Danish carrier Maersk, the world’s second largest liner, has taken its first structural step back into the Red Sea, deciding to reroute its MECL service, connecting the Middle East and India with the US east coast, through the Suez Canal after months of Cape of Good Hope diversions.

The service, which is fully operated by Maersk and not part of any alliance network, allows the carrier to return to the originally designed pattern, cutting transit times and restoring what it says is the most efficient routing for customers.

The structural return kicks off with the Cornelia Maersk, an 8,650 teu Danish-flagged vessel, departing Oman’s port of Salalah on January 26, while the Maersk Detroit will become the first eastbound ship back through Suez on February 3.

The decision follows two initial trial sailings through the corridor of the Maersk Sebarok and the Maersk Denver and forms part of a gradual, stepwise approach to resuming East–West navigation via the Red Sea. The group stressed that the move remains conditional on the security situation in the region holding steady.

The carrier said it will continue to monitor developments closely and has contingency plans in place should tensions flare again. These include reverting individual MECL sailings, or the entire service, back to the longer Cape route if required.

Maersk has long maintained that the trans-Suez route is its preferred option when conditions allow. The Suez Canal and the Red Sea corridor offer the fastest and most fuel-efficient link between East and West, with clear benefits for emissions and schedule reliability compared with the Cape of Good Hope.

The company added that close cooperation with the Suez Canal Authority has been central to planning the return, with ongoing coordination aimed at ensuring safe operations and predictable service levels as Maersk cautiously edges more services back through the corridor.