Red Sea / Gulf of Aden – service updates

The situation in and around the Red Sea / Gulf of Aden continues to be volatile. As the risk in the Red Sea is heightened, we are now making changes to our MECL service. Our priority remains the safety of our seafarers, vessels, and your cargo.

As announced on Friday 26th January, our MECL service will start going around the Cape of Good Hope. This means the following effective changes on the service:

• Westbound:
• MECL will maintain normal rotation in Middle East/Pakistan/India.
• Service will proceed from Salalah to Algeciras via Cape of Good Hope.
• From Algeciras the usual routing to Newark will be applied.
• Changes will apply from Maersk Hartford, Port Qasim 27th February 2024
• Until Maersk Hartford the cargo from Middle East/India will be pre-carried by feeder to connect to MECL in Salalah
• Eastbound:
• MECL will proceed from Newark to Algeciras, as usual.
• The calls in Port Said and Djibouti will be removed. The cargo for Port Said will be discharged in Algeciras for further on-carriage. Djibouti bound cargo will discharge in Salalah for on-carriage to destination.
• After Algeciras, MECL will proceed around Cape of Good Hope to Salalah
• The change is in effect immediately.
• The existing times for port calls and respective cut-offs will be maintained to the extent possible.
• Transit times between USEC and India/Middle East and vice versa will be extended by 1 or 2 weeks by this change.

For customers with existing bookings on affected MECL sailings, please feel free to reach out to your local Maersk representative regarding next steps. Our teams are on hand to support with your planning, should you need any assistance.

We understand the potential impact this may have on your logistics operations, but please rest assured that all decisions have been carefully considered with safety primarily in mind.

While we continue to hope for a resumption of a normal MECL service in the near-future and do all we can to contribute towards it, the situation currently remains untenable. We thank you for your understanding during these significant disruptions to the global network.

The situation in and around the Red Sea / Gulf of Aden continues to be volatile. As we are now receiving intelligence informing us that the security risk is at a heightened level to what we have informed you of before, we are now making changes to our MECL service. Our priority remains the safety of our seafarers, vessels, and your cargo.

Effective immediately, MECL will no longer transit through the Red Sea, and instead go around the Cape of Good Hope. This means the following vessels will be changing their voyages.

• Maersk Detroit, Voyage 401W, will deviate and now go via Cape of Good Hope (via Algeciras) to the United States East Coast
• Maersk Atlanta, Voyage 402W, will deviate and now go via Cape of Good Hope to the United States East Coast
• Maersk Pittsburgh, Voyage 349E, will deviate and go via Cape of Good Hope
• Maersk Denver, Voyage 350E, will deviate and go via Cape of Good Hope
• Maersk Hartford, Voyage 351E, will deviate and go via Cape of Good Hope
• Maersk Columbus, Voyage 352E, is currently at Algeciras, and will go via Cape of Good Hope to Salalah

For customers with existing bookings on these MECL services, this means there will be some unavoidable delays. For more information on next steps, please reach out to your local Maersk representative.

We understand the potential impact this may have on customers’ logistics operations, but please rest assured that all decisions have been carefully considered. We will share more information on alternative solutions and options in the coming days.

While we continue to hope for a sustainable resolution in the near-future and do all we can to contribute towards it, the situation currently remains untenable, and we encourage customers to prepare for complications in the area to persist and for there to be significant disruption to the global network. Our teams are on hand to support with our customers with planning, should they need any assistance.

The situation in and around the Red Sea / Gulf of Aden is extremely volatile with all available intelligence at hand confirming that the security risk remains at a significant level. Due to the circumstances, we intend to make the following adjustments to our Transpacific services:

TP17: This service will continue to go via the Cape of Good Hope in both directions. Due to the deviation, which will lead to longer transport times, we will add an additional vessel. This will start from Maersk Sana voyage 408W departing Hong Kong on 18 February 2024.

TP12: This service will continue to go via the Cape of Good Hope on the US East Coast to Asia transit and will omit Salalah. This will be implemented from Georg Maersk voyage 403W departing Newark 25 January 2024.

TP16: This service will continue to go via the Cape of Good Hope on the US East Coast to Asia transit, with the window adjustment starting from Seroja Lima voyage 407E departing Xiamen on 16 February 2024. 

TP11: This service will continue to go via the Cape of Good Hope in both directions, with the window adjustment starting from Maersk Saigon voyage 407W departing Singapore on 22 February 2024. 

