Hapag-Lloyd Omits Four Atlantic Loop Sailings Through January 2027

Hapag-Lloyd will omit one westbound sailing on each of four Atlantic Loop services between December 24, 2026 and January 8, 2027. Its October 26 notice covers AL1, AL2, AL3 and AL6. On every affected loop, the gap between the last vessel before the omission and the first vessel after it is 14 days instead of the usual seven.

For cargo planned on one of these omitted sailings, the booking may need a new vessel or routing, with a different arrival date. Hapag-Lloyd lists the preceding and following scheduled vessels, each seven days from the omitted slot, but does not confirm either as an available replacement for individual bookings. One gap extends into January: AL1 omits its January 8 call at Southampton, beyond the December holiday period.

The Four Omitted Sailings

Service	Port listed	Last sailing before the gap	Omitted sailing	First sailing after the gap
AL2	Antwerp	MAERSK TENNESSEE V.651W, Dec 17, 2026 (week 51)	Dec 24, 2026 (week 52)	MAERSK IOWA V.652W, Dec 31, 2026 (week 53)
AL6	Vado Ligure	GSL CHRISTEN V.652W, Dec 21, 2026 (week 52)	Dec 28, 2026 (week 53)	GSL ELENI V.701W, Jan 4, 2027 (week 1)
AL3	Southampton	AL SAFAT V.652W, Dec 23, 2026 (week 52)	Dec 30, 2026 (week 53)	NINGBO EXPRESS V.701W, Jan 6, 2027 (week 1)
AL1	Southampton	PL GERMANY V.653W, Jan 1, 2027 (week 53)	Jan 8, 2027 (week 1)	GSL CHRISTEL ELISABETH V.702W, Jan 15, 2027 (week 2)

Westbound sailings, ordered by omitted date. Dates are Hapag-Lloyd’s ETAs at the single port it lists for each service; week numbers are as stated in the notice. Source: Hapag-Lloyd, October 26, 2026. Schedules remain subject to change.

Hapag-Lloyd’s notice lists westbound voyages only and names no replacement service for any omitted week. The carrier directs customers to its local service teams and online schedule for current arrival and departure estimates. Because it gives one port per service, shippers must check the schedule for dates and cut-offs at their own loading port.

AL1’s Gap Falls After New Year

Hapag-Lloyd published the same kind of notice last October. In the 2025 version, all four Atlantic Loop omissions fell between December 21 and December 29, 2025, and a fifth covered the Mediterranean Gulf Express (MGX). This year, three of the four omissions sit between December 24 and December 30. AL1’s sits on January 8, 2027.

A team that checks only December holiday omissions on the basis of last year’s pattern could miss AL1. At Southampton, Hapag-Lloyd lists PL GERMANY V.653W with a January 1 ETA before the gap and GSL CHRISTEL ELISABETH V.702W with a January 15 ETA after it. These are scheduled port-arrival dates, not confirmed replacement departures or cargo cut-offs. Whether either vessel can take an affected booking requires carrier confirmation.

The reference port for AL3 has changed too: its 2025 omission was listed at Antwerp, while this year’s is listed at Southampton. Since each notice gives a single port per service, the omitted call at another loading port may have a different date from the one in the table.

What an Omitted Sailing Does to a Booking Already Made

When a sailing is omitted, the carrier may retain a booking reference while changing the assigned vessel or voyage, an operational risk also discussed in this month’s Asia–Europe blank sailings in week 44. On the four Atlantic loops, Hapag-Lloyd identifies vessels scheduled seven days before and after the missing slot. It does not say that space is available on either vessel, or that every affected booking will move to an adjacent sailing.

Moving later may give the shipper more time to prepare cargo, but it can also change gate-in and documentation deadlines. If cargo moves to the following weekly sailing and that voyage runs the usual transit, the North American arrival could shift by roughly a week; the notice does not provide destination ETAs. On AL3 and AL6, the following vessels are listed at the European reference ports in January rather than December. Any change in freight rate or surcharge period depends on the booking terms and applicable tariffing date. Inland transport and warehouse appointments may also need to move.

Moving earlier could avoid some of the delay if the preceding vessel has capacity and the routing works for the shipment. Cargo and export documents would have to meet that vessel’s actual cut-offs, which cannot be calculated from the ETA table. For AL2, AL6 and AL3, the preceding reference-port arrivals fall in the run-up to Christmas.

A reassignment may become visible through a revised booking confirmation, a different vessel or voyage on shipment records, or an updated destination ETA. Those updates need not appear in a fixed order. Checking only whether the booking is still confirmed can therefore miss a change in the underlying sailing.

If your team usually learns that a booking has moved only when a revised confirmation arrives, walk through how operations teams monitor vessel and voyage changes alongside updated ETAs across their containers.

What the Notice Leaves Open

Eastbound sailings. Hapag-Lloyd’s October 26 notice covers westbound voyages only. Its December 2023 Atlantic notice also identified eastbound omissions for AL2, AL3 and AL6, with the listed eastbound dates 17 to 22 days after the corresponding westbound ones. Maersk published a separate October 26 Christmas/New Year advisory giving both westbound and eastbound voyage identifiers for TA1, TA2, TA3 and TA12. The two carriers use different voyage identifiers for some corresponding vessels and publish different Southampton ETAs for CHRISTEL ELISABETH. Exporters from the US and Canada should therefore confirm any eastbound impact with their booking carrier rather than infer eastbound dates from Hapag-Lloyd’s westbound table.

Replacement services. Hapag-Lloyd names no alternative loop for the omitted weeks. An affected booking may be assigned to an adjacent sailing or a different routing, subject to the carrier’s confirmed arrangements and available space.

Other Atlantic services. This year’s notice names four Atlantic Loop services. Last year’s also included MGX. Shippers on other Hapag-Lloyd Europe–North America services should check their own sailings directly rather than treat this notice as a complete list.

What to Re-Check Before the December Cut-Offs

Bookings on the four omitted sailings: Check AL2 (December 24), AL6 (December 28), AL3 (December 30) and AL1 (January 8, 2027) against the vessel, voyage and loading port on each booking. Ask the carrier whether the booking is affected, and get any replacement vessel or routing confirmed in writing.
Cargo that could move earlier: Check space availability and the actual cut-offs for MAERSK TENNESSEE V.651W (AL2), GSL CHRISTEN V.652W (AL6), AL SAFAT V.652W (AL3) and PL GERMANY V.653W (AL1). Confirm whether cargo and export documents can meet those deadlines.
Cargo that may move later: Request the revised ETA at the discharge port, then update inland transport and warehouse appointments. For AL3 and AL6 in particular, confirm the applicable freight rate and surcharge period under the booking terms, including the date used to determine those charges.
AL1 cargo in early January: Do not rely on last year’s Christmas-week pattern. The January 8 omission at Southampton is bracketed by vessel ETAs on January 1 and January 15. Confirm the actual departure, allocation and cut-offs for any alternative offered.
Your own load port: Hapag-Lloyd’s table uses one reference port per service. Check the affected arrival or departure date and cut-offs at the port where your cargo is actually loaded.
Eastbound exports: Review the Maersk advisory as additional context, but confirm any affected eastbound voyage and its identifier directly with your booking carrier.
A second check in early December: Carrier schedules change after notices are issued. Re-confirm vessel, voyage and ETA on every affected booking before the first cut-off.