Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd Adjust 4 Asia-Europe Services to Resume Suez Canal Transit

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 14, Maersk announced that it will adjust, together with Hapag-Lloyd, four services in the Gemini Cooperation shipping network—AE5, AE11, AE12, and ME2—with the relevant vessels gradually switching from routing around the Cape of Good Hope in Africa to transiting the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. The adjustment involves three major container shipping corridors: Asia–North Europe, Asia–Mediterranean, and India–Europe, and will be implemented in phases according to different directions and voyages.

The westbound voyages of AE11 and ME2 will be the first to switch to the Suez Canal route starting September 19, while the westbound voyages of AE5 will be adjusted starting September 21. On the eastbound side, the first adjusted voyage of AE5 is scheduled to begin on September 22, AE11 on September 28, and the eastbound adjustment for ME2 is set for October 31. AE12 is also included in this service transition plan, with the first official adjusted voyage to be determined separately.

After the adjustment, AE5 will continue to handle container transport between Asia and North Europe, AE11 and AE12 will respectively connect Asia with the Mediterranean market, and ME2 will connect India with Europe. The four services had previously mainly routed around the Cape of Good Hope, and following this adjustment they will again use the Red Sea–Suez Canal corridor for Asia-Europe voyages.

Gemini Cooperation is jointly operated by Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd. Since 2026, the two parties have been restoring some Red Sea and Suez Canal services in phases. In February, they restored the ME11 service, which connects India, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean, to the Suez Canal corridor; since then, they have continued to adjust some Gemini services. On September 4, Hapag-Lloyd's approximately 14,993 TEU vessel Al Jmeliyah also transited the Red Sea and the Suez Canal on the Asia–Mediterranean route corresponding to AE12; at that time it was a single voyage and not an overall structural switch for that service.

Maersk stated that transit through the Suez Canal can shorten the transport distance and transit time between Asia and Europe. After the four services resume Red Sea transit, specific operating arrangements will still be adjusted according to the security situation in the Red Sea region, and the two parties will continue to assess the regional situation; if the security environment changes or regional conflict escalates, the relevant services may still have their routing adjusted again.