Maersk announced a major modernization of its Asia-Europe service network, a review of port schedules, and a redistribution of capacity toward Northern European hubs. The changes affect several AE services via the Cape of Good Hope and reflect a shift in priorities: the importance of Northern European ports is increasing, while calls to the Mediterranean and North Africa are being reduced or eliminated entirely.
On the AE1 service, Antwerp has been added to the rotation, while Tangier TC1 has been removed, shifting the focus to key Northern European hubs, along with Shanghai, Yantian, Tanjung Pelepas, Rotterdam, Hamburg, London Gateway, and Tangier TC3. The AE2 route remains unchanged. The AE3 service has been restructured with a focus on Northern Europe, including Yantian, Aarhus, Gothenburg, and Southampton, while Ningbo and Algeciras have been removed from the rotation. AE5, on the other hand, adds Ningbo and Algeciras, moves Bremerhaven ahead of Hamburg, and eliminates Yantian, Aarhus, and Gothenburg to consolidate the network.
In the Mediterranean segment, AE12 replaces Port Said East and Colombo with Algeciras and Singapore, while AE15 eliminates Izmit and Istanbul in favor of Damietta and Colombo, bringing Turkey into the service area via Egyptian hubs. AE11 remains unchanged. Maersk emphasizes that it is possible that AE12 and AE15 services will return to the Red Sea and Suez Canal routes in the future, when operating conditions permit.