Suez Canal Authority Chairman Osama Rabie, with the CEO of A.P. Moller-Maersk Vincent Clerc, during a November joint press conference. File Photo.
Danish shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk and German carrier Hapag-Lloyd operate a global container network under their Gemini Cooperation, spanning major east-west trade routes.
The move applies to the IMX service, which links India and the Middle East with the Mediterranean, under the carriers’ Gemini Cooperation.
From mid-February, westbound sailings will shift to the vessel Albert Maersk, while eastbound sailings will follow with Astrid Maersk, the companies stated.
All transits will be conducted with naval assistance, and Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd stress that crew safety, vessel security, and cargo protection remain their top priorities.
The carriers said they may later extend similar routing changes to the SE1 and SE3 services “when possible,” adding that customers and other stakeholders would be informed in due course.
No additional changes to the Gemini network related to the Red Sea are planned at this stage, the statement confirmed.
SE1 and SE3 are Asia–Europe container services operated by Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd under their Gemini Cooperation, and have been largely diverted around the Cape of Good Hope since the Red Sea crisis, with any return via the Suez Canal dependent on security conditions.
The companies said the transition would be managed to minimize disruption to customers while maintaining the Gemini Cooperation’s focus on schedule reliability.
Both carriers said they continue to closely monitor the security situation in the Middle East, noting that any further adjustments would depend on sustained stability in the Red Sea and the absence of escalation in regional conflicts.
Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd formally launched the Gemini Cooperation on 1 February 2025. The operational alliance covers 29 shared mainline services and 29 shuttle services across major east-west trade routes.
Hapag-Lloyd is one of the world’s largest liner shipping companies, operating about 305 container vessels with a transport capacity of roughly 2.5 million TEU and a global network of around 130 services linking more than 600 ports.
Since December, A.P. Moller - Maersk carried out a series of limited trial transits through the Bab Al-Mandab Strait and the Red Sea, signaling cautious steps toward a potential return to the Suez Canal after more than two years of widespread disruption.
The latest passage took place on Jan. 11–12, when the US-flagged Maersk Denver transited the Red Sea as part of a Middle East–Indian Subcontinent to US East Coast service, the company said, stressing that the voyage was part of security monitoring rather than a resumption of normal operations.
The transit followed a similar test in December by the Singapore-flagged Maersk Sebarok. Maersk has stated that while limited additional sailings could be considered if safety conditions allow, no decision has been taken on a broader return, noting that full use of the route depends on what it describes as “safe and sustainable” security conditions.
Suez Canal Authority (SCA) Chairman Osama Rabie announced last November that A.P. Moller–Maersk would start routing its container vessels back through the Suez Canal beginning in early December as a first step toward a full return, following bilateral discussions that led to the signing of a new strategic partnership agreement.
Most major shipping lines have largely avoided the Red Sea since October 2023 due to security risks linked to the war in Gaza and attacks on Israel-linked commercial vessels, forcing widespread rerouting around the Cape of Good Hope, adding weeks to voyages and sharply raising fuel, insurance, and operating costs.
The Suez Canal normally carries about 12 percent of global trade as a key artery for Asia–Europe shipping, as well as a major source of foreign currency for Egypt.
Maersk has warned that even if traffic gradually returns, the route will remain vulnerable to renewed disruption, and that a rapid shift back could itself strain supply chains through congestion and equipment imbalances, particularly in Europe.
Other carriers have also conducted limited passages. CMA CGM completed several Suez transits in late 2025, while operators including MSC and Hapag-Lloyd have yet to make a full return to using the route.
Egypt has been among the hardest hit, with canal revenues falling by more than 60 percent in 2024, and officials saying a recovery depends on a gradual and sustained return of shipping traffic.
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