The Switzerland-headquartered carrier has not formally announced its return to the Suez Canal route and, so far, its sailings via the waterway have been limited to eastbound voyages.   “It sends a clear signal that the full resumption of Red Sea transits could come earlier than anticipated”, said consultant Linerlytica. “MSC’s move to resume partial Red Sea transits for its Europe-Asia services after CMA CGM and Maersk already making the switch on both directions may trigger more carriers to reconsider their Cape diversions,” it added.   Maersk has already returned 30% of its volumes that were routed around the Cape of Good Hope to Red Sea and Suez Canal transits.   The return of the MECL, the ME11 and AE19 services to the Red Sea along with the continued CMA CGM services has prompted MSC to begin a phased return to the route, which can slash seven to 14 days sailing time from Asia to Europe.

With Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc already declaring that the “conditions for a full return to the Red Sea have already been met,” it would seem that the race to return to the shorter transit times has begun in earnest.

Another driver for the return to the Suez Canal is Asian port delays as congestion has built at Far Eastern ports due mainly to a series of typhoons. “Congestion remains elevated over the past week particularly in China where waiting times at key ports in Shanghai, Ningbo and Shenzhen are as high as 12 days as they continue to work through the vessel backlog from last week’s typhoon,” said Linerlytica.      Competition for market share may have added to the pressure for MSC to return to Suez, while the Gemini Cooperation has made reliability a cornerstone of its services, claiming more than 90% of on-time transits — port delays will certainly impact that target.   Asia to Europe rates have slipped for the sixth consecutive week according to the Shanghai Container Freight Index, down 14% and 17%, to North Europe and the Mediterranean respectively, as the consultant says volumes in the trade have peaked . “Although some carriers are aiming for a modest rate hike in September of around $500/feu, the market momentum remains negative,” said Linerlytica.