Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd are enhancing their use of the Red Sea and Suez Canal by adding a stop in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to their AE15 Asia-Mediterranean service. This decision comes amid ongoing conflicts between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Houthis, which adds uncertainties to the area.
Maersk revealed the updated route after the AE15 service, part of the Gemini Cooperation, returned to the Suez Canal following a period of detours around the Cape of Good Hope.
The new route will begin with the Madison Maersk on voyage 632W, operating as follows: Qingdao – Kwangyang – Ningbo – Tanjung Pelepas – Jeddah – Suez Canal – Port Said – Damietta – Suez Canal – Colombo – Singapore – Qingdao.
Adding Jeddah is significant as it brings the service into the Red Sea during a time when security situations are still quite volatile.
In early July, Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd announced that the AE15 service would shift from the Cape of Good Hope back to the Suez route, starting with the Majestic Maersk. The companies cited this adjustment as part of their ongoing efforts to restore their Suez Canal operations after evaluating security in the Red Sea.
Additionally, Maersk stated that its MECL service, which connects India, the Middle East, and the U.S. East Coast, will also return to the Red Sea and Suez Canal, beginning to add a call in Jeddah starting in August.
These actions reflect a cautious but noteworthy expansion of Maersk’s presence in the Red Sea after nearly three years of bypassing the area due to widespread disruptions around southern Africa. However, the timing coincides with a more complex security landscape.
The Houthis in Yemen resumed hostilities with Saudi Arabia in July, ending about four years of relative calm. This renewed conflict quickly impacted commercial shipping.
On July 20, the Houthis announced a “maritime embargo” against Saudi Arabia, threatening Saudi-related shipping in the Red Sea. Following this, several tankers transporting Saudi crude changed their routes, while the Houthis claimed they attacked Saudi oil tankers, including the Encelia and Layla.
These renewed hostilities pose additional challenges for the container shipping industry as major carriers seek to re-establish services through the Suez Canal.
Since late 2023, Houthi militants have targeted over 100 commercial vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, sinking four ships, seizing the Galaxy Leader, and resulting in multiple fatalities among seafarers. These attacks led many major container lines to redirect their routes around the Cape of Good Hope, significantly cutting down traffic and revenue through the Suez Canal.
Maersk has emphasized that its return to this route depends on security conditions and that it has contingency plans to reroute vessels if the threat level increases.
Nevertheless, adding Jeddah to the AE15 service marks another step in rebuilding the pre-crisis network of Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd in the region. It also places the Gemini service directly within a Saudi port during a time when Houthi threats are again targeting Saudi-related maritime traffic.