CMA CGM will route its full INDAMEX service through the Suez Canal on both eastbound and westbound legs, marking the most structured return yet of a major carrier to the Red Sea corridor.
The move reverses nearly two years of near-total avoidance following Houthi attacks on merchant shipping.
“We are still some way from a largescale return of container shipping to the Red Sea,” said Peter Sand, chief analyst at Xeneta. “But CMA CGM’s announcement of a full east-west loop via Suez is certainly a notable step in the right direction.”
He said that carriers, CMA CGM in particular, have recently tested the water with occasional Suez passages, especially light-loaded backhaul journeys. “This week’s announcement is important because it is a structural change, with a proforma showing every sailing through Suez,” he added.
The first full-loop transit will be made by CMA CGM Verdi, departing Karachi for New York on 15 January. According to data from eeSea by Xeneta, shifting the service back through Suez trims roughly two weeks from the round voyage, cutting it to 77 days and restoring the timetable carriers used before mass diversions around the Cape of Good Hope.
Four more INDAMEX vessels – APL Oregon, CMA CGM Passion, APL Le Havre and CMA CGM Maupassant – will make eastbound Suez transits ahead of the new rotation. Several other CMA CGM ships have also been spotted making the passage, though most remain one-off diversions rather than scheduled commitments.
Rivals are more cautious. Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk have set no timeline for a return, while ZIM continues to wait for insurance approval. Sand cautioned that CMA CGM’s shift doesn’t signal an imminent flood of traffic: only 120 container ships crossed Suez in November 2025, compared with 583 before the crisis.
A full Suez loop shortens voyage times enough for CMA CGM to drop two ships from INDAMEX, an early hint of how restoring the route could swell capacity. “Spot rates are already down sharply,” Sand said. “If others follow, capacity will flood the market and rates could fall hard.”
