The Hamburg-based shipping company Hapag-Lloyd is returning to the Red Sea after more than two years of interruption due to attacks by the Houthi militia.
From mid-February, as part of the Gemini Cooperation between Hapag-Lloyd and the Danish shipping company Maersk, the IMX service — which connects India and the Middle East with the Mediterranean — will once again take the route through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, Hapag-Lloyd announced in Hamburg on Tuesday.
The ships will sail under the protection of naval units, the company said.
Many shipping companies still bypass Red Sea
So far, many shipping companies avoid the area and bypass the Red Sea because the Houthi militia, which is hostile to Israel, threatens shipping in the region.
The attacks by the Iranian-backed Houthis began in November 2023, more than a month after the start of the Gaza war.
Bottlenecks in the Red Sea include the Suez Canal and the Bab al-Mandab strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden in the south.
Due to the threat, many shipping companies still choose the route around the southern tip of Africa instead, which makes the routes more expensive but also brings higher freight rates for the shipping companies.
Hapag-Lloyd announced that the Albert Maersk heading west and the Astrid Maersk heading east were the first to pass through the Suez Canal. Both container ships are 351 metres long.
More services are expected to follow later.
Hapag-Lloyd stressed, “The highest possible security precautions are being taken, as the safety of the crews, the ships, and the customers’ cargo is of the utmost priority for both shipping companies.”
Gemini Cooperation since February last year
Both shipping companies have been working together in the Gemini Cooperation since February 1 last year, operating 29 joint mainliner and 29 joint shuttle services on the east-west trade routes.
Maersk is the world’s second-largest shipping company behind MSC, while Hapag-Lloyd ranks fifth.