May 29th, 2025 – The return to the Suez Canal remains a touchy subject for the industry – despite recent reports of de-escalation in the Red Sea – however, CMA CGM seems to be the first carrier to make real strides towards resuming service along the traditional and significantly shorter route.
Since completing operational plans to reroute vessels on the India-Middle East-Mediterranean service – known as MEDEX – standard passage through the Suez Canal will resume next month.
The CMA CGM Palleas will be the first vessel sailing the route, departing on June 7th from India’s Sheva Port, transiting the Suez Canal June 28th. Followed by the CMA CGM Nabucco and CMA CGM Titus, the two ships are set to sail starting on July 5th and July 12th, respectively.
The weekly MEDEX service operates with a fleet of 10 CMA CGM vessels, while Cosco Shipping participates through slot charter agreements, reportedly securing around 1,000 TEUs per week from the Indian region, including Colombo Port in Sri Lanka.
Resumption of the MEDEX Suez rotation service was confirmed by sources at CMA CGM and Cosco in India.
The MEDEX now rotates Khalida Port, Jebel Ali, Mundra, Nhava Sheva, Colombo, Jeddah, Piraeus, Malta, Genoa, Fos-sur-Mer, Barcelona, Valencia, Jeddah and Khalifa due to the recent omission of Karachi Port in Pakistan.
The MEDEX service’s return to the Suez route follows the Egyptian canal authority’s decision to offer a 15% discount on container ship transit fees for a 90-day period starting May 15th. It also comes shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Houthi militants in Yemen had agreed to halt their 18-month campaign of attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea.
Since the attacks began in late 2023, carriers were forced to divert around southern Africa, adding time and costs to the voyages.
Although CMA CGM is resuming service on the Suez Canal, other major ocean liners still view it as a risky venture, ruling out any plans to resume service until their confidence in the Houthis standing down improves.
