Maersk, MSC and other giants are returning to the Red Sea route in bulk
Driven by the marginal easing of the security situation in the Red Sea region, in July and August 2026, leading global shipping companies such as Maersk Line, Hapag Lloyd, Daffy, and Mediterranean Shipping MSC began the restoration work of the Red Sea Suez Canal channel in batches and voyages, ending the previous situation where almost all of the Asia Europe route circumnavigated the Cape of Good Hope in Africa. However, the industry as a whole maintained a limited resumption mode and did not unconditionally fully open up Red Sea passage.
Maersk and its alliance partner Hapag Lloyd have taken the lead in launching resumption operations. In early July, they completed structural adjustments to the AE15 Asia Mediterranean main route under Gemini Cooperation, switching from circumnavigating the Cape of Good Hope to passing through the Red Sea Suez Canal. The route also added Jeddah Port in Saudi Arabia to meet the demand for cargo flow in the Middle East region; After the smooth operation of AE15, Maersk continued to expand the scope of resumption of flights, gradually resuming multiple Asia Europe and regional routes such as MECL, AE19, and WAF6 via the Suez Canal. As of August, Maersk has returned about 30% of its original traffic that bypassed the Cape of Good Hope to the Red Sea Passage, and resumption of flights has entered the implementation stage. Following closely behind, the Dafei ship completed partial bi-directional Red Sea passage and landing on the Asia Europe route; In early August, although MSC, the Mediterranean shipping company, did not issue an official announcement for the resumption of operations across the entire network, the actual implementation level has accelerated water trials. In the first two weeks of August alone, seven Asia Europe east-west voyages actually crossed the Strait of Mandeb and passed through the Suez Canal, testing the operating conditions of the Red Sea Passage in the form of voyage pilot projects.
This resumption of voyage is not a comprehensive return after the situation has completely improved. Each shipping company has established a dynamic safety assessment mechanism, and each voyage is evaluated separately based on intelligence and insurance coverage conditions. The safety of the crew and the ship remains in place, and the option to divert to Cape of Good Hope at any time is reserved. Although the frequency of attacks has decreased compared to the peak of the crisis, the geopolitical risks in the southern Red Sea and the vicinity of the Mandeb Strait have not been completely eliminated, and threats against associated ships still exist. War risk insurance premiums remain high. Based on risk grading control, shipping companies implement differentiated treatment: ordinary general cargo can be arranged to go through the Suez Canal according to the voyage, while some highly sensitive and high-risk goods are still forced to detour around the Cape of Good Hope and are not allowed to pass through the Red Sea, in order to avoid the risk of ship and cargo damage caused by attacks.
From the perspective of actual operational benefits, returning to the Suez Canal can significantly improve the pain points of the Asia Europe shipping route: compared to circumnavigating the Cape of Good Hope, a single voyage can shorten the sailing distance by 3500-4000 nautical miles, the westbound voyage can be shortened by about 7 days, and the eastbound voyage can be shortened by up to 14 days, significantly reducing fuel consumption, improving ship turnover efficiency, and alleviating the global container capacity shortage caused by port congestion and typhoon disturbances; However, crossing the Red Sea still requires bearing the cost of crossing the Suez Canal and additional insurance costs for Red Sea war risks, and the overall cost will not directly fall back to pre crisis levels.
The overall market level remains highly cautious, and the industry has not experienced the phenomenon of all ships unconditionally returning to the Red Sea. On the one hand, some insurance institutions still hold a conservative attitude towards underwriting in the Red Sea, which restricts the large-scale resumption of flights; On the other hand, in the past, long detours around the Cape of Good Hope have led shipping companies to restructure some of their route networks, ports, and inland supporting links. Switching back completely to the original Suez network also incurs high adjustment costs. Most shipping companies adopt a "two legged approach" strategy: some voyages ensure timely delivery in the Red Sea at Suez, while others continue to circumnavigate the Cape of Good Hope as a safety backup. Once the Red Sea safety situation changes, the circumnavigation plan can be quickly adjusted. Freight forwarders and foreign trade shippers are also reminded that even if the booking shows transit through Suez, they still need to reserve contingency plans for temporary diversion and delayed shipping schedules, and cannot completely assume the stable operation of the Red Sea Channel.