Evergreen Joins the Return to Red Sea Shipping

Taiwanese carrier Evergreen has returned to the Red Sea route after a three-year absence, a sign that the industry is increasingly confident in the security situation off the coast of war-torn Yemen.

On Saturday, the boxship Ever Eon became the first Evergreen vessel to transit the Suez Canal in years, according to the canal authority. SCA Chairman Ossama Rabiee welcomed the vessel on her eastbound journey from the Netherlands to Singapore, and he had the administration's senior pilots present the ship's master with a commemorative gift.

Ever Eon is a 16,500 TEU ULCV built just last year, and she operates on the Ocean Alliance NEU 7 service, a string on the core Asia-Northern Europe trade lane. Her transit is the first Red Sea run in years for Evergreen, but not the last: the line plans to resume service through Suez with more voyages, Rabiee said.

The addition of Evergreen adds to the expanding number of the world's boxship operators who have come back to the Red Sea. CMA CGM sustained service in the Red Sea for much of the crisis period. Maersk, MSC, Hapag Lloyd and COSCO have all returned at this point, reducing tonne-miles, fuel burn and time in transit for Asia-Europe shipments (when compared with the Cape of Good Hope route).

This story was originally published by The Maritime Executive. Read the full story at The Maritime Executive →