The Suez Canal Authority reports normal two-way traffic, citing 56 daily transits and recent tonnage totals, even as some major carriers temporarily pause passages due to regional security concerns.
Maersk’s ocean unit posted an EBIT loss of $153 million in Q4 2025 and plans 1,000 layoffs in 2026 as carriers face weaker freight rates and rising capacity.
Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd will send Gemini ME11 back via the Red Sea and Suez from mid-February with naval protection, while reviewing AE12 and AE15 options under strict safety criteria.
French carrier CMA CGM will keep three services on the longer route around Africa instead of using the Suez Canal, even as Maersk returns to the Red Sea and markets weigh capacity and freight-rate impacts.
With security conditions improving in the Red Sea, Maersk has run a second test voyage via Bab el-Mandeb on its MECL service, while CMA CGM is so far the only carrier to restore a full INDAMEX loop through Suez.
BIMCO reports that Suez Canal traffic in the first week of 2026 was only about 40% of the 2023 level, roughly 100 days after the last Houthi attack, with container ship transits still down 86% in late 2025.
The Suez Canal on Tuesday saw CMA CGM JACQUES SAADE transit for the first time in two years, alongside MAERSK SEBAROK, as major liner routings begin to return.
CMA CGM will restart its INDAMEX service via the Suez Canal, cutting the full loop to 77 days and freeing up two vessels as the container market faces overcapacity and weaker spot rates.
Maersk is preparing to restart its Red Sea route through the Suez Canal, contingent on improved conditions, said CEO Vincent Clerc. In a statement from the Suez Canal Authority, it
