Maersk Returns to Red Sea as Container Transits Hit 10-Week High

After months of Houthi-driven diversions around Africa's Cape of Good Hope, container shipping on the Suez Canal-Red Sea corridor is showing tentative signs of recovery. Data from Drewry's Red Sea Diversion Tracker reveals that containership transits reached a 10-week high in mid-May, with 32 vessels transiting the week of May 17—marking the highest weekly count since the conflict escalation in February 2024. Notably, Maersk has resumed limited operations on the route, specifically on a Gemini service loop with Hapag-Lloyd that connects Asia, the Mediterranean, and Saudi Arabia via a hybrid routing model. However, the recovery remains fragile and geographically constrained.

Only three major carriers—CMA CGM (7 ships), MSC (3 ships), and Maersk (1 ship)—deployed vessels larger than 8,000 TEUs via Suez during the week of May 17. Maersk's participation is limited to the northern reaches of the canal, suggesting a cautious, selective approach rather than full-scale return. Critically, the Cape of Good Hope remains the dominant route with approximately 190-200 transits per week, underscoring that the majority of Asia-Europe container traffic continues to accept the extra two weeks of transit time as a security premium over Suez-Red Sea exposure. For supply chain professionals, this signals neither a return to pre-crisis normalcy nor a structural shift.

Rather, it reflects carriers' incremental testing of Suez viability through carefully constructed service loops that balance cost optimization against geopolitical and security risk. The fragmented carrier participation and continued dominance of the Cape route suggest that full normalization remains distant, with operational and commercial uncertainty likely to persist for months.