In November 2022, liner shipping companies, mostly members of THE Alliance, began rerouting ships on the Asia-Europe route around the Cape of Good Hope instead of taking the usual route through the Suez Canal.
Alphaliner had estimated that this move helped keep the decommissioned fleet at just 2% of the active fleet, as the longer route would mean using more ships to transport cargo.
The diversion also saw the ships steam slowly at just 10 knots, absorbing two additional ships for each weekly loop.
According to Linerlytica, the last voyage on the Cape route was that of the 19,870 TEU Al Zubara, which departed Rotterdam on March 5 after 10 consecutive voyages skipping the Suez route.
The Cape route ended on February 2nd after seven departures on the FE3 and on January 24th after seven departures on the FE4.
The return to the Suez route will reduce overall transit time by one week and allow THE Alliance to return to regular sailings following the hidden sailing programs introduced on the three affected routes since January 2023.
Linerlytica analyst Tan Hua Joo told Container News: “The route across the cape was intended as a temporary measure. It is not economically feasible to travel this route as the transit time is much longer and does not justify the savings from canal tolls.”
Source: www.maritimegateway.com
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