Red Sea poised for container ships’ return with CMA CGM’s full-loop service via Suez Canal

Xeneta, an ocean and air freight rate benchmarking and market analytics platform transforming the shipping and logistics industry, is convinced that the return of container ships to the Red Sea is edging closer, as France’s shipping giant CMA CGM, as a major carrier, reveals a new full-loop service via Suez Canal.

After CMA CGM announced its INDAMEX service would transit Suez Canal on fronthaul and backhaul voyages between India/Pakistan and U.S. East Coast in a notable step towards a large-scale return of container ships to the Red Sea region, Xeneta emphasizes that the first vessel to complete a full service loop via Suez Canal will be CMA CGM Verdi, sailing from Karachi to New York on January 15, 2026.

Peter Sand, Chief Analyst at Xeneta, commented: “We are still some way from a largescale 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.

“We have seen carriers, particularly CMA CGM, testing the water recently by transiting Suez Canal on a select few voyages, particularly backhaul