Maersk-Hapag Alliance to Send Ships Through Red Sea with Naval Assistance
The alliance between Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd will start for the first time to send vessels through the Red Sea as part of its gradual return to the shipping routes. The carriers, however, emphasized their focus on safety, noting that “All transits will be secured by naval assistance.”
The Gemini Cooperation, launched by the two carriers a year ago, has yet to send vessels through the Suez Canal - Red Sea corridor, although Maersk had begun trips through the region on some of its independently operated routes. Starting in mid-February, they report that the alliance’s route, which connects India to the Middle East and the Mediterranean, will switch to the route. The first westbound sailing will be on the Albert Maersk (16,592 TEU built in 2025), and the first eastbound will be on the Astrid Maersk (16,592 TEU built in 2024). Notably, the service will involve some of the company’s newly built dual-fuel vessels.
For Hapag-Lloyd, it will mark its first return to the route since the start of 2024. The Gemini Cooperation said it is also planning to send two other services, routes between Asia, the Adriatic ports, and Turkey, through the Red Sea and Suez Canal at “a later stage.” It said no further changes, however, are “foreseen at this stage.”
“The highest possible security precautions will be undertaken, as the safety of the crew, the vessels, and the customers’ cargo remains the highest priority of both carriers. Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd will continue to monitor the security situation in the Middle East region very closely, and any alteration to the Gemini service will remain dependent on the ongoing stability in the Red Sea area and the absence of any escalation in conflicts in the region,” the carriers wrote in the announcement.
Aspides supporting one of CMA CMG's giants in January 2026 (EU NAVFOR Aspides)
The “naval assistance” will come as the EU NAVFOR Operation Aspides marks its second anniversary. The European Union launched it as a defensive effort to protect vessels in the Red Sea against the Houthis’ attacks. Aspides reported in January that it had supported more than 1,450 merchant vessels. CMA CGM has used the services with frequent pictures of its vessels also being escorted through the danger zone.
The Gemini Cooperation said its goal is to keep disruptions for customers to a minimum. At the same time, the return to the routes reduces distance traveled and will dramatically shorten transit times and lower costs for the carrier.
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The expansion of service through the region by Gemini, following Maersk and CMA CGM’s return to the corridor, is likely to increase pressure on other carriers to explore the return to the routes. The Suez Canal Authority has been anxious to encourage a resumption of transits, and despite continued tensions, it has been more than six months since there have been confirmed attacks by the Houthis.
Analysts have, however, noted that the return to the Red Sea routing would likely free up capacity that was used to offset the longer transit times. It could lead to overcapacity in the sector and possibly the anticipated, but much delayed, recycling of older vessels.