In the early morning on December 19, the 2007-built Singapore-flagged boxship Maersk Sebarok completed a transit through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and into the Red Sea.

This marks the first time a Maersk vessel transited the strait in almost two years.

The company stated that the “highest possible safety measures were applied during transit” of the 6,500 teu vessel. The Maersk Sebarok is currently operating on Maersk’s MECL-service.

According to the company, this is a significant step forward, but it does not mean that Maersk is at a point where it is considering a wider East-West network change back to the trans-Suez corridor.

“Assuming that security thresholds continue to be met, we are considering continuing our stepwise approach towards gradually resuming navigation along the East-West corridor via the Suez Canal and the Red Sea,” the company explained.

Maersk claimed that this was the first step towards a return to that route. This will be followed by a limited number of additional trans-Suez sailings. However, the company has no planned sailings currently.