CMA CGM has retained the Suez routing for its Asia-Med Phoenician Express (BEX2) service despite escalating tensions in the Middle East over the past week after Israeli forces attacked the port of Hodeidah in Yemen on 20 July in retaliation for the Houthi drone attack that hit Tel Aviv on 19 July 2024. The Phoenician Express (BEX2) calls at Shanghai, Ningbo, Busan, Shekou, Singapore, (Suez Canal), Alexandria, Beirut, Tripoli, Koper, Trieste, Rijeka, Alexandria, Jeddah, Port Klang, Shekou, Shang
New containership deliveries has reached 1.62m TEU this year but there remains a shortage of ships globally with freight and charter rates continuing to surge ahead as the market enters the traditional summer peak season. The vessel diversions from the Red Sea to the Cape route has effectively removed more than 1.6m TEU from the market since the beginning of December while the recent increase in port congestion has taken out a further 0.5m TEU of vessel capacity from circulation as the active f
Emirates Shipping Line has launched a new ESL Gulf Red Sea Connector (EGRC) service calling at Jebel Ali, Aqaba, Sokhna, Jeddah, Mundra, Jebel Ali from 28 May 2024. The rotation of the EGRC is not fixed and will differ between sailings. The EGRC will turn in around 30 days on an irregular frequency and deploys the 1,781 teu ASL TAIPEI and 1,930 teu ASL PEONY.
Arkas and Turkon have jointly launched a new Red Sea 1 (RS1)/Turkiye Red Sea Express (TRE) service connecting Ambarli, Izmit, Aliaga, Jeddah, Aqaba, Ambarli from 15 June 2024. The RS1/TRE will operate weekly, turning in 14 days and deploys the 1,878 teu TURKON ISTANBUL from Turkon and 1,604 teu WANDA A from Arkas.
X-Press Feeders have launched a new India-Red Sea X-Press 2 (IRX 2) service calling at Mundra, Jebel Ali, Jeddah, Aqaba, Sokhna, Jeddah, Mundra from 23 May 2023. The IRX 2 will turn in 28 days using 4 ships of 1,600-2,900 teu, namely the 1,577 teu X-PRESS KAVERI, 1,645 teu X-PRESS KOHIMA, 1,774 teu X-PRESS SALWEEN and 2,902 teu PALERMO. The service will enable transhipment connections to the Red Sea ports of Jeddah, Aqaba and Sokhna that have been affected by the stoppage of regular services
CMA CGM will launch a new India Gulf Red Sea Express (BIGEX2) service connecting Jebel Ali, Djibouti, Aden, Colombo, Mangalore, Nhava Sheva, Mundra, Jebel Ali from June 2024. The new service will turn in 28 days and deploys 4 ships of 1,700 to 3,000 teu starting with the 1,713 teu CMA CGM SAIGON at Jebel Ali on 8 June 2024, followed by the 3,013 teu WADI ALRAYAN, 2,078 teu LOBIVIA and 1,714 teu ST. JOHN. The BIGEX2 will replace the existing Mona Express 2 that will be discontinued from 8 June
CMA CGM has resumed full Suez Canal transits on the Asia-Med Phoenician Express (BEX2) service from the end of April 2024, becoming the first mainstream Asia-Europe service to return to the Suez since the Red Sea crisis escalated in December 2023. The service is one of 4 OCEAN Alliance services on the Asia-Med route and is marketed as the PHOEX/BEX2 by CMA CGM, AEM6 by COSCO, AAS by OOCL and BEX2 by Evergreen. The service was previously operated with a mixed fleet of ships from the 3 OCEAN Alli
Containerships are still making transits on the Suez/Bab-el-Mandeb despite heightened risks following the collapse of ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas and the escalation of the Houthi attacks on commercial shipping on the Red Sea which has widened to the Indian Ocean. Over 90 transits on the Bab-el-Mandeb has been recorded since 1 April 2024, mainly by smaller carriers operating in the Asia-Med and Baltic Sea routes, compared to over 700 voyages diverted to the Cape route in the same per
MSC has started to redirect ships chartered from Israeli-linked owners from the Persian Gulf following the seizure of the 14,952 teu MSC ARIES by Iranian special forces on 13 April 2024. According to a statement from MSC on 17 April, the carrier is in discussions with Iranian authorities to secure the release of the 25 crew members on the MSC ARIES and for cargo on board the ship to be discharged. Several ships that were due to enter the Persian Gulf has already been redirected, with details a
The seizure of the 14,952 teu MSC ARIES by Iranian special forces on 13 April 2024 off Fujairah has placed heightened risks on Israeli-linked containerships trading in the Strait of Hormuz. However, the Israeli owned fleet accounts for less than 2% of all containerships in the Persian Gulf and their redeployment to other routes is not expected to cause significant disruptions to the trade, barring a full blockade of the Strait of Hormuz if the Israeli conflict escalates. Out of over 500 contain