French container carrier CMA CGM is preparing to bring a full service loop back through the Suez Canal and Red Sea, positioning itself to be the first major shipping line to fully reinstate an east–west route since Houthi attacks pushed global carriers onto the Cape of Good Hope diversion last year.
The company has confirmed that its INDAMEX service, linking India and Pakistan with the US East Coast, will again route both westbound and eastbound legs via the Suez Canal. The first vessel to complete the full loop on the renewed rotation will be CMA CGM VERDI, scheduled to sail from Karachi to New York on 15 January 2026.
Service data from eeSea shows that the reinstated Suez leg shortens the complete INDAMEX rotation by around two weeks, reducing the total loop to 77 days compared with the longer detour around Africa. The string is operated weekly with 11 ships in the 6,000–10,000 TEU range.
According to Xeneta Chief Analyst Peter Sand, CMA CGM’s move is an encouraging sign but does not signal a rapid, industry-wide return to the Red Sea. He notes that carriers, and CMA CGM in particular, have already been testing limited Suez Canal transits in recent months, mostly on lighter-loaded backhaul voyages to Asia.
Before the new rotation is fully in place, four additional INDAMEX vessels – APL OREGON, APL LE HAVRE, CMA CGM PASSION and CMA CGM MAUPASSANT – will perform eastbound transits via Suez. Other CMA CGM vessels including APL CHANGI, CMA CGM JULES VERNE, CMA CGM GALAPAGOS, APL MERLION, CMA CGM GRACE BAY and CMA CGM KIMBERLEY have also recently passed through the canal, although only APL MERLION and CMA CGM KIMBERLEY currently appear on official schedules.
Earlier in the crisis, CMA CGM kept a limited presence in the Red Sea by sailing under naval escort as part of EUNAVFOR Operation Aspides, but the company faced delays when ships had to wait for escorted convoys to form.
Figures from Xeneta underline how far traffic flows have shifted. Only 120 containerships transited the Suez Canal in November 2025, compared with 583 in October 2023, just before attacks in the region intensified. Sand says carriers are still weighing the Houthis’ “ability, opportunity and intent” to target merchant ships. Their capability is already well established, but operators want stronger assurance on intent, particularly because risk will rise as more vessels return to the route.
Security concerns were highlighted again on 5 December, when a bulker reportedly fired warning shots at approaching skiffs near the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. Early indications suggested the small craft were not linked to Houthi forces, but the incident added to wider unease about navigation in the area.
Other large container lines remain cautious. Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk have both indicated that any return to the Red Sea will be slow and incremental, dependent on a clearer improvement in the security picture. ZIM has told investors it cannot resume Red Sea sailings until insurers are prepared to offer cover at acceptable terms.
The shorter INDAMEX loop via Suez will also enable CMA CGM to free up two vessels from the service rotation. Sand points out that the container market is already wrestling with substantial overcapacity, with spot rates on key Far East–US East Coast and Far East–North Europe trades down 57% and 53% respectively compared with a year ago. He warns that if other carriers follow CMA CGM and restore capacity on similar routes, tonnage could “flood the market,” driving freight rates sharply lower and increasing financial pressure across the sector.
