Gemini Cooperation Restores Direct Antwerp Call on Asia–Europe Loop

The Gemini Cooperation will add Antwerp as a direct port of call on its Europe–Far East network from March, ending the transshipment arrangement via Tangier that has served Belgium’s largest container gateway since the alliance launched in February 2025. The upgrade to the NE2/AE1 service loop tightens the connection between Antwerp and Asia’s export markets, potentially improving schedule reliability for cargo owners who had faced additional transit time and complexity under the interim shuttle arrangement.

The move partially reverses capacity losses Antwerp has suffered since the 2025 alliance reshuffle. Sea-Intelligence analysis of nominal vessel capacity deployed between May and July 2025, measured against a full-year 2024 baseline, found Antwerp lost an average of 138,000 teu per month on the Asia–Europe trade. Hamburg emerged as the primary beneficiary of the network restructuring, gaining 169,000 teu per month, while Valencia added more than 78,000 teu. Tangier, which had served as the transshipment hub for Antwerp-bound Gemini cargo, shed 122,000 teu per month over the same period.

Gemini’s decision to add an Antwerp call comes as MSC has moved in the opposite direction. The world’s largest carrier switched its Swan service from Antwerp to Felixstowe in July 2025 amid persistent congestion at the Belgian port, according to Alphaliner. Gemini’s willingness to add capacity where a competitor has pulled back suggests the alliance sees a service-quality advantage in directly serving Antwerp while terminal conditions improve.