On August 22, two of Maersk’s largest containerships successfully navigated the Suez Canal, a significant step in the company’s efforts to restore operations in the Suez Canal-Red Sea corridor. The Suez Canal Authority celebrated this milestone, particularly honoring the Bangkon Maersk, which received a special plaque in recognition of its inaugural transit through the canal.
Leading the convoy was the Mathilde Maersk, built in 2015, which is part of Maersk’s Triple E class—its largest vessels. With a deadweight tonnage of 214,121 and a capacity of 19,076 TEU, the Mathilde Maersk was en route to Colombo, heading towards the Far East. Following closely was the Bangkok Maersk, also launched in 2015 and making its first transit. This dual-fuel ship, capable of operating on methanol, has a capacity of 17,480 TEU and was traveling from Italy to Singapore.
Recently, Maersk, alongside Hapag-Lloyd, announced plans to shift more routes back to the Suez Canal, with expectations that all routes may be restored by year-end. The Suez Canal Authority noted that reverting to these routes could cut transit times by up to 14 days compared to navigating around South America. On the same day, a total of 57 vessels transited the canal, collectively weighing 2.8 million net tons.
