Maersk Expands Red Sea Return With MECL Service Through Suez Canal

Maersk is expanding its gradual return to the Suez Canal, announcing that its MECL service linking India, the Middle East and the U.S. East Coast will once again transit the Red Sea after recently confirming a similar move for the AE15 service.

The carrier said the change follows the successful Red Sea transit of the Majestic Maersk and represents another step in its phased restoration of services through the region after nearly three years of widespread diversions around the Cape of Good Hope due to Houthi attacks on shipping.

The latest move also revives Maersk’s MECL service through the Suez Canal after an earlier attempt proved short-lived. The carrier initially restored the service in January following successful trial transits, but later rerouted it back around the Cape of Good Hope as security concerns resurfaced in the Red Sea.

The MECL service, operated solely by Maersk, connects the U.S. East Coast with India and the Middle East. By returning to the trans-Suez route, westbound transit times will improve by an average of seven days, while eastbound voyages will be shortened by about 14 days compared with the Cape of Good Hope routing.

The first westbound sailing via the Suez Canal will be aboard Maersk Denver (voyage 627W), while the first eastbound sailing will be aboard Maersk Chicago (voyage 624E).

As part of the network changes, Maersk will also add an eastbound call at Jeddah beginning in August. The revised eastbound rotation will be: Charleston – Savannah – Houston – Norfolk – Newark – Tangier – Jeddah – Salalah – Mundra – Pipavav – Nhava Sheva.

“The Suez Canal is a vital maritime corridor between East and West and a key driver of efficient global supply chains,” Maersk said in a customer advisory, adding that the route offers the fastest and most efficient connection between India, the Middle East and the U.S. East Coast.

Like its earlier AE15 announcement, Maersk stressed that the move remains contingent on security conditions.

“The safety of crew, vessels, and customers’ cargo remains the highest priority,” the company said. “Should the security situation change… we have contingency plans in place” to return the service to the Cape of Good Hope route.

The announcement comes just days after Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd said their jointly operated AE15 Asia-Europe service would also resume transits through the Red Sea and Suez Canal.

Previously, Maersk was forced to suspend trans-Suez operations on its ME11 and MECL services in March, after an earlier attempt to restore those routes proved short-lived amid renewed security concerns.

The moves mark a continued but cautious expansion of the carriers’ return to the corridor after nearly three years of disruption caused by attacks on commercial shipping. Since late 2023, Iran-backed Houthi militants have targeted more than 100 merchant vessels in and around the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The campaign sank four commercial ships, seized the Galaxy Leader, killed multiple seafarers, and prompted most major container lines to divert vessels around the Cape of Good Hope, cutting Suez Canal traffic dramatically.

While security conditions in the Red Sea have improved enough for selected services to resume using the canal, carriers continue to closely monitor the wider conflict in the Strait of Hormuz and have warned that routings could change again if the threat environment deteriorates.

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