CMA CGM’s INDAMEX service is set to return to transiting the Suez Canal on both the fronthaul and backhaul voyages, shaving two weeks from the service’s current full rotation time.
2008-built, 6,000 teu CMA CGM Verdi will be the first ship to complete a full loop of the new service when it reaches New York on 15 January 2026, a lap that will take 77 days.
Peter Sand, Chief Analyst at Xeneta, said: “We are still some way from a large-scale return of container shipping to the Red Sea, but CMA CGM’s announcement of a full east-west loop via Suez is certainly a notable step in the right direction.
CMA CGM has led the major carriers in Suez Canal transits, including sending CMA CGM Zheng He and CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin through the key waterway in November. The line’s ships are protected by French Navy vessels during approaches to the Bab al-Mandeb strait and around Yemen. CMA CGM operates the Ocean Alliance’s Med5 service which has continued to transit Suez this year.
The Suez Canal Authority said in November that Maersk had committed to commencement of transits in December as a “precursor to a full capacity return”, although Maersk has yet to commit to a firm timeline. Israeli line Zim said in late November that it was waiting on the green light from insurers.
“Until now, these transits via Suez Canal have been on a case-by-case basis, diverting voyages originally scheduled to sail around Cape of Good Hope. CMA CGM’s announcement this week is important because it is a structural change with a service pro-forma to transit Suez Canal on every sailing,” said Sand.
Xeneta said there are four more vessels set to transit Suez eastbound before the new route takes full effect, APL Oregon, CMA CGM Passion, APL Le Havre, and CMA CGM Maupassant. Other eastbound transits outside of the service include CMA CGM Jules Verne, APL Changi, CMA CGM Galapagos, CMA CGM Grace Bay, APL Merlion and CMA CGM Kimberley.
Suez Canal transits totalled 120 vessels in November 2025, remaining sharply down from the 583 recorded in October 2023 before the Houthi began attacking merchant vessels from Yemen in response to the situation in Gaza. Those attacks have subsided as a ceasefire in Gaza is largely being upheld by Israel and Hamas.
“Carriers will be carrying out risk assessments and the security situation remains fragile. The assessment will look at the Houthi’s ability, opportunity and intent to attack ships. We know they have the ability, but carriers will want assurance over their intent, especially because the opportunity will increase as more ships begin sailing through the region,” said Sand.
In a sign of the broader impact a return to Suez will have on capacity, two ships will be dropped from the CMA CGM INDAMEX service as fast transits cut tonnage demand.
“There is already overcapacity of supply in the ocean container shipping market and spot rates are falling even without a large-scale return to the Red Sea. Average spot rates on Far East fronthauls to US East Coast and North Europe are down 57% and 53% respectively compared to a year ago.”
