Maersk expects full return of its services to the Suez Canal by March 2027

Maersk expects all of its shipping services to resume operating through the Suez Canal by March 2027, the Suez Canal Authority reported following a virtual meeting held on October 20 with executives from the Danish carrier. The meeting was led by the Authority's Chairman and Managing Director, Admiral Ossama Rabiee, and by A.P. Moller-Maersk's Chief Operating Officer, Rabab Boulos.

Also taking part in the meeting were Ahmed Hassan, Maersk's Vice President of Operations, and Hany El-Nady, the group's representative for the Middle East and North Africa. The meeting addressed the company's sailing plans and schedules, as well as options to speed up the return of services that have not yet resumed transiting the Egyptian waterway. Both parties agreed to hold further meetings to continue bilateral cooperation.

Between January and late September 2026, the Suez Canal recorded 276 transits linked to Maersk, with a total net tonnage of 23.3 million tons. The figure contrasts with the 146 transits and 7 million net tons recorded over the same period in 2025.

Rabiee stated that rising fuel costs and freight rates have strengthened the economic case for large containerships to use the Suez Canal instead of rounding the Cape of Good Hope, and he also pointed to navigational safety as an advantage of the Egyptian route. Boulos, for her part, identified Suez as the group's preferred route due to the strategic relationship it maintains with the Canal Authority.

Hassan said that Maersk continues to adjust its schedules to allow more services to return, while El-Nady stated that the group is working to speed up the restoration of the remaining operations. In this context, the carrier has been shifting Gemini Cooperation alliance services back to Suez: the AE5, AE11, AE12 and ME2 services were to move from the Cape of Good Hope to the Egyptian canal, joining the AE15 and AE19 services, which were already operating on that route. These changes remain contingent on stability being maintained in the Red Sea region and on there being no escalation of regional conflicts.