Nine consecutive incident-free days in the Strait of Hormuz have coincided with the first expansion of Gemini Cooperation’s Suez Canal network since March, as Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd take a cautious step back toward normalized East-West routing.
The carriers will restore their AE15 service, connecting Asia with the Mediterranean and Europe via Qingdao, Kwangyang, Ningbo, Tanjung Pelepas, Port Said, Damietta, Colombo, and Singapore, from the Cape of Good Hope back to the faster Suez routing, beginning with the vessel Majestic Maersk. Maersk said crew and cargo safety remains its top priority, and it is prepared to revert to the Cape route if conditions deteriorate.
Although the Strait of Hormuz has seen its quietest period of the hostilities, maritime traffic sits at roughly a quarter to a third of pre-crisis levels, and carriers have not meaningfully eased restrictions despite the calm. In his latest commentary, Craig Reilly of DASA encouraged the industry to maintain transit time buffers and reported that dwell times remain elevated across the region. Reilly also warned that Suez Canal transit surcharges increase on July 15, with talk of a future toll regime for the corridor, which could keep transit costs structurally higher even after services resume.
IAM Member Impact: IAM repeats the advice from members in the region to maintain contingency routings and the transit times quoted throughout the conflict.
Source: gCaptain
Member Contributions: DASA