CMA CGM, Maersk, MSC, Hapag-Lloyd, and Cosco have all restored services through the Suez Canal, with container vessel net tonnage up 54.2% year-over-year for January–August 2026, according to Suez Canal Authority (SCA) data; even as the Strait of Hormuz remains near-closed to commercial shipping roughly 1,000 miles away.
The wave of restorations marks a shift back toward pre-2023 routing patterns on the Europe-Asia trade lane. Carriers had diverted vessels around the Cape of Good Hope after Red Sea and Bab El-Mandeb security risks made the Suez route unsafe starting in 2023. SCA Chairman and Managing Director Ossama Rabiee said the returning services reflect a broader rebuilding of canal traffic following that disruption, though he and industry observers note the security situation around the Red Sea remains a factor carriers continue to weigh when setting routes.
The contrast with Hormuz is stark. In a situation report shared with IAM, Move One put transits at 8 on September 13 against an 85-a-day pre-crisis baseline, and Craig Reilly of DASA International Movers counts them even lower with 4 ships on September 17 and 12 over the following weekend, roughly a twentieth of normal flow, none of them container vessels. War-risk cover on the strait runs 3–10% of hull value against a pre-war 0.25%, per Move One, with six P&I clubs still withholding Gulf cover.
The security backdrop remains tense: a Houthi attack hit a fuel depot at Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport on September 19, and the U.S. State Department has issued a security alert warning of possible flight cancellations and airspace closures, though the airport itself was back to normal operations by the next morning.
IAM Member Impact: Members with Europe-Asia shipments may see gradually improving transit times and capacity as more carriers shift back to the Suez route. For moves into or through the Gulf, Craig Reilly recommends considering splitting shipments, using air freight for first-month essentials, sea for the remainder, and building at least a three-week buffer into temporary housing plans given ongoing schedule volatility.
Source: Logistics Middle East; Move One Alert; DASA Situation Room Report