Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd resume AE15 service via Suez Canal

Two of the world's largest container shipping companies, Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, are cautiously resuming voyages through the Suez Canal, a critical step toward restoring one of global trade's most important arteries after years of disruption. Their joint Gemini Cooperation alliance announced that its AE15 service, connecting Asia to the eastern Mediterranean, will transition from the longer route around Africa's Cape of Good Hope back to the shorter Suez Canal passage.

The first vessel to operate under the revised routing is the Majestic Maersk, which departed from Qingdao, China, on June 8 and left the Port of Salalah in Oman on July -6. The service calls at ports in China, South Korea, and Malaysia before transiting the Suez Canal to ports in Egypt, with a return leg stopping in Sri Lanka and Singapore. The companies stated that returning to the Suez Canal, which they described as the fastest, most sustainable, and most efficient maritime corridor linking Asia and Europe, will significantly shorten transit times compared to the Cape route.

This move marks a tentative return to a corridor largely avoided by major carriers since late 2023, when Yemen's Houthi movement...