The Maersk Denver has become the second vessel from the world’s second largest container line to transit the Red Sea after a nearly two-year hiatus due to the threat of Houthi attacks.
Maersk said the transit by the US-flagged Maersk Denver of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait was made successfully on 11 – 12 January. As with the previous transit by the Maersk Sebarok on 18 – 19 December 2025, the Maersk Denver is deployed the MECL service which connects India and the Middle East with the US East Coast, which has been transiting via the Cape of Good Hope.
Similarly to the previous Red Sea transit the Maersk Denver would appear to turned off its AIS for the voyage with its last reported position on 10 January departing from the Port of Salalah in Oman, according to Pole Star Global's PurpleTrac.
“The safety of our crew, vessels and cargo remains of utmost importance to us, and the necessary safety measures were applied during transit. Customers with cargo on this vessel are being informed directly,” the Danish shipping line said in customer advisory.
The company said that assuming its security thresholds were met, “we will continue our stepwise approach towards gradually resuming navigation along the East-West corridor via the Suez Canal and the Red Sea”. Maersk, however, says it has no further transits planned at this time.
Some major container lines have been making tentative returns to Red Sea and Suez Canal transits but a full-scale rerouting of services back to the region from Cape of Good Hope transits still appears to be some way off.
CMA CGM is the only line to announce the return of a full loop to Red Sea and Suez Canal transits with its INDAMEX on both the fronthaul and backhaul voyages, shaving two weeks from the service’s current full rotation time.