We understand the potential impact this may have on logistics operations, but customers can rest assured that all decisions have been carefully considered. We are making these changes to preserve weekly departures for our services with the goal of offering more predictability, reliability, and consistency, despite the associated delays that come with the current reroutings.  

While we continue to hope for a sustainable resolution in the near-future and do all we can to contribute towards it, the situation currently remains untenable, and we encourage customers to prepare for complications in the area to persist and for there to be significant disruption to the global network. Our teams are on hand to support with your planning, should you need any assistance. 

The situation in and around the Red Sea / Gulf of Aden is deeply volatile with all available intelligence at hand confirming that the security risk continues to be at a significantly high level. Due to the circumstances, we intend to make the following adjustments to our Asia – Europe services: 

AE5, AE10, AE6: There will be no changes to the coverage of these services, but we are expecting longer transit times. 

AE7: This service will omit Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on its eastbound voyage. For customers that use this service for Jeddah, you will be covered by the Red Sea West Mediterranean (WMED) feeder.

AE55: this service will omit the ports of Salalah and King Abdullah EB, instead calling Colombo for onwards connections to destinations in the Middle East region. 

AE11: this service will have changes. The new rotation is Qingdao – Busan – Ningbo – Shanghai – Xiamen – Nansha – Yantian – Singapore – Valencia – Barcelona – Gioia Tauro – Port Tangier - Singapore – Yantian – Qingdao. 

On the eastbound rotation Port Said, King Abdullah, Abu Dhabi and Jebel Ali are being omitted. On westbound callings, Port Said and Gioia Tauro are being omitted. We are swapping the order of Valencia and Barcelona and adding Port Tangier on the eastbound rotation. 

AE12 this service will have changes. The new rotation is Xingang – Dalian – Busan – Ningbo – Shanghai – Shekou – Singapore – Port Said – Koper – Trieste – Rijeka – Trieste – Port Tangier - Singapore – Xingang. 
This service will omit Jeddah. On eastbound rotations, it will omit King Abdullah.
Port Said is being replaced by a West Mediterranean call. The Adriatic rotation remains unchanged.  

AE15: there are changes to this service. The new rotation is Busan – Shanghai – Ningbo – Shekou – Singapore – Port Said – Yarimca – Istanbul – Asyaport – Port Said - Abu Dhabi – Jebel Ali – Singapore – Shekou – Busan.
This service will omit King Abdullah and Piraeus on east- and westbound. 

We understand the potential impact this may have on logistics operations, but customers can rest assured that all decisions have been carefully considered. We are making these changes with goal of offering our customers more predictability, reliability, and consistency, despite the associated delays that come with the current re-routings.  

 While we continue to hope for a sustainable resolution in the near-future and do all we can to contribute towards it, the situation currently remains untenable, and we encourage customers to prepare for complications in the area to persist and for there to be significant disruption to the global network. Our teams are on hand to support our customers with planning, should they need any assistance. 

As the situation around the Red Sea / Gulf of Aden persists, we are working to maintain capacity and offer you the best possible reliability for your supply chains.

This includes through the introduction of a new service between the Middle East, India, and Sri Lanka, as well as ensuring connections to Europe and the Far East.

From 5 February 2024, we will launch a new weekly Chennai service. Its rotation will be is Salalah, Oman – Colombo, Sri Lanka – Ennore, India - Colombo, Sri Lanka - Salalah, Oman.

In Colombo, we will have connections to Europe through our AE7 service and to the Far East with our AE55 service. Both these services include West Mediterranean hubs offering connections to North Europe.

For the latest information, you can visit our dedicated Red Sea / Gulf of Aden page. To access the latest on your specific bookings, please use shipment and container tracking on Maersk.com.

If you need additional support, our teams are standing by to help in any way you need. Don’t hesitate to contact us.

New Middle East and Asia services

As the situation around the Red Sea / Gulf of Aden persists, we are taking steps to offer our customers greater predictability. At the same time, we will continue support them to manage their supply chains effectively and efficiently. This includes through enhancing our Intra-West Coast Asia coverage with the launch of new weekly services for the Middle East and Asia, as follows:

