Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd have announced the return of the Gemini Cooperation’s AE15/SE3 service to transit via the Suez Canal, after months of diversion around the Cape of Good Hope. The decision, announced by the two carriers on 6 July 2026, follows a joint assessment of the security situation in the Red Sea and takes effect with the departure of the container ship Majestic Maersk, the first vessel to sail the updated rotation. The service links Asia, the Mediterranean and Europe, calling at Qingdao, Kwangyang, Ningbo, Tanjung Pelepas, Port Said, Damietta, Colombo and Singapore. The rotation therefore remains unchanged in terms of ports covered, while the route between Asia and Europe changes, returning through the Red Sea instead of circumnavigating Africa.
In the statement issued on 6 July, Maersk described the Suez route as the fastest, most sustainable and most efficient connection between Asia and Europe, saying the change would allow shorter transit times for customers. Hapag-Lloyd presented the decision as a step towards a gradual return to the Suez corridor, subject to continued stability in the area and no escalation of conflicts in the region. AE15/SE3 is not the first Gemini service to return to the historic route: in early 2026, Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd had already shifted the ME11 service to Suez following a similar security assessment, in what the two carriers describe as the progressive normalisation of the network. The same sources specify, however, that no changes are currently planned for the other Gemini services, and that a structural return of the entire East-West network to the Suez corridor is not yet under discussion.
