Maersk has announced that its MECL service will return to the trans-Suez route via the Red Sea, following the successful transit of Majestic Maersk and the earlier structural changes to its AE15 service.
Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd return AE15 service to Suez route
The carrier said the move marks another step in its gradual return to the Suez Canal corridor, restoring a faster and more efficient route between India, the Middle East and the US East Coast.
The revised routing will improve westbound transit times by an average of seven days and eastbound transit times by an average of 14 days.
The first westbound sailing via the Red Sea will be Maersk Denver voyage 627W, while the first eastbound sailing will be Maersk Chicago voyage 624E.
As part of the changes, Maersk will also introduce a new eastbound call at Jeddah from August. The updated eastbound rotation will be: Charleston, Savannah, Houston, Norfolk, Newark, Tangiers, Jeddah, Salalah, Mundra, Pipavav and Nhava Sheva.
Maersk said it will continue to closely monitor the security situation in the Middle East and has contingency plans in place should conditions require the service to revert to the Cape of Good Hope route.
