Shipping analyst Lars Jensen mentioned in a post on LinkedIn last week that CMA CGM has begun to implement a phased increase in its use of the Suez Canal, adjusting services on the backhaul of some Europe-Asia trade services.
Based on the carrier's public schedules, Jensen details specific vessel movements in the Northern Europe-Asia, Mediterranean-Asia, and Europe-Indian Subcontinent connections.
Among the services named on the Northern Europe-Asia corridor is the FAL, particularly on the return leg. On the other hand, other services in this corridor, operated by Ocean Alliance partners, currently have no planned Suez transits.
For the Mediterranean-Asia routes, Jensen mentions the MEX, BEX2 and MEDEX services.
CMA CGM’s decision to increase Suez Canal transits follows indications from Yemen’s Houthi rebels last month that attacks in the region would be suspended.
However, it is important to note that CMA CGM has not yet announced a strategy for a full return to Suez. The developments signal that the carrier continues to adopt a case-by-case approach.
Meanwhile, in an interview with German newspaper DVZ, Managing Director of North Europe at Maersk, Ole Trumpfheller, says that it will take the liner between three and six months to return to the Red Sea.
Redirecting the company’s container ships is planned only when the route through the Suez Canal has sustainably safe conditions, says Trumpfheller.
Even then, the shift will need to happen gradually with initial sailings continuing around the Cape of Good Hope, stresses the managing director.
