The U.S.-flagged container ship Maersk Denver successfully sailed through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and into the Red Sea on January 11–12, 2026 — a key step in testing renewed navigation of the historic East-West trade route.
This transit comes after Maersk’s earlier Red Sea passage by the Maersk Sebarok in December 2025, marking tentative progress toward reopening the Red Sea–Suez Canal corridor for global shipping.
The Red Sea and Suez Canal once handled about 10 % of global maritime trade as the fastest link between Asia and Europe.
Disruptions from regional conflict forced many carriers to reroute around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, adding time and cost to shipping.