Shipping giants carefully navigate Red Sea Route again

German and Danish shipping giants Hapag Lloyd and Maersk announced in a routing update yesterday that they would resume services through the Red Sea route, effective immediately. This affects specifically their SE3 service, which is the gateway to Europe from China via the Middle East.

SE3 starts from Qingdao in China or Kwangyang in South Korea before continuing to Ningbo in China, just about 400 nautical miles away. The journey then continues to Tanjung Pelepas in Malaysia for Southeast Asian markets and Port Said and Damietta Port in Egypt near the Suez Canal for fast and efficient connections to Italy, Greece, the Black and Red Sea. On the return route, the ships will stop at the important ports of Colombo in Sri Lanka and Singapore.

Mid East gateway to Europe from Asia is open again

“Following a careful assessment of the current security situation in the Red Sea area, Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk have decided to implement a structural change to one of the Gemini services: effective immediately, the SE3 service will now sail via the Red Sea route instead of transiting via the Cape of Good Hope. The first sailing will be the Majestic Maersk,” stated the update.

“The Red Sea route is the most efficient connection for these voyages and helps us provide a more direct and faster transport option for our customers with transport between Asia and Europe. The safety of our crews, vessels and customers’ cargo remains our highest priority. We will continue to closely monitor the situation and inform affected customers in case of further relevant changes,” the shipping giants added.

Cautious return to the Red Sea

While this is a positive operational update, the garment industry remains cautious because the return to the Red Sea remains highly dependent on regional stability. On Sunday itself, a bulk cargo vessel came under attack in the southern Red Sea approximately 30 nautical miles (55 kilometres) southwest of Al Hudaydah (Hodeidah), a strategic Yemeni port city currently controlled by Houthi rebels.

According to maritime agencies including the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), a small skiff carrying armed assailants approached the bulk carrier and opened fire. Onboard private security guards engaged in a brief firefight with the attackers and successfully returned fire, after which the skiff retreated. Both the vessel and its crew are safe. No group has officially claimed responsibility for the attack yet.

Thus, western brands are maintaining diversified logistics strategies, such as keeping rail and air freight options on standby just in case geopolitical volatility forces another sudden rerouting. In addition, competition for container space is fierce and prices are still inflated.