MSC Extends Zephyr Service Into Red Sea With Jeddah and King Abdullah Calls

· Shipping · Saudi Arabia

MSC will extend its Zephyr service into the Red Sea by adding calls at King Abdullah Port and Jeddah, while removing Salalah from the loop that currently links Colombo with Djibouti. The carrier will also significantly increase the vessels deployed on the route, with four ships involved. The change comes as the wider market watches for a return of capacity to the Red Sea amid shifting geopolitical risk. Industry discussion this week focused on port congestion, Suez returns and a transpacific capacity crunch.

Why it matters：MSC's schedule change is an early signal of how carriers are re-testing Red Sea routing, which would alter transit times, capacity allocation and congestion at Mediterranean and Gulf hubs.

Key points

  • King Abdullah Port and Jeddah are added to Zephyr; Salalah is dropped.
  • The carrier is significantly increasing vessels on the route, with four ships involved.
  • The move follows market focus on Suez returns and port congestion.

Sources (original reporting)

More stories from this day