Danish shipping giant A.P. Moller Maersk said on Monday it will resume some sailings through the Suez Canal under the joint network with its German peer Hapag-Lloyd, instead of sending vessels around Africa's Cape of Good Hope.
The global diversion of vessels away from the Red Sea, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Suez Canal began in November 2023, when Yemen's Houthis launched attacks on Israel-linked vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden amid the outbreak of the latest Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Over the nearly three years that followed, thousands of container ships took the longer route around the southern tip of Africa, adding about 3,500 to 4,000 nautical miles (6,482 to 7,408 kilometers) and 10 to 14 days of transit time to each voyage.
The detour sent freight rates soaring and pushed up shipping costs across the board. Now, with the Middle East situation showing signs of de-escalation, major carriers are beginning to weigh a return to the Red Sea route.
In a statement, Maersk said it will reroute the AE15 -- one of the services shared under its Gemini Cooperation with Hapag-Lloyd -- via the Suez Canal, dropping the Cape of Good Hope detour.
The Gemini Cooperation is a shipping network jointly established by Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd. The AE15 service connects Asia, the Mediterranean Sea and Europe.
According to a Hapag-Lloyd spokesperson, the adjustment is expected to cut the overall voyage duration by up to four weeks.
Maersk said the decision to resume Suez Canal transits came after "a comprehensive assessment of the security situation in the Red Sea region," adding that it marks "a step toward gradually returning to the Suez Canal route." Both companies have contingency plans in place that would allow for swift adjustments if the Red Sea security situation deteriorates.
However, neither of them plans to change the rest services of the Gemini network for now, and both said they will keep a close watch on developments in the Middle East. Any future adjustments, they said, will hinge on whether the Red Sea remains stable and regional conflicts do not escalate.
According to data from Clarksons Research, a leading global shipping consultancy, the route through the Suez Canal and the Red Sea -- the fastest link between Europe and Asia -- carried approximately 10 percent of global seaborne trade before the crisis.
Two global shipping giants to resume sailing through Suez Canal
