Maritimetekers

Maersk first Red Sea transit in nearly two years

Shipping Lines

The Danish shipping company said the highest possible safety measures were applied during the transit

The Singapore-flagged, 6,500 teu Maersk Sebarok transited the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and Red Sea on 18 – 19 December. The Danish shipping company said the highest possible safety measures were applied during the transit, the first a vessel from the container line has made in nearly two years.

The vessel would appear to have switched off its AIS transport for the transit with its last reported position on Pole Star Global’s Purple Trac tracking system being on 16 December in Oman having sailed from India.

The MECL service

The Maersk Sebarok is deployed the MECL service which connects India and the Middle East with the US East Coast, which Maersk said that while the transit was a significant step forward it did not mean the line was at the stage of rerouting its east – west network via the Suez Canal and the Red Sea rather than the Cape of Good Hope. Maersk operates its east – west network along with Hapag-Lloyd in the Gemini Cooperation alliance.

Gradually resuming navigation via the Suez Canal

“Assuming that security thresholds continue to be met, we are considering continuing our stepwise approach towards gradually resuming navigation along the East-West corridor via the Suez Canal and the Red Sea. The first step is this initial sailing, followed by a limited number of additional trans-Suez sailings,” Maersk said.as been transiting via the Cape of Good Hope.

Vincent Clerc hopes to see Maersk's large vessels transiting the Suez Canal

It is noteworthy that Mr. Vincent Clerc, CEO of A.P. Moller-Maersk Group, had met with the chairman of SCA Admiral Osama Rabie in Ismailia governate and they concluded an agreement for Maersk to resume transiting the Suez Canal after CMA CGM announced its return and passage through the canal. He said at the time...his hope to see Maersk's large vessels transiting the Suez Canal at full capacity again, and for the canal to regain its pre-crisis shipping volumes.

Clerc had stressed that the Suez Canal is the most suitable and efficient waterway for global trade between East and West. He noted that the security challenges witnessed in the Red Sea region over the past two years have led to increased shipping costs and freight rates, affecting all countries worldwide

CMA CGM’s INDAMEX service is set to return to transiting the Suez Canal

French container CMA CGM has led the way among major carriers with transits through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal and is the first shift an entire service back to the shorter routing.

CMA CGM’s INDAMEX service is set to return to transiting the Suez Canal on both the fronthaul and backhaul voyages, shaving two weeks from the service’s current full rotation time.

The 2008-built, 6,000 teu CMA CGM Verdi will be the first ship to complete a full loop of the new service when it reaches New York on 15 January 2026, a lap that will take 77 da

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