SeaLead's new Mediterranean Gulf Express (MGX) will offer weekly connections between Dubai and Turkey via the Red Sea and Suez Canal.

The service will call at the ports of Jebel Ali, Djibouti, Arriaga and Damietta, with an inaugural date of October 24th.

Our new MGX service is a significant enhancement to our ability to connect the Middle East, Red Sea and Mediterranean regions, providing our customers with faster transit times and broader market access,” said Suleyman Avci, SeaLead's Global CEO.

“This service further strengthens our presence on key trade lanes while improving connectivity through the Red Sea. We remain committed to providing innovative solutions to support the growing demands of global trade.

The service has a transit time of six days to Djibouti and 14 days to Türkiye. From Turkey, cargo can be transshipped through the feeder network to Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Senegal, Spain, Greece, Bulgaria, Georgia, Lebanon and Romania.

Chandra Chigulury, SeaLead's Managing Director for the Middle East and Africa, added: “By introducing the MGX service, we are directly addressing our customers' need for seamless and reliable access to the Mediterranean and North African markets.

Singapore-based SeaLead, a fast-growing container shipping company but a relative newcomer, continues to transit the Red Sea despite the threat of Houthi attacks, unlike most of the top routes that choose to transit the Cape of Good Hope.

Last month, the company launched its Far East India Djibouti (FID) service, which calls at Djibouti, which sits on the African coast in the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, a narrow waterway at the southern entrance to the Red Sea.

According to the company's website, it also operates the India-Turkey route, the Turks-Red Sea route connecting the port of Jeddah, and the China-East Asia-Turkey route, all of which pass through the Red Sea.

On 20 July, the Liberian-registered SeaLead chartered vessel Pumba was attacked by Houthis while transiting the Red Sea (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to Port Klang, Malaysia). The vessel and its crew were unharmed during the incident.

The Houthis claimed that the Pumba was attacked because it was a U.S. vessel, and SeaLead states that none of its vessels transiting the Red Sea and Suez Canal belong to U.S.- or U.K.-affiliated companies.