Suez Canal instead of around the Cape of Good Hope.

The change will take effect from September 19 and is expected to provide customers of both companies with shorter and more efficient transit times. Maersk noted that two of its services, AE15 and AE19, are already operating via the Suez Canal.

The company described the Suez Canal as a vital maritime corridor connecting East and West and a key artery for global supply chains. It added that the route through the canal and the Red Sea offers the fastest, most sustainable and efficient option for serving customers on Asia-Europe trades.

Most shipping operators stopped using the Suez Canal route between Asia and Europe in late 2023 following attacks on vessels in the Red Sea by Yemen’s Houthis, forcing ships to take the significantly longer route around the Cape of Good Hope.

Maersk said it and Hapag-Lloyd will continue to closely monitor developments in the Middle East, adding that any further changes to services within the Gemini Cooperation network will depend on the absence of further escalation in regional conflicts.

In early July, Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd announced the resumption of some services connecting Asia with the Mediterranean and Europe via the Suez Canal. The services form part of the Gemini Cooperation network, which was launched last year with the aim of reducing shipping costs and improving schedule reliability.