All four major shipping alliances have returned to the Suez Canal! The resumption of Asia–Europe services is accelerating, and shippers must verify the actual voyage route for each individual booking.

The resumption of Red Sea services has reached a landmark milestone: the four major shipping alliances—Gemini, Ocean Alliance, Premier Alliance, and MSC—now all have vessels once again transiting the Suez Canal. Previously, Gemini, Ocean Alliance, and MSC had either resumed or announced the resumption of Red Sea routes, while Premier Alliance, which had been perceived as relatively slow to act, has now disclosed specific vessel names and sailing schedules. This marks a transition from anticipation to concrete implementation as the major liner alliances return to operating through the Suez route.

Premier Alliance Announces Resumption of Two Asia–Mediterranean Services
         According to Kuehne+Nagel, citing Alphaliner and ONE customer notices, two Premier Alliance Asia-to-Mediterranean services will resume transiting the Suez Canal. Specifically, MD1 connects Asia with the Eastern Mediterranean; its 0106 voyage, operated by the vessel YM TRUST, is scheduled to load at Ningbo on November 10 and is expected to arrive in Damietta, Egypt, on December 7. The port rotation for this leg is: Ningbo–Shanghai–Shekou–Singapore–Suez Canal–Damietta–Istanbul–Izmit–Mersin, with the return journey via the canal to Singapore and Kaohsiung. MS2 links Asia with the Mediterranean; its 003 voyage, operated by the vessel ONE SYNERGY, is scheduled to load at Qingdao on November 16 and is expected to reach Piraeus, Greece, on December 28. The port sequence for this leg is: Qingdao–Busan–Shanghai–Ningbo–Kaohsiung–Shekou–Singapore–Suez Canal–Piraeus–Valencia–Barcelona–Genoa–La Spezia–Fos, with the return voyage transiting the canal back to Asia.

         It should be noted that different sources provide slightly varying accounts of the inaugural sailing dates—MD1 is cited as November 10, 13, or 14, while MS2 is listed as either November 16 or 28. Official confirmation from ONE and the shipping lines shall prevail for these details. Previously, Premier Alliance’s FE1 and IOX/INX services had already resumed Red Sea routes; with the addition of MD1 and MS2, the scope of their Suez reopening has expanded further.

The resumption of shipping routes is expanding rapidly, with Suez Canal transit capacity restored to more than 50% of pre-crisis levels.
         Overall data indicate that the resumption of shipping routes is progressing faster than market expectations. Shipping media outlet The Loadstar, citing Alphaliner data (covering September 15 to October 15), reports that among the 46 direct Far East–Europe services operated by the top ten liner companies, 24 now show vessels transiting the Red Sea, accounting for roughly 63% of capacity deployed on these routes—about 70% from Asia to the Mediterranean and around 58% to Northern Europe. Meanwhile, BIMCO, referencing Clarkson data, notes that during the first two weeks of October, average weekly container capacity passing through the Suez Canal stood at approximately 753,000 TEU, recovering to more than 50% of the level recorded in the same period of 2023 (around 1.457 million TEU)—a key threshold not breached since disruptions to Red Sea traffic began. The number of container ships rerouting via the Cape of Good Hope has fallen to roughly 180, the lowest level since January 2024.

         Yang Ming’s statement provides a more practical reference for the pace of operations. According to reports from Taiwan’s Industrial Times and United Daily News on October 29, Yang Ming Chairman Tsai Feng-ming revealed that the company has scheduled vessels to depart Asia on November 11, with an expected arrival in the Gulf of Aden on November 28, while continuously assessing transit conditions at ports such as Singapore along the route. The initial phase involves two sets of routes—the Eastern Mediterranean and the Western Mediterranean; additional routes will be gradually resumed in December, subject to decisions on navigational safety and alliance scheduling, and this will not represent a full resumption of services. By year-end, Premier Alliance expects to restore one Northwest Europe route and two Mediterranean routes via the Red Sea, collectively accounting for roughly 30% to 40% of the alliance’s major European capacity; it is estimated that by year-end, flights bound for Europe via the Red Sea (including alliance vessels) will comprise about 30% of all European sailings.

         Simon Heaney, head of container research at Drewry, said that the pace at which shipping lines have resumed using the Suez Canal has been “far faster than we anticipated.” The firm expects canal traffic to recover to 80% of normal levels by February 2027, and the resumption of Red Sea routes will free up approximately 1.6 million TEU of effective capacity in 2027. Following discussions with the Suez Canal Authority, Maersk’s chief operating officer, Rabab Boulos, stated that she expects all of Maersk’s services to resume transiting the Suez Canal by March 2027, while emphasizing that a full return to normal operations remains contingent on safety and operational considerations.

Resumption of services will proceed in phases, and shippers must verify the voyage route and schedule for each individual shipment.
         Based on the disclosed timeline, the resumption of Red Sea services is proceeding in phases and by route, rather than a single “full switchover” on one date. On November 10, the vessel YM TRUST made its maiden call at Ningbo, with MD1 sailing westbound into the Red Sea; in mid-November, ONE SYNERGY made its first call at Qingdao, followed by MS2; starting in December, Yang Ming’s second batch of routes will gradually resume; by February 2027, Drewry expects canal traffic to recover to 80% of normal levels; and before March 2027, Maersk anticipates a full restoration of all services. With each milestone reached, schedules for relevant Mediterranean and Northern Europe routes may change, and estimated arrival times in booking systems could be updated frequently over the next three months.

         For shippers, the most immediate impacts currently manifest across two dimensions: vessel schedules and freight rates. Regarding schedules, on different services within the same alliance and departing from the same port, some sailings may have switched to the Suez route while others still circumnavigate the Cape of Good Hope; thus, shipments cannot be scheduled under the assumption that “Suez traffic has fully resumed.” We recommend confirming the actual routing of each specific voyage with the carrier or booking agent before placing a booking. For orders sensitive to delivery dates, item-by-item verification is especially critical, and adequate buffer time should be built into delivery commitments. While transiting the Suez can cut approximately two weeks off the voyage, the initial adjustment period following the resumption of normal operations will still require time. On the rate front, as vessels reroute via the Suez and turnaround times accelerate, effective capacity increases passively, creating a tug-of-war with European‑bound carriers pushing for November FAK rate hikes. In the short term, it is unwise to gauge actual costs solely based on freight indices or carrier published rates; instead, confirm rates on a case‑by‑case basis, factoring in the specific voyage, space availability, and cargo delivery requirements, and allow room for potential schedule changes resulting from route adjustments.