Following successful passages through the Suez Canal, the shipping company Maersk is planning to use the route again as before. This will significantly reduce transit times.
The Danish shipping company Maersk is returning to its old structures: the MECL service, which connects India and the Middle East with the US East Coast, will once again sail via the Red Sea and the Suez Canal.
Until now, the service, like many others, was rerouted via the Cape of Good Hope, as the route through the Red Sea was considered too risky due to Houthi attacks. The militia had regularly attacked ships since 2023, but the situation has largely calmed down since last fall. The shipping company made its first attempts in December with the “Maersk Sebarok” and the “Maersk Denver”, and the route has now been used as planned.
The MECL service is returning to the original service pattern and is intended to offer customers “the most efficient transit times”. At the same time, the shipping company promised to continue to monitor the security situation in the Middle East very closely. “Any changes to the MECL service will depend on continued stability in the Red Sea and the absence of an escalation of conflict in the region,” Maersk said. “The safety of our customers’ crew, equipment and cargo remains our top priority. Maersk has contingency plans in place in the event of a deterioration in the security situation. This may require the repatriation of individual MECL voyages or a more comprehensive restructuring of the MECL service back to the Cape of Good Hope route.”
The route through the Suez Canal, the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait is the fastest, year-round connection between Europe and Asia.
Still few ships in the Red Sea
“The restructuring of the MECL service is an important milestone for Maersk in the gradual resumption of sailings through the Suez Canal,” the shipping company continued. The partnership between Maersk and the Suez Canal Authority has played a key role in planning the resumption of trans-Suez traffic. Maersk intends to continue its close cooperation with the authority.
The “Cornelia Maersk” will be the first ship to sail the Red Sea westbound as scheduled, while the “Maersk Detroit” will sail eastbound. All subsequent voyages of the MECL service will follow the new – old – route. The French shipping company CMA CGM has also already completed its first voyages through the Red Sea. It is not yet known if and when other shipping companies, above all Maersk’s Gemini partner Hapag-Lloyd, will take the step towards familiar structures. Although the situation has recently eased considerably, around 60% fewer ships are still passing through the Suez Canal compared to pre-crisis levels.
