Maersk resumes Asia-Middle East service after seven months

Seven months after Maersk closed every route to the Gulf, the line and Hapag-Lloyd are loading cargo for the UAE again.

The first ship, Maersk Athabasca, left Qingdao on October 17 for Khor Fakkan on the UAE's east coast. That port sits outside the Strait of Hormuz. The choice is deliberate: ships entering the strait face the same projectile and mine threat that sank the container ship GFS Pride last week.

Hapag-Lloyd markets the same loop as AGX. The rotation: Qingdao, Ningbo, Tanjung Pelepas, Khor Fakkan, Singapore, and back. Jebel Ali, the big transshipment hub inside the gulf, does not appear.

Maersk suspended FM1 on March 27, along with its other Gulf services, after attacks on commercial ships surged following the outbreak of hostilities. Cargo has been routing around the Cape of Good Hope or through Suez ever since. Iran has rejected proposals to reopen Hormuz, and fighting continues.

Both lines are being careful. Booking restrictions and cargo acceptance guidelines for the Middle East stay in effect. For Dubai and Abu Dhabi, cargo moves by landbridge from Khor Fakkan, adding time but avoiding the strait. The companies say they will adjust again if conditions change.