MSC Announces: Resume
Sunny Worldwide Logistics It is a logistics company with more than 20 years of transportation experience, focusing on markets such as Europe, the United States, Canada, Australia, and Southeast Asia. It is more of a cargo owner than a cargo owner~
Mediterranean Shipping Company, the world's largest container shipping company, recently launched limited resumption of sailings in the Red Sea and Suez Canal.
According to MSC's latest customer notification, subject to safety conditions permitting, the company has taken the lead in adjusting five specific voyages on four east-west routes, gradually changing the route from around the Cape of Good Hope back to the Suez Canal route.
This move is an important step for MSC to further expand the scope of trial navigation in the Red Sea, but it does not yet mean that its Asia-Europe routes have fully resumed Suez navigation.
Ship dynamics show that the "MSC MICHEL CAPPELLINI" has completed passage of the Suez Canal on August 25 and is currently sailing south into the Red Sea.
The first batch involves 4 routes and 5 voyages
MSC said that after a comprehensive assessment of the latest safety and operating conditions in the Red Sea region, it decided to partially restore traffic to the Suez Canal on a limited number of east-west routes.
The first batch of adjustments involves the following five voyages:
Jade route eastbound: "MSC MICHEL CAPPELLINI", voyage GJ632E, departed from Abu Qir Port, Egypt, on August 24;
Albatros route eastbound: "MSC JOSEFINA", voyage GA630E, departed from Jeddah Port, Saudi Arabia on August 24;
Himalaya route westbound: "MSC BERYL", voyage IS632A, is scheduled to depart from Vizhinjam Port, India, on August 31;
Tiger route westbound: "MSC ANNA", voyage GT629W, departed from Singapore on August 24;
Tiger route eastbound: "MSC TINA", voyage GT632E, departed from Mersin Port, Türkiye, on August 20.
Among them, the Jade and Tiger routes connect Asia and the Mediterranean, the Albatros route connects Asia and Northern Europe, and the Himalaya route connects India and the Mediterranean.
It should be noted that this arrangement involves 5 designated voyages among 4 routes, and not all subsequent ships on the above routes have been determined to divert to the Red Sea.
Bookings and sailing schedules will be updated gradually
MSC stated that the booking confirmations and online sailing schedules of relevant voyages will be gradually updated according to the new sailing plan, and route switching will be gradually implemented according to different services.
At the same time, the company still retains an contingency plan - if the security situation in the Red Sea region changes, individual voyages may be adjusted again, including re-circling the Cape of Good Hope.
MSC emphasized that it will continue to coordinate with relevant departments and security partners and continuously assess the regional situation. The safety of crews, ships and customer cargo remains the primary consideration.
About one-third of Maersk's regular routes have returned to the Red Sea
In addition to MSC, Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd are also gradually restoring Red Sea routes through the "Gemini Cooperation".
Maersk CEO Ke Wensheng previously stated that the company's first phase of recovery plan has been completed, and currently about one-third of the conventional Red Sea shipping capacity has re-passed the Suez Canal and Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
On August 10, Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd announced that they would adjust the AE19 route from circumnavigating the Cape of Good Hope to passing through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. This route connects Asia, the Mediterranean, Saudi Arabia and Europe. The first batch involves the westbound 628W and eastbound 637E voyages of the "Berlin Maersk".
However, Maersk also stated in an official notice that it has not yet determined a timetable for the return of a wider range of east-west routes to the Suez Canal. Whether to expand the navigation range in the future still depends on the security situation in the Red Sea.
Red Sea security risks have not yet been resolved
As MSC announced the route adjustment, ship safety incidents continued to occur in the Red Sea.
On August 24, the very large oil tanker "Amzan" owned by the Saudi national shipping company Bahri was hit by an unknown projectile in the waters west of Yanbu Port, and the main deck caught fire. Although all crew members were safe and no environmental pollution was reported, the incident once again showed that there is still great uncertainty in the navigation conditions of the Red Sea.
Therefore, MSC's resumption this time is closer to a trial operation that can be adjusted at any time, rather than a full resumption of sailings.
For freight forwarders and cargo owners, passage through the Suez Canal can shorten the transportation time between Asia and Europe, but at this stage, the actual route cannot be determined based on the route name alone.
When booking in the near future, you still need to verify the specific ship name, voyage and route on a ticket-by-ticket basis, and pay attention to possible changes in sailing schedules and surcharges caused by temporary deviations.
