Containerised cargo volumes weathered the Middle East storm relatively unscathed in the 1st quarter of 2026, with total throughput at the Top 20 ports growing by 4%, led by strong growth at Chinese ports which account for half of the ports in the list. Ningbo overtook Singapore to rise to 2nd place for the first time, with volumes growing by 14.7% during the first 3 months of 2026. Dubai suffered a 30.5% fall in container volumes as vessel traffic was effectively halted in March due to the clos

MSC will launch a new Lekki-Lome-Lagos Feeder service connecting Lekki, Lome, Lagos, Tincan Island, Lekki from 30 May 2026 with the 3,534 teu MSC RABAT IV

Register Free Trial Container freight rates have stabilized since the initial Iran war rate surge, with current gains largely coming higher bunker surcharges. Vessel capacity has adjusted rapidly with no space shortages reported and port congestion have been largely limited to Indian subcontinent and Arabian Sea ports. MSC only managed to evacuate 4 ships from the Gulf on 18 April with 2 more ships detained by Iran. Although the Hormuz remains effectively shut, 3 non-Iranian containerships made

MSC has relaunched its China-India Osprey extra loader service that will start on 28 April 2026 with the 5,041 teu MSC TAMPA V at Qingdao followed by the 9,200 teu MSC MADELEINE at Ningbo on 7 May and the 6,492 teu MSC AQUARIUS VII at Qingdao on 15 May. These ships will provide direct connections to Mundra to cater for the increased demand on the corridor due to the Middle East war.

Maersk will launch a new SLA service connecting the Mediterranean and Baltic Sea from 4 May 2026. The SLA service will call at Tanger Med, Gdansk, Bremerhaven, Vado Liguew, Port Said, Alexandria, Tanger Med, turning in 35 days using 5 ships of 2,800 to 5,000 teu starting with the 2,824 teu SINE A at Tanger Med on 4 May 2026.

Zhonggu will upgrade its China Red Sea Express (CRX) to a regular weekly service to call at Shanghai, Ningbo, Nansha, Jeddah, Aqaba, Sokhna, Shanghai from May 2026, with CU Lines joining as a vessel provider. The service will turn in 56 days using 8 ships of 1,700 to 2,500 teu. The service was first launched by Zhonggu in October 2025 initially with just 3 ships on an irregular frequency and have been gradually upgraded as more ships are deployed. CU Lines will operate the 2,518 teu ZHONG GU ZH

Evergreen and PIL are launching a new Far East-South Africa Express (SAF)/Ubuntu Express (UBX) service from 28 May 2026 calling at Shanghai, Ningbo, Kaohsiung, Shekou, Singapore, Durban, Cape Town, Singapore, Shanghai. The SAF/UBX service will turn in 63 days and deploys 9 ships of 4,800 to 5,600 teu with the first sailing scheduled to commence at Shanghai on 28 May 2026 with the 5,060 teu SC MARA.

CMA CGM will be using the Suez route in both directions on the newly launched Japan-China-North Europe Ocean Rise Express (OCR) service, allowing them to save 2 weeks on a round trip rotation compared to using the longer Cape route. The OCR service was launched on 2 April 2026 and calls at Kobe, Nagoya, Yokohama, Xiamen, Yantian, Jeddah, Rotterdam, Hamburg, Southampton, Jeddah, Nansha, Kobe. The service will turn in 84 days using the shorter Suez route and will deploy 12 ships of 8,400 to 10,00

CMA CGM is bringing back westbound Suez transits on the Europe Pakistan India Consortium (EPIC) service starting from this week with the 11,388 teu CMA CGM GEMINI that will arrive at Suez on 29 April 2026. All subsequent westbound sailings on the EPIC service are scheduled to use the Suez route, although the eastbound sailings are still taking the Cape route. The revised EPIC service connects Mundra, Nhava Sheva, Colombo, Jeddah, Port Said, Tanger Med, Southampton, Rotterdam, Hamburg, Antwerp,

Register Free Trial 8 containerships were able to break out of the Hormuz on 18 April, but the exit path has been shut once again aas Iran turned back 4 CMA CGM ships and vowed to retaliate after the US seized the IRISL operated 5,125 teu TOUSKA on 20 April that was making an inbound voyage from Port Klang to Iran. The US blockade on Iranian ports have made little difference thus far, with at least 7 Iranian linked ships able to bypass the blockade in the last week alone. Apart from the rising

Akkon Lines has added a second ship to the East Africa Service (EAS) calling at Nhava Sheva, Mundra, Karachi, Dar es Salaam, Mombasa, Nhava Sheva with the service frequency upgraded from monthly to fortnightly. The EAS was first launched at Nhava Sheva on 13 February 2026 using a single ship, the 1,696 teu NARA on a monthly frequency until 4 April 2026 when a second ship, the 1,740 teu KONRAD was added. The service turns in 30 days on a rolling schedule with one sailing every 2 weeks.

X-Press Feeders will launch a new South China Java X-Press (SCJX) service connecting Yantian, Xiamen, Nansha, Jakarta, Surabaya, Yantian from 16 May 2026. The SCJX will turn in 21 days using 3 ships of 2,300 to 2,900 teu starting with the 2,902 teu WANTAI at Xiamen on 16 May, followed by the 2,312 teu X-PRESS MACHU PICCHU and 2,824 teu AS CAROLINA. OOCL will take slots on this service that it brands as the China-Indonesia Service 3 (CIS3).