Suez Canal traffic recovers as Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd shift Asia-Europe service away from Cape route

Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd are rerouting their joint AE15 Asia-Mediterranean-Europe service back through the Suez Canal instead of around the Cape of Good Hope, according to a press release. Egyptian ports (Port Said and Damietta) are back on a direct Asia-Europe loop for the first time since the outbreak of the US-Israeli war on Iran.

The carriers called it “a step towards a gradual return to the trans-Suez corridor” after a Red Sea security assessment — with contingency plans to revert to the Cape still in place. Any escalation could reverse the return, MDS Transmodal senior consultant Antonella Teodoro previously told EnterpriseAM.

Canal revenues are recovering: FY 2025-26 revenues rose 23% y-o-y to USD 4.8 bn and transits rose 10%, Suez Canal Authority Chairman Osama Rabie said in an interview (watch, runtime: 02:00). That’s still well below the USD 10.2 bn recorded in 2023, with the authority targeting USD 8 bn in revenues by the second half of 2027, Rabie said.

Second plug

Portugal is exploring an electricity interconnection with Morocco to harden its grid against the kind of disruption that plunged the Iberian Peninsula into darkness last spring, Reuters quotes Portugal’s Energy Minister Maria da Graca Carvalho as telling reporters this week. A Moroccan line would give Portugal — connected only to Spain today — a second cross-border source and hand Rabat a foothold in the European power market.

What’s next: Moroccan Energy Minister Leila Benali is set to meet with Carvalho in Lisbon soon to discuss the feasibility of the interconnection project.

Filling the tank

Adnoc signed a 15-year sales and purchase agreement to supply Japan’s energy company INPEX with 1 mtpa, primarily from the Ruwais LNG project — with deliveries expected to begin with the project’s commercial operations in 2028, according to a press release.

Long-term buyers have been lining up for two years: Adnoc had already placed around 75% of Ruwais LNG’s 9.6 mtpa capacity by November 2024, including a 15-year heads of agreement with IndianOil agreement signed that September. By November 2025, the project booked more than 8 mtpa through long-term contracts with ENN, SEFE, EnBW, Mitsui, Shell, Petronas, and Osaka Gas.

Scaling up

Marsa Maroc secured a 20-year extension for Container Terminal 3 (TC3), operated through its wholly owned TC3PC subsidiary, Morocco World News reports. The Moroccan operator has also laid out an MAD 3 bn investment program across its two container terminals at the port, which it says will take TC3’s annual capacity to 900k TEUs by 2030 from 600k TEUs.

What’s in store? The project involves expanding quay infrastructure, upgrading cargo-handling equipment, and reconfiguring storage areas across the two container terminals operated by Marsa Maroc — upgrades aimed at boosting operational efficiency and increasing cargo throughput capacity.