Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd to resume ME1 service via Suez from November
Key Facts
Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd announced that their joint ME1 service under the Gemini Cooperation will shift from the Cape of Good Hope route to the route through the Suez Canal. Maersk said the service will now sail via Suez instead of rounding the southern tip of Africa. ME1 connects India with Europe, and its published route includes Mundra, Nhava Sheva and Salalah before transiting the canal. From there, ships head to Tangier, Rotterdam, Wilhelmshaven, Hamburg, London and Algeciras, then return via Tangier, Suez and Salalah to Mundra. The company said the switch will offer customers more efficient transit times, without specifying how many days it will save on the ME1 service.
The westbound route change begins with the Atlanta Express, voyage 644W, which departs Salalah on November 4. Salalah will be its last port before switching to the new route. The first eastbound sailing on the revised route will be the Savannah Express on voyage 644E. The ship departs Tangier on November 13, its last port before switching. The two dates mark the start of implementation in each direction, with ships transitioning in stages according to their sailing schedules and the ports they call at before the change.
Maersk describes the Suez and Red Sea route as the fastest, most sustainable and most efficient option for transport between India and Europe. In its announcement about ME1, the company linked the switch to more efficient transit times for customers, without publishing a service-specific time estimate. The companies had previously announced a structural change to their joint ME11 service on February 3, 2026, routing it through the Red Sea and Suez Canal from mid-February. The two announcements put two Gemini services on this route at different times during the year. But the ME1 change applies specifically to that service and does not announce the return of all Gemini services to the Red Sea and Suez.
Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd made any further changes to Gemini services conditional on continued stability in the Red Sea region. The companies said the safety of crews, ships and cargo remains a priority, making regional stability a condition for continuing operational changes. This follows disruption to shipping that led companies to reroute voyages around the Cape of Good Hope. The World Bank estimated Egypt's losses in foreign-currency revenue linked to reduced traffic through the Suez Canal at about $11 billion between December 2023 and July 2025. It also cited a temporary 15% discount on transit fees during the first half of 2025 to support the return of Red Sea traffic.
Suez Canal Authority data showed improvement in transit indicators in the first half of fiscal year 2025/2026 compared with the same period of the previous fiscal year. The number of transiting ships rose 5.8%, net tonnage increased 16%, and revenue climbed 18.5%. From the start of 2026 through February 8, 1,315 ships transited the canal, with net tonnage of 56 million tons, generating revenue of $449 million. In the corresponding period of 2025, the number of ships was 1,243, tonnage was 47 million tons and revenue was $368 million. On an annual basis, the canal recorded 12,758 ships in 2025, compared with 13,213 in 2024, a decline of 3.4%; container-ship tonnage also fell 3.1%.
Security risks remained part of the debate over a return to the Red Sea. Le Monde reported that the CMA CGM container ship Champs-Élysées was targeted by a drone near Bab el-Mandeb on October 1, and that a French frigate escorting it intercepted the drone. The ship, according to the newspaper, had capacity for 23,000 containers. In its report published on October 15, the newspaper said cargo transiting the Suez Canal rose 54.2% in the first eight months of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025. It also said the route around the Cape of Good Hope adds at least 10 days to a voyage. Against this backdrop, the companies kept regional stability as a condition for any changes to Gemini services.
Maersk is scheduled to publish its third-quarter financial report on November 5, 2026, at around 8:00 a.m. Central European Summer Time. The company will hold a call and webcast for investors and analysts the same day at 11 a.m. local time. The report date comes one day after the scheduled departure of the Atlanta Express from Salalah and before the Savannah Express departs Tangier on November 13. The company did not link the route announcement to financial forecasts or a specific impact on its results. The announced implementation dates will begin with westbound and eastbound ME1 sailings, while any subsequent changes to other services remain subject to Red Sea stability.