A.P. Moller-Maersk (Maersk) and Hapag-Lloyd, partners in the Gemini Cooperation, have confirmed that a call at Jeddah will be added to the AE15 service’s rotation from August.
The addition follows the carriers’ earlier announcement that the service would revert to transiting via the Suez Canal.
The addition of Jeddah is aimed at improving connectivity between Asia, Europe and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and comes as the wider container shipping sector continues to recalibrate network structures in response to the shifting security picture in the Red Sea.
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The carriers said they would continue to monitor the security situation in the Middle East closely, stressing that any further changes to services within the Gemini Cooperation would remain contingent on stability in the Red Sea area. Both lines reiterated that the safety of crew, vessels and customers’ cargo remains their highest priority.
Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd confirmed that contingency plans remain in place should the security situation change, which could see individual sailings, or the broader structural shift of the service, revert to the longer Cape of Good Hope route around southern Africa.
For more information:
Maersk – https://www.maersk.com/
