Maersk restructures its Asia–Europe network with port changes and new shipping routes

According to the company, Maersk will overhaul its Asia–Europe shipping network from April 2026, adjusting port rotations on major services and redirecting capacity towards Northern European gateways.

The changes affect several AE services routed around the Cape of Good Hope and signal a decisive rebalancing of port coverage, with greater emphasis on Northern Europe as some Mediterranean and North African calls are reduced or removed.

On AE1, Antwerp is added to the rotation while Tangier TC1 is removed, placing greater emphasis on key Northern European hubs alongside Shanghai, Yantian, Tanjung Pelepas, Rotterdam, Hamburg, London Gateway and Tangier TC3. AE2 remains unchanged.

AE3 is revised to prioritise Northern Europe, adding Yantian, Aarhus, Gothenburg and Southampton while removing Ningbo and Algeciras, effectively reducing reliance on southern gateways. AE5 is also reconfigured: Ningbo and Algeciras join the rotation, Bremerhaven is moved ahead of Hamburg, and Yantian, Aarhus and Gothenburg are removed, consolidating the service’s port network.

AE11 remains unchanged. In the Mediterranean segment, AE12 replaces Port Said East and Colombo with Algeciras and Singapore. AE15 replaces Izmit and Istanbul with Damietta and Colombo, repositioning Türkiye within transshipment coverage through Port Said and Damietta.

The carrier leaves open the possibility of returning AE12 and AE15 to the Red Sea and Suez Canal when conditions allow.

The redesigned network strengthens schedule reliability and shipping flexibility between Asia and Europe while concentrating calls at high-volume gateways.

Maersk is an integrated logistics group established in Denmark. It operates in ocean transport, port operations and contract logistics through a global structure of subsidiaries and affiliated entities.

Hapag-Lloyd is a Germany-based ocean shipping company organised as a joint-stock company. It provides container transport on intercontinental trade lanes through a fleet deployed across scheduled shipping networks.