Gemini’s Suez comeback is starting with a relay service, not a clean return to old direct patterns.
From late November, Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd plan to run the AE18/SE5 China–West Mediterranean loop via Suez, with a 13,100-TEU vessel due to leave Shanghai on 22 November. Its published rotation runs through Xiamen, Tanjung Pelepas, Algeciras and Tangier before returning via Algeciras and Xiamen.
That “hub-only” design matters: West Mediterranean ports are being used to feed onward cargo, including flows toward West Africa and Latin America. Other Gemini loops are also changing calls—Rotterdam replaces Tangier on one North Europe service, while Port Said, Salalah, Damietta and Nansha enter the reshuffle.
The carriers say most services may be back through Suez during Q1 if conditions hold. For shippers, this is a staged network rebuild: check the actual transshipment hub and connection plan, not just whether a booking says “Suez.”