Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd Return India–Europe ME1 Service to Suez Canal
Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd will send their joint ME1 container service, which links India’s west coast with Europe, back through the Suez Canal in Egypt instead of the long voyage around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope. The service calls at Mundra in Gujarat and Nhava Sheva (Jawaharlal Nehru Port) near Mumbai, then sails via Salalah in Oman, the Red Sea and the Suez Canal to Tangier in Morocco and ports in North Europe.
The two carriers, partners in the Gemini Cooperation, announced the change on 2 November. According to The Week, the first westbound ship to use the Suez route is the Atlanta Express, sailing from Salalah on 4 November. The first eastbound voyage will be the Savannah Express, leaving Tangier on 13 November.
Most container lines stopped using the Red Sea and Suez Canal in late 2023 after Houthi attacks on merchant ships. The companies said the return “will remain dependent on the ongoing stability in the Red Sea area” and that they will keep a close watch on security in the Middle East.
Separately, Emirates Shipping Line has turned its South Red Sea service into a dedicated shuttle between Nhava Sheva and Jeddah Islamic Port in Saudi Arabia, with two ships calling about every nine days. Together, these changes give Indian exporters faster and more direct links to Europe and the Red Sea region, and add more mainline calls at India’s west coast gateway ports.
For seafarers, the return of the Suez route means crews on these ships will again pass through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Red Sea, where the security risk has not gone away. Crews joining ships on Red Sea routes should be briefed on the latest security advisories, the ship security plan and their rights under warlike-area agreements before the transit.
