News / Maersk dampens Suez authority claim of early box line return to the canal

Efforts by the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) to ‘jump the gun’ – suggesting a return of container shipping to the Red Sea as early as next month – appear to have backfired after Maersk refuted claims that its vessels would be using the waterway anytime soon.

However, there are indications other carriers may be closing in on resuming services faster than had initially been intended, with CMA CGM yet to refute the SCA’s suggestion and Zim making noises about a near resumption of Red Sea transits.

Citing an “historic agreement” with the Danish shipping giant, SCA announced that vessels affiliated to Maersk would begin transiting the canal “early next December” and also that this would be a “precursor to the full-capacity return”.

“Early next December” has been widely interpreted as meaning next month, but Maersk was swift in shooting down any suggestions that its ships were near a return to operations in the Houthi-besieged waterway.

A Maersk spokesperson told The Loadstar this morning that while they believed SCA was referencing a December 2025 return, the container line had yet to line up a “specific date” for a resumption of Red Sea operations.

Maersk said the reports followed an SCA press conference, attended by AP Møller Maersk Group CEO Vincent Clerc, when the two announced an extension of their partnership.

The statement noted: “At today’s meeting, we also discussed the geopolitical situation in the region, including the continued progress of the peace process in Gaza and re-establishment of freedom of navigation in the Bab el Mandeb. Maersk will take steps to resume navigation along the east-west corridor via the Suez Canal and the Red Sea and, over time, normalise the transits on this route. This will proceed as soon as conditions allow, with safety of our crew as the top priority.”

Reiterating what Mr Clerc said during Maersk’s most recent earnings call, the spokesperson told The Loadstar services could not “simply be switched on and off”; it would involve test sailings and a “process of at least three months”.

Sources noted that this was not the first time SCA had “jumped the gun” on this issue, one pointing out that the canal authority was “obviously under great pressure”, given that prior to the start of the Houthi attacks it had contributed some 2% to Egypt’s GDP each year.

Although the Houthi siege of the Red Sea appears to have ended, the group confirming this was the case, carriers have remained cautious with the Iran-backed Yemeni militia having made similar statements in the past, only to resume attacks.

For SCA, the cost in lost earnings has been astronomical, last year revenue was down 60% year on year, amounting to a loss of $7bn, and while things have improved this year, SCA is projecting earnings of just $4.2bn, compared with the $10.3bn it netted in 2023.

In recent months there have been more transits by box lines, not least by CMA CGM, which, SCA claimed during the press conference, had resolved to “fully resume transits through the Suez Canal and Bab el-Mandab Strait in December”.

Vespucci Maritime CEO Lars Jensen pointed out that, unlike Maersk, he had yet to see a statement from the French liner confirming or denying the SCA statement, but noted that CMA CGM’s online schedule did, “to some degree”, support it. He pointed out there were Suez transits scheduled for the Asia-Med BEX2 and MEDEX services, the Asia-North Europe FAL-1 and FAL-3, Asia-Med MEX, and the South Asia-US East Coast INDAMEX service.

“This means on Asia-Med and North Europe services, CMA CGM does, from December, operate some degree of capacity on a Suez routing under the Ocean Alliance scope,” said Mr Jensen.

But, pointing out that these services would not be routing through Suez on all sailings, or in both directions, and stressed that the carrier was “clearly” not returning to the capacity levels it had running through the waterway prior to the Houthi siege.

He added: “Deployment is favouring the backhaul, where vessels are lightly loaded. It does point in a direction that CMA CGM is in a gradual process of shifting more capacity towards a Suez routing.” But he noted the carrier’s Ocean Alliance partners were yet to announce a return.
One carrier that does appear eager for a Red Sea return is Zim, with CEO Eli Glickman stating his belief that a “return to the Suez Canal in the near future now appears increasingly likely” and that Zim was “willing to go as fast as we can” to achieve this.

He said there would first need to be approval from shipowner and insurance company, but that once this was given, Zim would be resuming Suez Canal transits, despite any risks this would bring.
“While it will allow improved fleet efficiency and generate operational cost savings, it will also increase effective supply currently tied up by longer routes around the Cape of Good Hope, adding pressure on freight rates,” added Mr Glickman.