AP Moller-Maersk has restarted transits through the Suez Canal and Red Sea following a Gaza ceasefire, signaling a return to normalcy.
AP Moller-Maersk has resumed transits through the Suez Canal and Red Sea following improved stability after the Gaza ceasefire, reports London's Financial Times.
The company stated it would implement its first structural return to the trans-Suez route for its MECL service, which links the Middle East and India to the US east coast.
Container shipping groups have been weighing a return since Yemen's Houthi forces signaled in November that they would halt attacks on vessels. CMA CGM earlier this month resumed transits on its India America Express service.
A wider reopening of the corridor would end more than two years of disruption, cutting Asia-Europe transit times by up to two weeks and reducing the number of vessels needed, thereby lowering freight rates.
Xeneta analyst Peter Sand noted that a full-scale return could leave 6-8 percent of the global container fleet surplus, shifting the market balance against carriers.
Maersk's share price fell four percent after the announcement. The company indicated it would only return fully if conditions were safe, noting that one of its ships had successfully transited the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
Jon Gahagan of Sedna Global remarked that the ceasefire made it natural for Maersk to resume Red Sea operations, although the Houthi threat remains.
Analysts cautioned that the situation in the Middle East is volatile, with concerns heightened after US President Donald Trump raised fears of possible military action in Iran.
