6 February 2024 (Lloyd's List) - AT LEAST three vessels operated by CMA CGM have rerouted in the middle of Red Sea transits and will now likely take the long route around the Cape of Good Hope to reach destinations in Asia.

The move follows CMA CGM’s announcement yesterday that it is to stop Red Sea transits on security grounds, becoming the last of the major carriers to halt Bab el Mandeb routings.

Automatic Identification System data from Lloyd’s List Intelligence now shows several vessels that had shown final destinations in Asia are returning towards the Suez Canal rather than continuing south through the Red Sea.

These include its flagship 23,000 teu CMA CGM Jacques Saadé (IMO: 9839179), which was last reported drifting southwest of Jeddah last Wednesday.

Its previous AIS data was reported on Thursday but the vessel restarted transmissions last night and is now steaming north at 15 knots with the Suez Canal as its destination.

Also on the move again is the 9,365 teu CMA CGM Tage (IMO: 9674555), which had been idling off Jeddah since January 31. After calling at Jeddah, it had changed its destination to Port Klang, but it too is now on a parallel track to CMA CGM Jacques Saadé at a slightly slower 12.4 knots.

Meanwhile, the 9,661 teu CMA CGM Orfeo (IMO: 9364992), which was also initially destined for Port Klang in Malaysia, remains off Jeddah.

AIS data shows it departed the port on Saturday morning but has since remained off Jeddah. Its track shows it beginning to head north on Sunday but by yesterday evening it had slowed to a near stop before drifting south again.

Lloyd’s List Intelligence predictive voyage information puts its next port of call at the southern Suez Canal anchorage.