EMEA News
Maersk Plans Return to Suez Canal in Move That May Cut Global Bunker Demand
Global container shipping and logistics firm AP Moller-Maersk is planning a return to use of the Suez Canal, after avoiding the area because of Houthi attacks, signalling a drop in global bunker demand may be on the way.
Following a meeting with the Suez Canal Authority, the company is planning an initial return of some of its vessels to using Suez from next month, the canal authority said in a statement on its website on Tuesday.
On Maersk's side the timeline is less clear, with a company spokesperson telling Reuters it had not yet set a date.
"The coming period will witness intensive discussions with all shipping lines to review and adjust sailing schedules and the timing of vessels resuming transit through the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandab Strait," the SCA said.
The authority also noted that France's CMA CGM plans a full resumption of transits through the canal from next month.
Major shipping firms have been avoiding Suez since the start of 2024 after the ramping-up of attacks from Yemen's Houthi movement on ships around the country's waters in response to the war in Gaza. The longer voyages needed around Africa as a result have temporarily elevated global bunker demand, and shifted some demand away from the Mediterranean and towards African ports.
"The Suez Canal has been, is, and will remain a pivotal pillar for the shipping operations of Maersk Group vessels," Maersk CEO VIncent Clerc said in the SCA statement.
"The return of the Group's vessels to transit through the Suez Canal is a positive step that will be followed by the return of many other shipping lines to the Red Sea region and the Suez Canal."
