On 26 February 2026, AP Moller-Maersk confirmed the restart of a dedicated Red Sea service linking India and the Middle East with the U.S. East Coast, focused on refrigerated cargo flows.
On the same day, CMA CGM confirmed that its FAL1, FAL3, and MEX Asia–Europe services will reroute via the Cape of Good Hope, citing renewed regional security concerns.
Why It Matters for Maritime
This creates an active split-routing environment across the Red Sea–Suez corridor.
Immediate operational implications include:
• Divergent transit times between Suez and Cape routes
• Increased bunker consumption for Cape diversions
• Route-specific war risk and security surcharge adjustments
• ETA variability for time-sensitive and reefer cargo
• Fleet deployment imbalance across Asia–Europe lanes
The corridor is now commercially segmented. Operators, charterers, and cargo interests must verify declared routing at booking stage and reassess voyage cost assumptions accordingly.
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