• Gulf Service
  • Serving Salalah, Oman - Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates – Doha, Qatar – Damman, Saudi Arabia - Al Jubayl, Saudi Arabia - Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates – Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates - Duqm, Oman – Salalah, Oman.
  • First sailing: San Clemente departing from Salalah on 5 February 2024.
• Arabian Sea Service
  • Serving Salalah, Oman - Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates - Port Qasim, Pakistan – Pipavav, India - Nhava Sheva, India – Salalah, Oman.
  • First sailing: GSL Kalliopi departing Salalah on 9 February 2024.
• Red Sea West Mediterranean Service
  • Serving Port Said, Egypt – Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - King Abdullah, Saudi Arabia – Port Said, Egypt - Barcelona, Spain – Port Tangier, Morocco – Algeciras, Spain – Vado, Italy – Port Said, Egypt
  • First sailing: the Dina Trader departing Barcelona on 21 February 2024
• Red Sea Mediterranean Service
  • Serving Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - Port Said, Egypt – Port Tangier, Morocco – Port Tangier, Morocco - Port Said, Egypt
  • First sailing: the Celsius Nicosia departing Port Said on 18 February 2024

For the latest information on bookings, customers can consult shipment and container tracking on Maersk.com.

The situation in and around the Red Sea / Gulf of Aden remains volatile. Our priority remains the safety of our seafarers, vessels, and your cargo. With this in mind, we are making changes to our ME2 service, as outlined below. These changes will have the benefit of offering you greater predictability and reliability for your supply chain in this challenging environment.

For the time being, the ME2 service will be diverted via the Cape of Good Hope (COGH).

The revised rotation will be Jebel Ali, UAE – Mundra, India - Jawaharlal Nehru, India - Port Tangier, Morocco – Algeciras, Spain – Salalah, Oman - Jebel Ali, UAE. This means the service will turn in the West Mediterranean and westbound calls to Salalah and Jeddah will be paused until further notice.

The first eastbound sailing to be affected by this change will be the Maersk Gibraltar, which will depart from Port Tangier on 23 January 2024. The first westbound sailing to be affected will depart from Salalah around 4 February 2024.

To minimise any disruption to your business, the ports of Algeciras and Tangiers will be used for onward connections to northern Europe and the Mediterranean. We are also adding a feeder for Valencia, Spain and Vado, Italy. Our hubs in Salalah and Jebel Ali will offer connections to remaining locations in the Middle East.

For the latest information on bookings, customers can consult shipment and container tracking on Maersk.com.

The situation in and around the Red Sea / Gulf of Aden is deeply volatile with all available intelligence at hand confirmed that the security risk continues to be at a significantly high level. Due to the continuing situation, we will stop booking acceptance to and from Berbera/Hodeida/Aden, effective immediately.

For customers with existing bookings to or from Berbera/Hodeida/Aden on, we will of course honour them and endeavour that your cargo arrives to its destination with as minimal delays as feasible within operating scope in the region. For more information on your cargo, please reach out to your local Maersk representative.

We understand the potential impact this may have on your logistics operations, but please rest assured that all decisions have been carefully considered.

By temporarily stopping booking acceptance to and from Berbera/Hodeida/Aden, we hope to bring our customers more consistency and predictability despite the associated delays that come with the current re-routings.

While we continue to hope for a sustainable resolution in the near-future and do all we can to contribute towards it, the situation currently remains untenable, and we encourage customers to prepare for complications in the area to persist and for there to be significant disruption to the global network. Our teams are on hand to support with your planning, should you need any assistance.

The situation in and around the Red Sea / Gulf of Aden continues to be volatile and all available intelligence at hand confirms that the security risk remains at a significantly high level. Due to the continuing situation, we are making changes to the Blue Nile Express, as our priority remains the safety of our seafarers, vessels, and your cargo.

Effective immediately, the Blue Nile Express (BNX) will omit the Red Sea. The amended service rotation will now be Jebel Ali - Salalah - Hazira - Nhava Sheva - Jebel Ali. There is no expected impact to carrying capacity.

Additionally, we are implementing a temporary suspension of bookings to and from Asia/Middle East/Oceania /East Africa/South Africa to Djibouti, Djibouti on this service. As such, effective immediately, any new bookings for Djibouti on this service will not be accepted.

For customers with existing bookings to or from Djibouti on this service, we will of course honour them and endeavour that your cargo arrives to its destination with as minimal delays as feasible within operating scope in the region. For more information on your cargo, please reach out to your local Maersk representative.

We understand the potential impact this may have on your logistics operations, but please rest assured that all decisions have been carefully considered.

By making these changes to the BNX service and suspending voyages to and from Djibouti, Djibouti, we hope to bring our customers more consistency and predictability despite the associated delays that come with the current re-routings.

While we continue to hope for a sustainable resolution in the near-future and do all we can to contribute towards it, the situation currently remains untenable, and we encourage customers to prepare for complications in the area to persist and for there to be significant disruption to the global network. Our teams are on hand to support with your planning, should you need any assistance.