# Cosco Reopens Red Sea – Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd Expand Suez Services **Category:** Operational Alerts | **Source:** Frachtportal Redaktion | **Published:** 2026-08-13 | **Updated:** 2026-08-14 **Tags:** Cosco, Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd, Gemini Cooperation, Rotes Meer, Suezkanal, Bab Al-Mandab, Seefracht, Asien Europa, Frachtraten, Logistik News, Transport News, Fracht News, Speditions News, Supply Chain News, Zoll News, Frachtportal News, Digitalisierung > Cosco as well as Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd are expanding their services through the Red Sea and Suez Canal. This could have major implications for transit times and capacity. --- Major container carriers are seeing movement in their route planning through the Red Sea. According to _The Loadstar_, Cosco has reopened bookings for a Far East-Red Sea service. The ships are to transit the Bab al-Mandab between Yemen and Djibouti. At the same time, Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd are expanding their gradual return via the Suez Canal. The joint Gemini service AE19 at Maersk and SE4 at Hapag-Lloyd will no longer be routed around the Cape of Good Hope, but instead through the Red Sea and Suez Canal. The change has been effective since August 10 and begins westbound with the _Berlin Maersk_. Already in July, Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd had relocated another Asia-Europe service AE15 and SE3 respectively to the Suez route. According to industry sources, CMA CGM is also already using multiple connections via this corridor. **However, this does not yet represent a complete return to the old normal situation.** Maersk explicitly states that there are currently no plans for a general switch of the entire East-West network. The shipping lines continue to monitor the security situation and can revert to the Africa route if conditions deteriorate. This point is particularly important. Practically simultaneously with the return of additional liner services, a fatal attack on the cargo ship _Tihamah_ in the Bab al-Mandab occurred on August 11. According to authorities, four crew members and two rescue personnel were killed. For container traffic, a broader return to Suez could nevertheless have significant consequences. The route around the Cape ties up ships considerably longer. If more services are routed through Suez again, the effectively available ship capacity in the market increases accordingly. This could exert pressure on spot rates in the medium term. However, an automatic or immediate reduction in freight rates cannot yet be derived from this—port congestion, demand, equipment availability, and security surcharges also play a role. --- For freight forwarders and shippers, this development above all means: monitoring routing and transit times more carefully again. A service that is currently offered via Suez can quickly revert to routing around the Cape if the security situation deteriorates. Accordingly, transit times should not be calculated too tightly when quoting to customers. For existing bookings, it is worthwhile to check what concrete rotation is behind the booked service. Especially for time-critical shipments, it should be clear whether the vessel actually transits through the Bab al-Mandab or continues to circumnavigate Africa. Freight rate developments will also be interesting. As more services return to Suez, fewer vessels will be needed for the long Cape rotations. This could free up additional capacity. This would generally be a negative factor for spot rates. At the same time, war, insurance, security surcharges, and short-notice diversions remain considerable uncertainties. Shippers should therefore not only look at the offered transit time, but also at routing, insurance conditions, and potential war risk surcharges. In short: The return to Suez is gaining momentum, but the Bab al-Mandab is still far from being a normal and reliably plannable shipping corridor. --- According to The Loadstar, Cosco has reopened bookings for a Far East-Red Sea service. The Cosco service is expected to transit the Bab al-Mandab. Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd are switching the Gemini service AE19/SE4 to the Red Sea and Suez Canal route. The switch has been effective since August 10, 2026. The first westbound voyage is the Berlin Maersk, Voyage 628W. Already in July, AE15/SE3 was switched back to the Suez route. Maersk currently has no explicit plans for a complete return of its entire east-west network via Suez. On August 11, the Tihamah was attacked in the Bab al-Mandab. According to Yemeni authorities, four crew members and two rescue workers were killed. According to Reuters, shipping traffic through Bab al-Mandab and the Red Sea remains significantly below pre-attack wave levels. ## Related Entities ### Countries - [Egypt](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/land/eg) - [Saudi Arabia](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/land/sa) - [Yemen](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/land/ye) - [Malaysia](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/land/my) - [Singapore](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/land/sg) - [China](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/land/cn) ### Glossary - [Booking](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/glossary/booking) - [Freight rate](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/glossary/freight-rate) - [Cargo ship](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/glossary/cargo-ship) - [Shipping company](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/glossary/shipping-company) - [Route planning](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/glossary/route-planning) - [Spot market](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/glossary/spot-market) - [Transit time](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/glossary/transit-time) - [Suez Canal Passage](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/glossary/suez-canal-passage) - [Suez Canal Passage Route Approval](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/glossary/suez-canal-passage-route-approval) - [Suez Canal Passage Weather Routing](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/glossary/suez-canal-passage-weather-routing) - [Rerouting management](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/glossary/rerouting-management) - [liner service](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/glossary/liner-service) - [Spot Rate](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/glossary/spot-rate) --- *Canonical URL: [https://www.freight-academy.com/en/news/cosco-oeffnet-rotes-meer-wieder-maersk-und-hapag-lloyd-bauen-suez-dienste-aus-20260812195240](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/news/cosco-oeffnet-rotes-meer-wieder-maersk-und-hapag-lloyd-bauen-suez-dienste-aus-20260812195240)* *Markdown mirror: [https://www.freight-academy.com/api/md/news/en/cosco-oeffnet-rotes-meer-wieder-maersk-und-hapag-lloyd-bauen-suez-dienste-aus-20260812195240](https://www.freight-academy.com/api/md/news/en/cosco-oeffnet-rotes-meer-wieder-maersk-und-hapag-lloyd-bauen-suez-dienste-aus-20260812195240)*