CMA CGM will return to the Suez route on the Med Express (MEDEX) service from June 2025 with a new rotation calling at Abu Dhabi, Jebel Ali, Karachi (temporarily omitted), Mundra, Nhava Sheva, Colombo, Jeddah, Piraeus, Malta, Genoa, Fos, Barcelona, Valencia, Jeddah, Abu Dhabi. The new rotation will turn in 10 weeks using 10 ships of 6,000 to 10,000 teu operated by CMA CGM starting with the 9,658 teu CMA CGM PELLEAS at Abu Dhabi on 27 May 2025. The first MEDEX westbound transit on the Suez is sc
Kawa Shipping has expanded its coverage to the Red Sea, Egypt and Turkey with a new Eastern Mediterranean Express (EMX) service from March 2025. The service is operated irregularly with connections covering Qingdao, Ningbo, Sokhna, Iskenderun, Mersin, Jeddah, Qingdao. The first sailing was made by the 1,063 teu LAN HAI ZHI YUAN that operated an ad hoc Dubai, Sokhna, Iskenderun, Mersin, Jeddah, Qingdao voyage from 2 March 2025. A second voyage by the 2,076 teu KAWA HONGKONG was launched from Qin
China United Lines will add a new Jeddah-Port Sudan (JPS) service from 11 April 2025. The JPS will turn weekly with the 599 teu ZHONG LIAN SHAN TOU that is currently positioning from China to the Red Sea.
CMA CGM will join Asyad Line and Folk Maritime on the India-Red Sea Service (IRS), with the French carrier branding the service as the India Red Sea Express/India Gulf Express 3 (BIGEX3). CMA CGM will join the IRS/BIGEX3 service that calls at Nhava Sheva, Mundra, Salalah, Jeddah, Nhava Sheva from 22 February 2025, adding a 3rd ship to the service as the sailing frequency is upgraded from 10 days to 7 days. The 3 partners will operate 1 ship each with CMA CGM's 2,524 teu ZHE CHENG XIN ZHOU joini
Container freight futures have rallied sharply, with December 2025 contracts surging by 53% over the past week as hopes for an early return of containerships to the Suez route fade. Since the 19 January ceasefire agreement in Gaza, there has been no ships diverted back to the Suez route with all main carriers retaining their Cape routing at least until March. The potential return of the diverted Suez ships would release up to 7% of the global containership capacity with the resumption of slow s
SeaLead has launched a new Red Sea-India (RESIN) service calling at Jeddah, Sokhna, Nhava Sheva, Jeddah from 23 January 2025. The service turns in 3 weeks and will deploy 3 ships of 1,600-2,000 teu starting with the 1,660 teu GHIBLI at Jeddah on 23 January 2025.
The crew of the 1,930 teu ASL BAUHINIA has abandoned the containership in the Red Sea on 28 January 2025 after it caught fire following an explosion on board the vessel. The 2022 built ship is owned by Asean Seas Line and time chartered by Emirates Shipping Lines since October 2024. It is currently deployed on the Gulf Red Sea Connector (EGRC) service that connects Jebel Ali, Jeddah, Aqaba, Sokhna, Jebel Ali and had left Jebel Ali on 22 January and was scheduled to arrive at Jeddah on 29 Januar
Carriers will retain their current Cape of Good Hope routing in February with no immediate return planned to the Red Sea despite the Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement concluded on 19 January 2025. According to Linerlytica’s survey of vessels diverted to the Cape route, the total number of ships have risen in the last 10 days driven by the busy shipping window before the Chinese New Year. If the fragile ceasefire in Gaza fails to hold, the vessel diversions affecting some 350 ships for 4.5m TEU c
Port congestion continues to hold up 8.5% of the global fleet at the end of last week, with European and Southeast Asian ports experiencing worsening delays ahead of the new alliance reshuffle that will take place in early February. Very high yard utilization is reported across all main European ports, with Rotterdam under particular scrutiny as the ECT labour dispute threatens to spiral into strikes although no confirmed dates have been announced. Although market attention has shifted to the e
The 11,388 teu CMA CGM COLUMBA is scheduled to make an eastbound Suez transit on 23 January 2025 after having passed through Suez on 6 December 2024 on its westbound voyage for the Europe Pakistan India Consortium (EPIC) service that CMA CGM jointly operates with COSCO and OOCL. A CMA CGM spokesperson said that the 2 Suez voyages were ad hoc sailings and the company is closely monitoring the ongoing developments. The EPIC service has been re-routed to the Cape route since 2024 and currently ope