Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd have moved another Gemini Cooperation service from the Cape of Good Hope to the Suez Canal as the carriers continue a gradual return to the Red Sea route.
The carriers announced on August 10 that the AE19 service would switch to the trans-Suez route following an assessment of the security situation in the Red Sea.
The new routing starts with Berlin Maersk voyage 628W on the westbound leg and voyage 637E eastbound, marking the end of Cape of Good Hope routing for the service.
AE19 connects Asia, the Mediterranean, Saudi Arabia and Europe. Its revised rotation includes Xingang, Qingdao, Busan, Ningbo, Shanghai, Tanjung Pelepas, Jeddah, the Suez Canal, Port Said and Tangier.
The change follows earlier decisions to move other services from the Cape routing back to the Red Sea and Suez Canal.
Maersk said the latest move represented another step towards a gradual return to the trans-Suez corridor and would provide more efficient transit times between Asia and Europe.
However, the carrier stressed that the AE19 switch did not signal an imminent wider return of its East-West network to Suez.
There were currently no plans to make further changes to other Gemini services and no specific timeline for a broader return, Maersk said.
“While this change is a significant step forward, we are not at a point where we are considering a wider East-West network change back to the trans-Suez corridor,” the carrier said.
