Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk Reroute Another Joint Asia-Europe Service to the Red Sea
Key Takeaways
- •Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk are structurally modifying their Gemini SE4 service to transit through the Red Sea instead of around the Cape of Good Hope.
- •The Berlin Maersk will conduct the first westbound sailing on the newly revised SE4 routing.
- •This is the second joint service the carriers have returned to the Suez Canal route, following the July rerouting of their AE15 Asia-Mediterranean-Europe service.
- •Houthi attacks on commercial vessels since late 2023 had caused most major container lines to avoid the Red Sea, adding approximately 10 to 14 days to Asia-Europe voyages.
- •The Gemini Cooperation, launched in 2024, is a long-term operational partnership in which Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk share vessel capacity across their combined networks.
Container shipping companies Hapag-Lloyd and A.P. Moller-Maersk are shifting another joint Asia-Europe service back to the Red Sea.
Since late 2023, attacks by Yemen's Houthi forces on commercial vessels in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait have led most major container lines to reroute around Africa's Cape of Good Hope, adding roughly 10 to 14 days to Asia-Europe voyages and increasing fuel and operating costs. The gradual return of select services to the Suez Canal route reflects carriers' ongoing reassessment of the security landscape.
According to a Hapag-Lloyd update emailed on Monday, the carriers have made a structural change to their Gemini SE4 service, which will now transit via the Red Sea rather than around the Cape of Good Hope. The first westbound sailing on the revised routing will be undertaken by the Berlin Maersk.
Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk stated that the Red Sea routing offers a more direct and faster connection between Asia and Europe. The companies emphasized that the safety of crews, vessels, and cargo remains their highest priority and that they will continue to monitor the security situation.
This rerouting follows the carriers' decision in July to return their AE15 service — which connects Asia with the Mediterranean and Europe — to a path through the Suez Canal.
The Gemini Cooperation was launched in 2024 as a long-term operational partnership under which Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk share vessel capacity across their combined networks.
Source: Ship & Bunker
