Maersk says that it has completed its first transit through the Red Sea and the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait since December 2023, as shipping traffic begins to gradually return to the region following years of Houthi rebel attacks.

The Maritime Executive reports that the Maersk Sebarok container ship successfully made the voyage through the Red Sea between December 18 and 19, on a route between the U.S. East Coast and India. In a release from the company, Maersk said that "the highest possible safety measures" were taken during the transit, and that customers with cargo on the vessel were informed directly.

Read More: Red Sea Shipping Return 'Looms Large' Over 2026

Although Maersk called the voyage a significant step forward, it noted that this does not mean that it is ready for a wider network change for the trans-Suez corridor. Moving forward, the company is still taking a "stepwise approach" to gradually resuming traffic through the Suez Canal and the Red Sea, with plans for a limited number of additional trans-Suez sailings in the months to come.

As Houthi attacks on commercial vessels moving through the Red Sea have fallen off in late-2025, several other ocean carriers have started laying out roadmaps of their own for returning to the region. CMA CGM currently has plans to fully resume its India-Mediterranean Express service through the Suez Canal in January 2026, while Ocean Network Express is looking to launch a new Red Sea-China service on January 15.