Container carrier CMA CGM has announced that its INDAMEX service will transit the Suez Canal on both westbound and eastbound legs between India/Pakistan and the US East Coast—a notable step toward a broader return of container shipping to the Red Sea corridor.
The first vessel expected to complete a full service rotation via Suez is CMA CGM Verdi, scheduled to sail from Karachi to New York on 15 January. According to eeSea by Xeneta, using Suez instead of routing via the Cape of Good Hope reduces the round-trip duration by around two weeks, bringing the total cycle down to 77 days.
Peter Sand, Chief Analyst at Xeneta, said the market is still far from a large-scale return to the Red Sea, but CMA CGM’s decision to run a full east–west route through Suez is “a meaningful step in the right direction.” In recent months, carriers—particularly CMA CGM—have been testing Suez transits on a more ad-hoc basis, often on eastbound legs back to Asia when vessels tend to be less heavily loaded, adjusting routes that had originally been planned around the Cape.
Before the revised rotation becomes fully effective, four additional INDAMEX ships—APL Oregon, CMA CGM Passion, APL Le Havre, and CMA CGM Maupassant—are expected to make eastbound Suez transits. Other CMA CGM vessels, including CMA CGM Jules Verne, APL Changi, CMA CGM Galapagos, CMA CGM Grace Bay, APL Merlion, and CMA CGM Kimberley, are also reported to be transiting eastbound via Suez, although only some of these passages are described as “official” or formally scheduled.
Other major carriers, including Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk, have not provided timelines for any large-scale return to Red Sea routes, while ZIM has said it is waiting for insurer approval.
Sand cautioned that CMA CGM’s announcement does not automatically signal an imminent, industry-wide shift. He noted that 120 container ships transited the Suez Canal in November 2025, compared with 583 in October 2023, shortly before attacks in the region escalated. He added that carriers will continue to run detailed risk assessments as security remains volatile, weighing both the capabilities and intentions of hostile actors in the area—especially as traffic increases.
The shorter INDAMEX round trip via Suez also implies a reduction in the number of ships needed to maintain the service—potentially removing two vessels—offering a preview of how a broader return could quickly add capacity back into the market and pressure freight rates.
Sand said the container market is already dealing with oversupply, with spot rates falling even without a full Red Sea reopening. Average spot rates on Far East–US East Coast and Far East–North Europe trades are down 57% and 53% year on year, respectively. If more carriers follow CMA CGM’s lead, excess capacity could increase further—raising the risk of a sharper decline in freight rates and intensifying financial pressure across the liner sector.
