UAE-based shipping line SeaLead has upgraded its Five Seas Express (5CX) service with a new route connecting the Far East and the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal. The weekly service now calls at Qingdao, Shanghai, Ningbo, Nansha, Alexandria, Aliaga, Istanbul, Mersin, Jeddah, and Port Klang, before returning to Qingdao. The first voyage under the new schedule departs from Qingdao on October 27, 2025.