Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd shifting a Gemini service through Red Sea, Suez Canal in International Shipping News 06/02/2026 A full scale return of commercial shipping through the Red Sea and Suez Canal is closer after global container shipping majors Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd are switching some services. The two carriers jointly operate some services through the Gemini Cooperation, and the services to be rerouted are the ME11 service from India to the Mediterranean, and two others from Asia to the Mediterranean. Most commercial shipping stopped using the Suez Canal just more than two years ago because of missile and drone attacks from Yemen-backed Houthi rebels, who were attacking vessels affiliated with Israel. But tensions eased after a ceasefire was declared between Israel and Hamas, leading the Houthis to announce in November that they were halting attacks, prompting shippers to again look at the shorter route. Container shipping majors CMA CGM and Maersk have successfully transited the canal recently, but renewed tensions between the US and Iran led to sentiment that a full return to the route seems to be facing another delay. The announcements of the latest shift back toward the Suez Canal led Lars Jensen, president of consultant Vespucci Maritime, to declare that the “Red Sea reopening is beginning”. “Unless the situation with the Houthis suddenly deteriorates, this is highly likely to signal the beginning of a gradual return for all carriers over the coming months,” Jensen said. The return to full use of the Suez Canal will have more impact on Asia-Europe trade. Prior to the Red Sea issues, about 30% of all global container trade passed through the Suez, while only 12% of US-bound cargo typically used that route, meaning there was less of an impact on US-bound volumes. Container ships and costs for shipping containers are relevant to the chemical industry because while most chemicals are liquids and are shipped in tankers, container ships transport polymers, such as polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), which are shipped in pellets. They also transport liquid chemicals in isotanks. Source: By Adam Yanelli, ICIS, https://www.icis.com/explore/resources/news/2026/02/03/11177311/maersk-hapag-lloyd-shifting-a-gemini-service-through-red-sea-suez-canal/ 2026-02-06 hellenicshippingnews... window.___gcfg = {lang: 'en-US'}; (function(w, d, s) { function go(){ var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], load = function(url, id) { if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;} js = d.createElement(s); js.src = url; js.id = id; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }; load('//connect.facebook.net/en/all.js#xfbml=1', 'fbjssdk'); load('https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js', 'gplus1js'); load('//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js', 'tweetjs'); } if (w.addEventListener) { w.addEventListener("load", go, false); } else if (w.attachEvent) { w.attachEvent("onload",go); } }(window, document, 'script')); tweet Share