Shipping Alliances Resume Suez Canal Asia-Europe Routes

Multiple shipping alliances are shifting Asia-Europe services back through the Suez Canal following months of Cape routing due to Houthi attacks. October 2024 will see almost all global ocean carriers make a tentative return to Suez transits on Asia-Europe sailings, marking a significant change in global trade flows as carriers abandon costly detours.

The Premier Alliance is preparing to send one of its Asia-Europe strings back through the Suez Canal this month. Partners ONE, HMM and Yang Ming will switch the Southeast Asia-North Europe FE1 service back to Suez from October. This marks the alliance’s first move away from the Cape routing adopted in January 2024. Until this point, the Premier Alliance had ranked among the leading holdouts while rival operators steadily reconstructed services through the Red Sea.

Gemini partners Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd are stepping up their own return to Suez. Hapag-Lloyd has confirmed that the SE1 service will send the Umm Qarn towards Suez from Tanjung Pelepas on October 27. This builds on prior changes affecting the NE4, SE2 and IEX loops.

Specific vessel movements signal broader trend

The Premier Alliance’s ONE Continuity is set to lead the return, with detailed schedules showing Suez transits and European arrivals in October and November. Revised pro forma shipping schedules show the alliance is set to send one of its vessels on the route through the Red Sea and Egyptian waterway.

According to the new FE1 pro forma, ONE Continuity will arrive at the Suez Canal on 9 November. The vessel was reassigned to the Premier Alliance’s FE1 Asia-North Europe service. It will then arrive at its first European port of call, Rotterdam, on 19 November. The inaugural departure is set to be the 8,110 teu ONE Continuity, leaving Laem Chabang on October 17.

Other vessels in the FE1 service are also scheduled for Suez transits after leaving Asia in November and December.

Wider industry shift confirmed by data and schedules

Cosco and other carriers are also resuming Suez transits, with Linerlytica confirming over 140 vessels representing 2m teu have switched routes since May. After nine eastbound voyages scheduled via the canal since mid-September, Cosco will make its first westbound voyage through the Suez in more than two years with the 24,200 teu OOCL Spain on the AEU1/LL1 service on 4 October. This service is part of the Ocean Alliance’s Asia-North Europe network.

Linerlytica noted that last week had marked the busiest week for containership transits through the Suez Canal since 2024, as 30 ships of over 4,000 teu passed through. The analyst calculates that since May, a total of 140 boxships have made the 'structural switch' from Cape of Good Hope routings to Suez, equivalent to just over 2m teu in capacity.

Context: congestion, rates, and security concerns persist

Despite the return to Suez, congestion ties up over 8% of the global fleet, freight rates are declining, and naval escort demand exceeds EU capacity. Maritime Strategies International estimates that around 35% of Asia-Europe sailings are already using the Red Sea.

Freight rate data shows a recent decline. Sea-Intelligence puts the share of global fleet tied up by congestion above 8% and estimates that disruption could require seven to 10 months to unwind fully. Linerlytica estimates 3.76m teu, or 10.9% of the global fleet, is currently tied up by congestion.

Demand for naval escorts through the southern Red Sea has grown. The EU’s Aspides mission has acknowledged that available warships are insufficient to cover all requests.

The Premier Alliance’s ONE Continuity will arrive at Rotterdam on 19 November after transiting the Suez Canal on 9 November.