June 4th, 2026 – CMA CGM is set to restore regular Suez Canal transits for its Epic service connecting India and Europe, according to multiple industry sources familiar with the carrier’s plans.
The revised schedule is expected to take effect with a westbound vessel departing from India’s Nhava Sheva Port in late June. Industry sources indicate that CMA CGM has already routed several ad hoc Epic sailings through the Suez Canal as part of preparations for a permanent return to the shorter route.
The Epic service currently operates with a fleet of 10 vessels, including seven ships deployed by CMA CGM and three by Cosco Shipping and OOCL. Previously, the service required 13 vessels to maintain a weekly schedule while routing around the Cape of Good Hope due to security concerns in the Red Sea.
According to industry estimates, resuming regular Suez Canal transits will allow the consortium to maintain consistent weekly departures with approximately 11 vessels. The shorter voyage is also expected to reduce the need for intermittent blank sailings that have affected the service during the longer Cape routing period.
CMA CGM declined to confirm the permanent return to the Suez Canal, stating only that the majority of Epic sailings continue to operate via the Cape of Good Hope.
The carrier recently updated the Epic service by adding a call at Colombo Port in Sri Lanka. The additional port call is primarily intended to facilitate transshipment cargo moving to and from Pakistan.
No Immediate Change for Indamex
CMA CGM has been among the first major carriers to gradually reintroduce services through the Red Sea and Suez Canal. The company’s India-Mediterranean Medex service resumed Suez Canal transits in June 2025, although operations experienced temporary disruptions following renewed military tensions involving the United States, Israel and Iran earlier this year.
In contrast, CMA CGM’s India–U.S. East Coast Indamex service continues to operate via the Cape of Good Hope, with no indication of an imminent return to the Suez Canal. The standalone Indamex service had briefly resumed full Suez Canal transits in January before suspending them again in March following heightened conflict in the Middle East.
Maersk has followed a similar approach. The carrier resumed Suez Canal transits on its India–U.S. East Coast MECL and India–Mediterranean ME11 services between January and February before suspending those routings in early March. Since then, the ME11 service, formerly part of the Gemini Cooperation network, has been integrated into a redesigned India–Middle East–Europe service known as ME1/IOS, which now provides expanded access to West Mediterranean hub ports.
